Washington Foreclosure Laws

The state of Washington is one of the few states where the judicial foreclosure is not commonly used but instead the non-judicial method of foreclosure is preferred. Although a right of redemption is available here, it is only available in a judicial foreclosure and it is very rare that it is allowed. Also, the lender may be allowed to file for a deficiency judgement, but this again is rare and only done in the judicial foreclosure.

The actual judicial foreclosure is used only when there is no power of sale clause in the loan document. In this process the foreclosure has to be declared by the court and it is very rarely used.

In the typical non-judicial foreclosure there is a Notice of Sale that must be transmitted a minimum of no less than 30 days before the date of sale by regular mail to the borrower’s attorney of record, if any, and by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the borrower at the borrower’s last known residential address.

A notice of sale must be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in a local newspaper and also has to be posted for at least four weeks prior to the sale in two public places, one of which must be the door of the courthouse of the county in which the property is located and where the sale is to take place. The sale may not take place less than 190 days from the date of default.

The borrower has until 11 days prior to the sale to stop the foreclosure by paying the past due amount plus expenses, including trustee and attorney fees.

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