All About Washington State Foreclosures

It’s certainly not something you would want to think about or plan for, but when you’re in danger of losing the roof above your head, it’s best to be armed with the facts that could save you from foreclosure or help you to go through the process with as much dignity as you can. Foreclosure laws vary from state to state in the United States, so if you’re falling behind on mortgage payments and facing the threat of losing your home in Washington State, here’s what you need to know:

• Mortgages in the state operate under the title theory, where your home is technically in the custody of a trust until you pay off your entire loan.

• Most foreclosures are of the non-judicial kind, which means that a power of sale clause is included in your loan document. If you default on your mortgage payments, your lender is well within his rights to auction your home.

• If there is no power of sale clause in your documentation, your loan provider must go to court to secure permission to be able to sell your home to the highest bidder. This is known as a judicial foreclosure and the sale must be publicly noticed.

• Your lender must send you a notice of default 30 days prior to attempting to sell your home; the document must include details of the default and the foreclosure costs and must be sent through certified or registered mail to your attorney, if one is specified in the loan document.

• You have 11 days (or more if your lender allows it) before the sale to get your loan reinstated and up to the time of the sale to pay it back in full.

• Your home must be sold within 190 days from the date of the first default (an extension of 120 days may be secured if the trustee agrees) between 9 am and 4 pm on a Friday or the following Monday if Friday is a holiday.

• The only reasons an impending sale may be delayed are when you contest the foreclosure in a court of law, ask the lender or trustee for postponements or file for bankruptcy.

• You cannot redeem your home in the event of a non-judicial foreclosure. A judicial foreclosure allows you one year in which to redeem your home, during which you can stay in residence.

• If the sale does not fetch the amount required to pay off the loan, your lender cannot ask you to pay the difference if the foreclosure is non-judicial. A judicial foreclosure allows your lender to seek a deficiency judgment unless you’ve not lived in the house for 6 months before the foreclosure ruling.

If you’re facing impending foreclosure, fight it out rather than ignore the problem. Talk to your lender before a notice of default is sent to you and see if you can buy some more time to pay off your debts. Do not get taken in by offers from mortgage fraudsters to pay off your loan. See if you can prevent the foreclosure by going through the Federal Housing Information portal and reading up on your rights.

By-line: This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of international home listings. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.