Iowa is one of the few states where judicial or in court foreclosure is the only method available to the bank. Foreclosure begins in this state when the bank decides that the home owner is not going to be able to come current on their payments. The banks first step is to have their attorney file a complaint against the homeowner in court. This is done to get the court to issue a decree of sale. Once this has been obtained from the court having jurisdiction over the county where the home is located, then the process of selling the home can begin. The court, once they find the homeowner officially in default, will give them a short period of time in which to catch up all the delinquent payments, plus extra costs like attorney?s fees. If in this short time frame, the homeowner is n buy my house ot able to come up with this money, the court will order the home to be sold. First the notice of sale needs to be posted in a minimum of three public places, in the county where the home is located. One of the public places must be the court house of this same county. Additionally, two advertisements announcing the scheduled sale date must be placed in a local paper with circulation in the county where the home is located. The first of these ads must be run no less than four weeks before the scheduled sale date. The second ad just must be run sometime previous to the sale date. The sale is a public auction. It is held between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. The time must be clearly stated in the notice of sale. Iowa allows for bids to be made by people not attending the auction.