Timeline:
120 Days
Redemption:
Rare, only if Judicial Foreclosure
Deficiency
Judgments: Yes, only if Judicial Foreclosure
Judicial
Foreclosure: Yes, but not common
Non-Judicial
Foreclosure: Yes
Security
Instruments: Deed of Trust, Mortgage
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Washington
state foreclosure law allows lenders to use either the Non-Judicial
or Judicial Foreclosure process. If there is no “power of sale”
clause present in the original loan documents, the lender will
pursue Judicial Foreclosure. The lender must sue the borrower
in court and foreclosure can be declared only by the court.
A deficiency judgment may be awarded to the lender if the property
is found by the court to have been abandoned for at least six
(6) months before the decree of foreclosure. |
If a
“power of sale” clause is present in the original loan documents,
the lender can pursue Non-Judicial Foreclosure. This clause
authorizes the lender to sell the property in the event the
borrower goes into default on the loan. If the “power of sale”
clause specifies the time, place, and terms of the sale, then
those details must be used.
The
notice of sale must be sent by regular mail to the borrower's
attorney on record, if such exists. A copy of the notice must
also be sent to the borrower by certified mail with return receipt
requested to the borrower's last known address. This must be
done at least thirty (30) days before the scheduled sale date.
Publication
of the notice must be at least once per week for four (4) consecutive
weeks in a newspaper generally circulated. The notice must also
be posted in two public places, one of which must be the door
of the county courthouse, for four (4) weeks prior to the sale
date.
The
sale must take place at least one-hundred and ninety (190) days
after the default has been declared. The borrower can stop the
foreclosure anytime until eleven (11) days before the sale date
by paying the amount past due plus costs, including attorney
fees and trustee fees.
Sales
in Washington state are held on Fridays between the hours of
9:00 AM and 4:00 PM . The high bidder at the auction will be
given a certificate of sale.
The
sale may be postponed, but the length of the postponement may
not be longer than one week from the original date of sale.
Notice of the postponement must be given to all parties to the
sale, and the notice must be posted publicly beneath the original
posted notice.
The
Non-Judicial Foreclosure process in Washington state does not
allow for the lender to sue the borrower to obtain a deficiency
judgment.
Washington State Foreclosure Law