Minnesota Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

The ordinary redemption period for a Minnesota mortgagor after a foreclosure sale by advertisement is:

• a.Thirty days after the sale
• b.Three months after the sale
• c.Two years after the sale
• d.Six months after the sale✓

Minn. Stat. 580.23, subd. 1 gives the mortgagor, the mortgagor's personal representatives, or assigns six months after the sale to redeem by paying the sum for which the land was sold with interest at the rate stated in the certificate of sale, or six percent if no rate is stated, together with any further sums payable under sections 582.03 and 582.031. Thirty days and three months are shorter than the statute allows, and two years appears nowhere in chapter 580. Redemption funds and documents must be delivered at the recipient's normal place of business on a business day between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and the sheriff may accept less than the full amount if the certificate holder confirms in writing that it has agreed to do so.

Which fact extends a Minnesota mortgagor's redemption period to 12 months?

• a.The mortgaged premises were the mortgagor's homestead at the sale
• b.The mortgagor filed a written objection before the sheriff's sale
• c.The mortgage was assigned at least once before the foreclosure began
• d.The mortgaged premises exceeded 40 acres when the mortgage was executed✓

Minn. Stat. 580.23, subd. 2 lists the cases in which the period is 12 months rather than six, including a mortgage executed before July 1, 1967, an amount due at the notice of sale that is less than 66-2/3 percent of the original principal, mortgaged premises that exceeded 40 acres at execution, several dated rules for parcels between ten and 40 acres in agricultural use, and a reverse mortgage as defined in section 47.58. Homestead status is not on that list; Minnesota's homestead protection operates through chapter 510, not through the redemption period. A written objection and an assignment of the mortgage appear nowhere in the subdivision.

A Minnesota lender forecloses a mortgage through the courts rather than by publishing a notice of sale. That proceeding is governed by:

• a.Chapter 559, cancellation of contracts for deed
• b.Chapter 580, foreclosure by advertisement
• c.Chapter 582, foreclosure general provisions
• d.Chapter 581, foreclosure by action✓

Minnesota provides two mortgage foreclosure routes, and the state content outline cites both: chapter 580 governs foreclosure by advertisement, the nonjudicial route in which the mortgagee publishes a notice and the sheriff conducts the sale, while chapter 581 governs foreclosure by action, the judicial route begun by a complaint. Chapter 582 carries general provisions that apply to both, such as the additional sums recoverable under sections 582.03 and 582.031, so it is not itself the proceeding. Chapter 559 governs statutory cancellation of a contract for deed, which is a different security device with a different remedy and is not a mortgage foreclosure at all.

A Minnesota contract for deed executed in 2019 goes into default. The statutory notice of cancellation ordinarily terminates the contract:

• a.15 days after service of the notice on the purchaser
• b.60 days after service of the notice on the purchaser✓
• c.30 days after service of the notice on the purchaser
• d.180 days after service of the notice on the purchaser

Minn. Stat. 559.21, subd. 2a provides that for a contract for the conveyance of real estate executed on or after August 1, 1985, the notice must state that the contract will terminate 60 days after service, subject to a shorter period allowed or a longer period required by subdivision 4. Fifteen days matches nothing in the section. Thirty days is the shorter period subdivision 4 allows for earnest money contracts, purchase agreements, and exercised options, and 90 days is required for a contract for deed executed by an investor seller, so neither is the ordinary rule. The purchaser reinstates by curing the default, making payments due, paying the costs of service, paying two percent of the amount in default, and paying the statutory attorney fee amount.

Chapter 559A, which requires disclosures on a residential contract for deed, applies when the seller is:

• a.An investor seller, as that chapter defines the term✓
• b.A relocation company reselling a transferred employee's home
• c.A licensed real estate broker acting for the record owner
• d.A lender that acquired the property through a foreclosure sale

Minn. Stat. 559A.02 provides that chapter 559A applies only to residential real property where a purchaser is entering into a contract for deed with an investor seller, and lets a contract for deed recite that the property is not residential real property or that the seller is not an investor seller as prima facie evidence that the chapter does not apply. The chapter is not triggered by the presence of a licensee, by a relocation sale, or by the seller having been a foreclosing lender, unless that seller meets the investor seller definition. Section 559A.03 then requires the disclosures to be affixed to the front of the purchase agreement, and bars the investor seller from entering the contract for deed earlier than ten calendar days after the purchase agreement is executed and the disclosures are provided. PSI's Minnesota reference list cites chapter 559 but omits chapter 559A.

Minnesota's homestead exemption from creditors' claims may include a quantity of land not exceeding:

• a.160 acres✓
• b.80 acres
• c.320 acres
• d.40 acres

Minn. Stat. 510.02, subd. 1 provides that the homestead may include any quantity of land not exceeding 160 acres, and separately caps the exemption in value, whether claimed by one or more debtors, at a dollar figure that is higher for a homestead used primarily for agricultural purposes. Forty, eighty, and 320 acres are not the figure the subdivision names. Subdivision 2 requires those dollar amounts to change periodically in the manner provided under section 550.37, subdivision 4a, with the commissioner of commerce publishing the adjusted figures, so the acreage limit is the stable number to carry into the exam while the value limit must be checked against the current publication.

A Minnesota mechanic's lien ceases unless, within 120 days after the last work or material, the claimant:

• a.Obtains the owner's written acknowledgment of the unpaid balance
• b.Files a complaint in the district court where the land lies
• c.Sends the owner a demand letter by certified mail, return receipt
• d.Records a lien statement and serves a copy on the owner✓

Minn. Stat. 514.08, subd. 1 provides that the lien ceases at the end of 120 days after doing the last of the work or furnishing the last item of skill, material, or machinery unless within that period a statement of the claim is filed for record with the county recorder, or with the registrar of titles for registered land, and a copy of the statement is served personally or by certified mail on the owner, the owner's authorized agent, or the person who contracted with the contractor. Both steps are required, so recording alone or serving alone is not enough. Commencing the foreclosure action comes later, under section 514.11, and is not what preserves the lien within the 120 days. A demand letter and an owner's acknowledgment are not statutory substitutes.