Selling your Washington house before the trustee's sale

Washington law technically permits lenders to foreclose either judicially, through a lawsuit filed in superior court, or non-judicially, through a trustee's sale conducted outside of court. In practice, the large majority of Washington foreclosures are non-judicial, because most Washington home loans are secured by a deed of trust rather than a straight mortgage, and the state's Deed of Trust Act lets the trustee sell the property without a judge ever getting involved. Judicial foreclosure still happens on occasion, typically when a loan document lacks power-of-sale language or a lender chooses that route for other reasons, but it's the exception, not the rule.

Before formally starting a non-judicial foreclosure, Washington's Foreclosure Fairness Act generally requires the loan servicer to reach out about foreclosure-avoidance options and to notify owner-occupants of their right to request mediation through the state Department of Commerce. Once a formal Notice of Trustee's Sale is prepared, it generally has to be recorded, served on the homeowner, and posted at least 90 days before the sale date, and it's typically also published in a local newspaper in the weeks leading up to the sale. Counting from the first missed payment to the actual auction, a Washington non-judicial file often runs somewhere in the range of 6 months to a year, though a mediation request, a loss-mitigation review, or postponements can stretch that considerably longer.

One feature of Washington's process worth knowing: homeowners generally have the right to cure the default and reinstate the loan, paying only the past-due amount, fees, and costs rather than the full balance, up until roughly 11 days before the scheduled sale date. Washington's non-judicial trustee sales also typically do not come with a post-sale right of redemption. That means once the sale is completed, there usually isn't a window afterward for the former owner to buy the property back, which is different from a judicial foreclosure sale in Washington, where a statutory redemption period can apply. Deficiency judgments, meaning a lender pursuing the homeowner afterward for any shortfall between what's owed and what the sale brought in, are generally barred by statute following a non-judicial trustee's sale on an owner-occupied one-to-four family home. Judicial foreclosures, though, can expose a borrower to a deficiency claim, and the rules can differ for other property and loan types, so it's worth confirming for your specific loan rather than assuming either way.

Because most Washington foreclosures are non-judicial, there's no court hearing calendar to track. The date on the recorded Notice of Trustee's Sale is the one that matters. Owners can typically list, negotiate, and sell their home right up until the trustee's sale is actually conducted, because a completed sale pays the loan off in full, and a loan that's been paid off leaves nothing left for a foreclosure sale to collect on.

Questions Washington homeowners ask us

Can I still sell my Washington house after a Notice of Trustee's Sale has been recorded?

Yes. A recorded Notice of Trustee's Sale doesn't take your home off the market. It sets a deadline, but it doesn't freeze your ability to sell. We regularly work with Washington homeowners who already have a trustee's sale date on file, coordinating directly with the servicer to confirm a payoff figure so the sale can close, the loan gets paid off in full, and the scheduled auction is called off because there's no remaining debt left for it to satisfy.

Can I reinstate my loan instead of selling?

Washington law generally gives homeowners the right to cure a default and reinstate the loan, paying the missed payments, fees, and costs rather than the full balance, up until roughly 11 days before the scheduled sale date. That can be a real option if you have the funds to catch up and plan to stay in the home. If reinstating isn't realistic given your finances, selling before the sale date is usually the move that lets you leave with your equity instead of losing it.

Is there any way to get my house back after a Washington trustee's sale?

Generally, no. Washington's non-judicial trustee sale process typically doesn't include a post-sale redemption period once the sale is complete, so ownership usually transfers to the winning bidder right away. That's different from the redemption rights that can apply after a judicial foreclosure sale in Washington, and it's a big part of why selling before the sale date, rather than waiting to see what happens afterward, is usually the path that protects whatever equity you've built. If a sale has already occurred, a Washington real estate attorney can tell you whether any narrow exceptions might apply to your situation.