When you buy real estate at a Kentucky judicial (master commissioner’s) sale and pay the balance over time rather than in full, you must sign a sale bond with surety under KRS Chapter 426. The bond equals the unpaid purchase price — we write it at a flat 3% with one soft credit pull.
















A judicial-sale bond turns around fast because the sale terms demand it — enter your amount, consent to a soft pull, and deliver to the master commissioner. Here is the whole thing:
Your details, the case and the master commissioner, the bond amount (the financed balance), and the effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Most of these clear quickly; if underwriting needs anything, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
Pay online and receive the executed sale bond, ready to sign and deliver to the commissioner to complete your purchase. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever they insist.
Bond amount × 3% = your premium, one-time, $275 minimum. Enter the balance you’re financing and the premium updates.
When a Kentucky court orders real estate sold to enforce a judgment — a foreclosure or partition sale — a master commissioner conducts the sale under KRS Chapter 426. The winning bidder can pay the full price at the sale, or pay a down payment (typically 10%) and finance the balance over about thirty days by signing a sale bond.
That sale bond must be executed with surety for the unpaid balance. Under KRS 426.705, the bond bears interest at the rate the judgment bears, from the date of sale until paid, and has the force and effect of a judgment — so it’s a serious obligation, not a formality.
The bond guarantees that you, the purchaser, actually pay the balance you bid. If you don’t, the court can enforce the bond against you and your surety. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays, you repay the surety. Buyers who pay as agreed treat it as the price of financing the balance instead of paying all cash.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and the executed sale bond is typically ready within a day.
Start the application →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
Five-minute application, flat 3%, $275 minimum, soft pull only. Enter the balance you’re financing and deliver to the master commissioner.