Washington Foreclosure Laws

Under Washington foreclosure laws, a property can be foreclosed through judicial or non-judicial means. However, non-judicial foreclosures are commonly used and take about 5 months. Delays can happen when the borrower contests the lawsuit or files for bankruptcy. The borrower has the power to stop the foreclosure sale up to 11 days prior to the date of the sale by paying off debt to the lender.

Judicial And Non-Judicial Foreclosure Information

A Power of Sale clause determines the type of foreclosure to be used. If this provision is signed by the borrower in the mortgage agreement, the person is aware of the consequence in the event that the terms in the contract are not met. When the loan document contains the Power of Sale clause, a property will be foreclosed non-judicially. To note, this clause authorizes the lender to foreclose a property if the borrower defaults on payments.

An out-of-court foreclosure can be initiated without obtaining a court order. To commence a foreclosure, the lender sends a Notice of Default to the borrower. The Notice informs the borrower of the impending foreclosure. The borrower is given 30 days to pay off debt. Failure to do so would result to a foreclosure sale.

With judicial foreclosures, the lender goes to court to file a complaint along with a lis pendens against the defaulted borrower. A lis pendens serves as a recorded document which provides information about an impending foreclosure on a property. At this point, the borrower is given specific time to cure debt by making a full payment of the total unpaid loan. The court has the final judgment on this matter. If there is sufficient evidence against the borrower, the court can issue an order for the sale to take place in about 6 to 8 weeks.

Right to redemption is granted where the homeowner retains redemption rights for up to 1 year after the sale. This is applicable in judicial foreclosures. To redeem property ownership, the borrower has to make a full amount of the unpaid loan plus any applicable costs. For non-judicial foreclosures, Washington foreclosure laws do not support after-sale statutory right of redemption.

Deficiency judgment is applicable for judicial foreclosures only. Lenders may obtain this when a property is sold at a foreclosure sale for less than the amount of loan. This means that the borrower pays for the difference between amount of the property sold and the amount of the original loan to the lender.

At the Washington foreclosure sale, the trustee auctions off the property to the highest bidder. The sale is conducted similar to that of a public auction.

Notice Of Sale Washington

At least 90 days before the date of the auction, a Notice of Sale should be recorded with the county registrar. The Notice is mailed to the borrower and published twice in a local newspaper.