- Who sends it
- The trustee or the lender's lawyer, by mail, posting and newspaper ad
- What it starts
- The countdown to the auction date
- Do this first
- Count the days to the sale and call a housing counselor and legal aid today
What this document is
In a nonjudicial foreclosure, the trustee named in your deed of trust sells the home at a public auction. Before it can, state law requires a notice of sale. It is usually mailed to you, posted on the home or at the courthouse, published in a newspaper and sometimes recorded. It gives the sale date, time and place and the trustee's contact information.
Names vary: notice of trustee's sale, notice of substitute trustee's sale, notice of sale, mortgagee's sale of real estate, or notice of foreclosure by advertisement. If your home is being sold after a court judgment, see notice of sheriff's sale instead.
What it does and does not mean
- It does not mean the home is sold yet, or that you must move today. In most states you can stay until after the sale, and often until a court orders you out.
- Sales are often postponed, sometimes at the last minute. Call the trustee to check the status.
- Some states print a line saying it is not a notice to vacate. Virginia's owner-occupied notice must say so.
The deadlines that still matter
- More than 37 days before the sale: if your servicer receives a complete loss mitigation application, it must review you within 30 days and cannot hold the sale during the review, any appeal, and your time to accept. Count from when the servicer receives it.
- Your state's reinstatement deadline: many states let you catch up until a set time before the sale. Oregon allows cure until 5 days before; Washington's notice lists a cure date 11 days before. See reinstatement.
- Before the sale: a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing stops the sale right away, and the home can be saved in Chapter 13 only until the sale is held. See Chapter 13.
- In Arizona, the notice warns that you must get a court order by 5:00 p.m. on the last business day before the sale or you may waive your objections.
Use the deadline calculator and read a sale date is set.
How much notice each state gives
- 120 days or more before the sale: Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington (120 days when the pre-foreclosure letter was required, 90 otherwise).
- About 90 days: Arizona, where the sale cannot be before the 91st day after the notice is recorded, and Alaska, where the notice of default sets the sale at least 90 days out.
- 60 days: Virginia (owner-occupied homes), and Nevada's "YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME" notice.
- 45 days: New Hampshire, where this is usually the only formal notice before the auction.
- 30 days: Georgia (mailed no later than 30 days before) and District of Columbia (Form FM-5).
- About 3 to 4 weeks: Texas (21 days), Massachusetts (published 21 days, mailed 14 days before), Minnesota (served 4 weeks before), South Dakota (served 21 days before), California, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah (20 days).
- Newspaper notice for several weeks: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado (combined notice from the public trustee), Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Wyoming.
- West Virginia: a notice is mailed, but the statute sets no minimum number of days.
What to do today
- Count the days from today to the sale. If it is more than 37 days away, get a complete application to your servicer now, in a way you can prove.
- Ask your servicer in writing for a reinstatement quote and the last day to reinstate.
- Call a free HUD-approved housing counselor at (800) 569-4287 and legal aid. Find help on your state's page and lawyers by city.
- Ask your servicer to postpone the sale while you are reviewed, and offer a way out such as a short sale or deed in lieu if you cannot keep the home.
- If you are in the military, or left service within the past year, and took out the mortgage before your service, tell the servicer and a lawyer. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a sale during that time is not valid without a court order or your written waiver.
Scams tied to a sale notice
Sale notices are published, and scammers read them. Watch for:
- Anyone who asks for a fee before you have signed an agreement with your servicer. A company that is not your lawyer cannot charge for mortgage relief until then.
- Anyone who tells you to stop talking to your servicer, your housing counselor or your lawyer.
- Anyone who wants payment by wire, cashier's check or a payment app, or who asks you to sign over your deed.
- Anyone who says they are with the government or your lender without proof. Call the number on your own statement or letter to check.
- Anyone who offers to "buy" the home and rent it back to you, or to pay off the loan if you sign the deed over first.
See foreclosure rescue scams. Report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or to the CFPB.
How much time do you have? It depends on your state.
See the foreclosure timeline, deadlines and free local help for the state where the home is.
Common questions
Can I still apply for a loan modification after a notice of sale?
Yes. If your servicer receives a complete application more than 37 days before the sale, federal rules require a review and bar the sale while it runs. Closer than that, you can still ask, but the servicer is not required to stop the sale.
How do I check whether the sale was postponed?
Call the trustee named on the notice. California notices include a phone number or website and a file number for this. Some states also post sale notices online.
When do I have to move out?
Usually not on the sale date. The buyer must give notice and, if you stay, go to court. See notice to vacate and your state's after the sale page.
Keep reading
- Late notice and early intervention letterThis letter is a warning, not a foreclosure. Federal rules make your servicer reach out early and tell you about help. In most cases a foreclosure cannot start until you are more than 120 days behind, so this is the best time to act.
- Breach letter (demand or notice of intent to accelerate)A breach letter says you are in default and gives you a date to catch up. If you do not, the lender can call the whole loan due and move toward foreclosure. Many standard mortgages and deeds of trust require at least 30 days to cure.
- Notice of defaultIn many states that foreclose without a court, a recorded notice of default is the official start of the foreclosure. It is not a sale and not an eviction. It starts a waiting period before a sale can be set, and you can usually still catch up or apply for help.
- Notice of intent to forecloseMany states make the lender send a warning letter before it can start a foreclosure. These letters often give you a set number of days, a cure amount and a list of free counselors. The deadline in the letter matters, so act on it now.
- Lis pendens (notice of pendency)A lis pendens is a public notice, filed in the land records, that a lawsuit or foreclosure affecting your home is pending. It does not mean the home is sold or that you must move. It usually means the court papers are coming or have already been served.
- Foreclosure summons and complaintA summons and complaint means the lender has sued to foreclose. You have a short, firm deadline to respond in writing, often 20 to 30 days from the day you were served. Missing it can let the lender win without your side being heard.
Sources
- 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41, loss mitigation procedures (eCFR)
- 11 U.S.C. § 362, automatic stay (govinfo)
- 11 U.S.C. § 1322, contents of a Chapter 13 plan (govinfo)
- U.S. Courts: Chapter 13 bankruptcy basics
- 50 U.S.C. § 3953, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, mortgages (govinfo)
- HUD: Avoiding foreclosure
- CFPB: Find a housing counselor
- FTC: Mortgage relief scams
- 12 C.F.R. § 1015.5, ban on advance fees for mortgage relief (eCFR)