Judicial Foreclosure Law in the State of Washington
Washington state allows both judicial and non-judicial foreclosures. Most lenders, according to the state attorney general's office, choose non-judicial foreclosure, which means they don't have to go to court to foreclose on your property. For lenders who do use the judicial approach, Washington law spells out the procedure to go through.
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Time Frame
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In Washington state, once your lender files suit to foreclose, the Realty Trac website states, you have at least 30 days before the court hearing. If you file an answer after you receive a court summons, you can contest the foreclosure before the judge; if you don't file, you don't get to present your side and the judge will probably rule for the lender. If you're an out-of-state owner, you'll have a minimum 60 days before your hearing, to give you added time to respond.
Defense
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Lenders' attorneys typically ask for a summary judgment once they get to the court hearing, the Nolo legal website states. This is a ruling by the judge that there's no point to a trial because you have no chance of stopping the foreclosure. If you can show the facts are in question--your lender can't prove it owns the mortgage, that you don't owe the amount your lender claims or that there's evidence of fraud--you may be able to go to trial and attempt to prove your case there.
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Sale
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If the judge eventually rules in favor of your lender, the lender will record a notice of sale with the county where the property is located, Realty Trac states. The lender must wait at least 90 days after the recording to hold the sale; the lending company must also notify you and anyone else with a stake in your property of the sale date, and publish announcements in the local paper. If you can scrape together the money to pay off your debt, Washington state gives you until 11 days before the sale to stop the foreclosure.
Afterwards
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If the foreclosure sale doesn't pay off the mortgage, Washington state allows lenders to sue you for a "deficiency judgment" covering the rest of the debt, the foreclosure.com website states. Lenders can't sue after a non-judicial foreclosure, or if the property was abandoned for six months before the foreclosure. Washington also gives owners a right of redemption after a judicial foreclosure: If you can pay off your debt to the lender, plus fees and interests within a year of the sale, you get your house back.
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