Civil Division

Our Mission

HOURS OF OPERATION: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (440-329-5515) Please send all documents to be served to the following address:
Lorain County Sheriff
Attention: Civil Office 225 COURT STREET (Room 104)
Elyria Ohio 44035

The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office Civil Division handles a variety of duties. The Civil Office processes and serves documents throughout the county from the various local, state, and foreign courts each year. The Civil office also prepares and sells real estate property (Orders of Sales -Sheriff Sales) as directed by the court.

NOTICE – ONLINE SHERIFF’S SALES:

Beginning on Wednesday, November 30^th, 2022, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office will conduct the sale of all real estate subject to foreclosure on the new Sheriff’s Sale Website, which is operated by RealAuction, based on a contract with the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. The process and procedures under which these sales will be completed are detailed on this new website. All prospective bidders should familiarize themselves with this new process.

Online Sheriff Sales Link: Lorain County Online Sheriff Sales Tax sales will still be held at a physical location of 226 Middle ave – 4^th floor (commissioners meeting room A) Elyria Ohio 44035.

Sales Online:

All questions pertaining to the Online Sales Process, Bidding, and Deposits should be directed to Real Auction Customer Service at 1-877-361-7325 or customerservice@realauction.com.

Purchaser Information Forms are completed automatically upon answering the Registration questions at RealAuction.

IT IS THE BUYER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED CORRECTLY, SO THAT THE CORRECT INFORMATION IS INCLUDED ON THE PURCHASER INFORMATION FORMS.

The purchaser (high bidder) will be notified by Real Auction at the end of the sale online and by email. Real Auction will submit the Purchaser Information Form to the Sheriff’s Office at the close of the Sheriff Sale.

Sheriff Sales are governed by the Common Pleas Court and the Ohio Revised Code. The Sheriff has no control over these rules or laws. All revenue generated from Sheriff’s real estate sales goes into the County’s General Fund.

LINKS

Effective October 17th, 2019
There will be an increase in the recording fees charged by the recorder per house bill 166. The following chart lists the new prices.

1 page      $34.00
3 pages   $42.00
5 pages   $58.00
7 pages $74.00
9 pages $90.00

2 pages     $34.00
4 pages     $50.00
6 pages     $66.00
8 pages $82.00
10 pages $98.00

03-05-2015 Effective with the sale date of 04-15-15 the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office will no longer accept the following forms of payments for the required deposit on Sheriff sales from third party purchasers. 1. Cash2. Personal checks3. Business checks

ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF PAYMENT – Payment for the deposit of a purchase must be by a Cashier’s check and made payable to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office. The required deposit amounts are as follows.

APPRAISED PROPERTIES – Deposits according to the schedule listed in 2329.211 as follows. $2,000.00 if appraised value is up to or equal to $10,000.00$5,000.00 if appraised value is between 10,000.01 and $200,000.00$10,000.00 if appraised value is over $200,000.00

MINIMUM BIDS – 10% of the bid is due at the time of the sale in a cashiers check (not less than $1,000.00) up to a maximum deposit of $10,000. No other forms of payment will be accepted. All money in excess of the required deposit will be applied toward the purchase price of the property.

09-02-10Advertising Schedule for Newspapers Click Here – » NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING PRICES « – Click Here

All Sheriff Sales are advertised in either the Lorain Morning Journal or the Elyria Chronicle Telegram every Friday. Real Estate located in the Northern half of the County is advertised in the Lorain Morning Journal and real estate located in the Southern half of the County is advertised in the Elyria Chronicle Telegram. All care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the sale information, however we can not control the information provided to us. Be advised that a property listed below may NOT be auctioned on the designated day due to various reasons.

10-15-09 SHERIFF’S FEES – Effective October 16th, 2009, new Sheriff’s fees as listed in the Ohio Revised Code 311.17 will be used. Increases will be on subpoena’s, warrants to arrest, executions without levy and for mileage on all attempts and service of documents that are received. (10-09-09). All fees are calculated on the fees schedule as listed in the Ohio Revised Code under section 311.17.

SHERIFF SALES – FAQ’s – (Frequently Asked Questions) Reading the frequently asked questions will help answer many questions concerning Sheriff Sales.

To check out the Lorain County Sheriff Sales page: Click Here

PURCHASER INFORMATION FORM – ALL PURCHASERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A PURCHASE INFORMATION FORM ON SALES. All purchasers shall be required to complete this form (2329.271). A full description of the requirements can be read here. This form is available and can be downloaded under in the forms page. Plaintiffs and 1st & 2nd lien holders should have the purchaser information form completed in advance of the sale. Sheriff’s Office staff will assist 3rd party purchasers in completing the purchaser form. The purchaser information form will also be available at the time of the sale. Please note that P.O Boxes are not an acceptable address when completing the form. The start date for purchaser information forms shall be with the 1st sale date of 2009.

FOR ONLINE SALES: You must complete the necessary registration information when bidding online. This information will be in a auto generated purchaser information form. Make sure you know who the name that the deed is going into when completing this information.

FORMS – FORMS – Forms for taxpayer, deed, and purchaser information forms can be found here.

Starting with the sale ads of 03-25-2009 the legal description of the property will not be included on the sale ad. A complete description of the legal can be found at the following locations.

1. Lorain County Clerk of Courts – 225 Court Street, Elyria Ohio – room 109 (case file)

2. Lorain County Recorder’s Office – 226 Middle Ave, Elyria Ohio3. Lorain County Recorder’s Website – www.loraincounty.com/recorder