Mortgage Note Investing in Vermont

Vermont is a judicial-foreclosure state and a slow one — plan for it. Mortgages are foreclosed through the courts, by strict foreclosure or by judicial sale, and a typical case runs seven to ten months from filing to a final, enforceable result. The court calendar, not the lender, sets the pace, so underwrite to the realistic timeline rather than the optimistic one.

The redemption mechanics are distinctive. Rather than a fixed statutory window, Vermont's redemption period is set in the foreclosure decree itself and runs up to roughly six months — a feature of strict-foreclosure practice, where the court fixes the date by which the borrower must pay or lose the equity. The exact length is case-specific, so read the decree: your clean-title date is whatever the court ordered, not a number you can assume in advance.

The rest is straightforward. Delinquent property taxes are senior to your lien, and a Vermont tax sale carries a one-year redemption at 12%, so monitor tax status. Deficiency judgments are available against the borrower, and no state license is required to buy or hold these notes. Vermont is a patience play — a court-supervised, decree-driven exit measured in many months, not weeks.