Hiring a Real Estate Lawyer in Minnesota
What a home seller in Minnesota must disclose, how foreclosure works, how to check a lawyer's license, and free help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Minnesota: fee rules
| Rules on contingency fees | Contingent fees are allowed except where Rule 1.5(d) or other law prohibits them. A contingent fee agreement must be in a writing signed by the client and state how the fee is figured, including the percentage(s) the lawyer gets on settlement, trial or appeal, the litigation and other expenses deducted from the recovery, and whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee is calculated. It must clearly tell the client about any expenses the client must pay whether or not the client wins. At the end, the lawyer must give the client a written statement of the outcome and, if there is a recovery, the client's share and how it was figured. Lawyers may not charge domestic relations fees contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of alimony, support or property settlement, or a contingent fee to represent a criminal defendant. |
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| If you disagree with a lawyer's bill | OLPR says most routine fee disputes are best resolved outside the discipline system, and that fee arbitration is a relatively fast and simple way to resolve them; call the Minnesota State Bar Association at (612) 333-1183 for your local fee arbitration committee. A clearly illegal or grossly excessive fee can lead to discipline. |
| If a lawyer takes your money | The Minnesota Client Security Board's fund can reimburse losses of money or property caused by a Minnesota lawyer's dishonesty (such as theft) in an attorney-client or related fiduciary relationship for a Minnesota matter; negligence, malpractice and fee disputes are not covered. The maximum the Board may pay on a claim is $150,000. File within five years of when you knew or should have known of the dishonest conduct. There is no charge to make a claim. |
Minnesota rules to know first
| What a home seller must disclose | Yes. Before signing an agreement to sell residential real property, the seller must give the prospective buyer a written disclosure of all material facts the seller knows of that could adversely and significantly affect an ordinary buyer's use and enjoyment of the property or any intended use the seller knows about. The statute does not prescribe a state form. Sellers need not disclose certain facts, such as that the home was the site of a death or that an occupant had HIV/AIDS, and may rely on a qualified third party's written inspection report given to the buyer. Source: Minn. Stat. §§ 513.55, 513.56 |
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| How foreclosure works | Both. A mortgage that contains a power of sale may be foreclosed "by advertisement" (a sheriff's sale without a court case) after a default, as long as no lawsuit to collect the debt is pending and the mortgage and all assignments are recorded. Mortgages may also be foreclosed by court action under Chapter 581. In either case, the homeowner generally keeps a redemption period after the sheriff's sale. The statutes read do not say which method is most common. |
| Foreclosure timeline | For a foreclosure by advertisement, the statute requires six weeks' published notice before the sale and personal service on the occupant at least 4 weeks before the sale. For an owner-occupied home of 1 to 4 units, a servicer generally may not refer the loan to an attorney for foreclosure, or hold the sale, while a timely loss-mitigation application is pending (small servicers are mostly exempt). A homestead owner may postpone the sale once — for 5 months if the redemption period is 6 months, or 11 months if it is 12 months — by recording an affidavit at least 15 days before the sale, which shortens the redemption period to five weeks. After the sale, the redemption period (usually 6 months) runs before the owner must leave. |
| HOA foreclosure | Yes. In a common interest community (condominium, planned community or real-estate cooperative), the association has a lien for assessments, which may also include fees, late charges, fines and interest unless the declaration says otherwise. It may foreclose the lien like a mortgage, by advertisement (power of sale) or by court action. Attorney fees and costs cannot be included in the amount the owner must pay to reinstate. The owner's redemption period is 6 months from the sale or a shorter period allowed by law. The lien ranks behind a first mortgage, but if the first mortgage is foreclosed, the buyer takes the unit subject to up to 6 months of unpaid regular assessments. Lien enforcement must begin within 3 years after the last installment of the assessment comes due. Different rules apply to cooperatives where unit interests are personal property (90-day notice procedure). Source: Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-116 |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Minnesota State Bar Association offers MN Find a Lawyer, a free online directory of attorneys searchable by practice area and location, and points people to Minnesota Lawyer Referral, "a non-profit public service of the Hennepin and Ramsey County Bar Associations." Minnesota Lawyer Referral offers guided assistance from referral counselors by phone or online self-referral to vetted attorneys (mainly in the Twin Cities metro area) in more than 40 practice areas: "Get a 30-minute consultation for $30 or less." Phone 612-752-6699; hours Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. MN Unbundled connects people statewide with attorneys for brief tasks. MSBA public page: https://mnbars.org/?pg=Public |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (OLPR) Lawyer Search shows whether a Minnesota-licensed lawyer has received public discipline, has been placed on disability inactive status in lieu of discipline, or has a public discipline petition pending; court actions appear the next business day. Private discipline, dismissed and pending complaints are not public. For general licensing information (registration status), OLPR directs users to the Minnesota Lawyer Registration Database Search (MARS). |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints about Minnesota lawyers go to the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility. File with the online form or mail a printed form to OLPR, Minnesota Judicial Center, Suite 105, 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155. Describe events in order with dates and send photocopies, not originals (documents are scanned and shredded). The lawyer will receive your complaint, and if it becomes a public discipline case your complaint becomes part of the public record. Phone: 651-296-3952 or 1-800-657-3601. Disciplinary history request: https://olpr.mncourts.gov/lawyer-resources/disciplinary-history-request/ |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Minnesota's LSC-funded legal aid organizations give free civil legal help to eligible low-income people: Anishinabe Legal Services, Central Minnesota Legal Services, Justice North and Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. |
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All legal help in Minnesota · Background guide
Last verified against official sources: October 27, 2026.
How we source this page: each state-specific rule links to the statute, court rule or official government page it comes from. A rule taken from a public copy of a state code (used only where the official code is not freely readable online) is marked as a secondary source. Spot an error? Use the contact page to report it. About our sources
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.