Washington
Foreclosure Law
Summary
Quick
Facts
-
Judicial Foreclosure Available:
Yes
-
Non-Judicial Foreclosure
Available: Yes
- Primary
Security Instruments: Deed of
Trust, Mortgage
-
Timeline: Typically 120
days
- Right
of Redemption: Yes, but may be
precluded.
-
Deficiency Judgments Allowed:
Yes
In Washington,
lenders may foreclose on deeds of
trusts or mortgages in default
using either a judicial or
non-judicial foreclosure
process.
Judicial
Foreclosure
The judicial
process of foreclosure, which
involves filing a lawsuit to
obtain a court order to
foreclose, is used when no power
of sale is present in the
mortgage or deed of trust.
Generally, after the court
declares a foreclosure, the
property will be auctioned off to
the highest bidder.
Non-Judicial
Foreclosure
The
non-judicial process of
foreclosure is used when a power
of sale clause exists in a
mortgage or deed of trust. A
"power of sale" clause is the
clause in a deed of trust or
mortgage, in which the borrower
pre-authorizes the sale of
property to pay off the balance
on a loan in the event of the
their default. In deeds of trust
or mortgages where a power of
sale exists, the power given to
the lender to sell the property
may be executed by the lender or
their representative, typically
referred to as the trustee.
Regulations for this type of
foreclosure process are outlined
below in the "Power of Sale
Foreclosure
Guidelines".
Power of
Sale Foreclosure
Guidelines
If the deed of
trust or mortgage contains a
power of sale clause and
specifies the time, place and
terms of sale, then the specified
procedure must be followed.
Otherwise, the non-judicial power
of sale foreclosure is carried
out as follows:
- The notice
of sale must be transmitted
both by regular mail and by
certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the borrower at
their last known address, and
by regular mail to the attorney
of record for the borrower, if
any, not less than thirty (30)
days prior to the day of
sale.
The sheriff must publish a
notice of the sale once a week,
consecutively, for four (4)
weeks, in any daily or weekly
legal newspaper of of general
circulation published in the
county in which the property is
located. Additionally, the
sheriff must also post the
notice in two public places,
one of which must be the
courthouse door, in the county
where the sale is to take place
for a period of not less than
four weeks prior to the day of
sale.
Said notice must contain the
time and place of the
foreclosure sale, the names of
the parties to the deed, the
date of the deed, recording
information, a property
description, the terms of the
sale, and the borrowers rights
(or lack of) redemption.
- The borrower
has up to eleven (11) days
before the sale stop the
foreclosure process by paying
the past due payments, plus
expenses, including trustee and
attorney fees.
- The sale
must be made by auction between
9:00 am in the morning and 4:00
am in the afternoon at the
courthouse door on Friday
unless Friday is a legal
holiday and then the sale must
be held on the next following
regular business day. The sale
may not be conducted less than
190 days from the date of
default and the highest bidder
will receive a certificate of
sale.
The sheriff may postpone the
sale (not exceeding one (1)
week next after the day
appointed) by giving notice and
by posting written notices of
the adjournment under the
notices of sale originally
posted.
Unless
redemption rights have been
precluded, the borrower may,
within eight (8) months after the
date of the sale, redeem the
property by paying the amount of
the highest bid at the
foreclosure, plus
interest.
If the
non-judicial foreclosure process
is used by the lender, then it
cannot sue for a deficiency
judgment. On judicial foreclosure
sales, the borrower can be sued
for a deficiency, unless the
property is found to be abandoned
for six (6) months before the
decree of foreclosure.
More
information on Washington
foreclosure laws
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