- Who sends it
- The trustee named in your deed of trust, who records it and mails a copy by certified mail within 10 days, or hands it to you within 20 days
- What it starts
- At least 90 days to the sale date printed on it; your right to cure runs until that date
- Do this first
- Find the sale date on the notice, ask the trustee in writing for the cure amount, and call Alaska Legal Services Corporation at 1-888-478-2572
What this document is in Alaska
Under Alaska Stat. § 34.20.070(b), the trustee must record a notice of default in the recording district where the home is, not less than 30 days after the default and not less than 90 days before the sale. It must give the trustor's name, where the deed of trust is recorded, a description of the property and its street address, a statement that a breach has occurred and what it is, the sum owing, the trustee's election to sell, the date, time and place of the sale, and a statement of how you can cure.
Within 10 days after recording, the trustee must mail a copy by certified mail to you, to anyone who took over your interest or is living in the home, and to people with later recorded liens (§ 34.20.070(c)). The trustee may instead deliver it in person, and if it delivers to the property or an occupant, it has up to 20 days after recording (§ 34.20.070(g)).
What it does and does not mean
- Unlike most states, the Alaska notice of default already sets the sale date. There is no separate mailed notice of sale. The sale is also posted in public places and published (see below).
- It is not a court case and you will not get a summons. The lender cannot use the trustee sale if it already sued on the note or foreclosed in court (§ 34.20.070(a)).
- If the home is sold by the trustee, the lender cannot sue you later for a deficiency on that loan (§ 34.20.100). See the Alaska deficiency page.
- After a trustee's sale you have no right to buy the home back unless your deed of trust says so (§ 34.20.090(a)).
The deadlines it starts and how to count them
- Sale date: printed on the notice, at least 90 calendar days after the recording date (§ 34.20.070(b)). Count from the recording date shown on the notice, not the day it reached you.
- Cure: if the default is missed payments, you can cure any time before the sale date stated in the notice, or a postponed date, by paying the sum then in default, not the principal that would not yet be due, plus attorney and foreclosure fees and costs actually incurred (§ 34.20.070(b), (e)).
- Repeat cures: if a notice of default was recorded and cured two or more times before under the same deed of trust, the trustee may refuse your payment and continue the sale.
- Advertising: the sale must be noticed the way a sale on execution is, which the state file says means posting in three public places at least 30 days before, four weeks of newspaper notice, and a free website starting at least 45 days before (§§ 34.20.080(a)(2), 09.35.140).
- Postponements: the sale can be postponed by public announcement at the time and place set, but not for more than 12 months from the original date without a new notice of sale (§ 34.20.080(e)).
What to do this week
- Write the sale date and the recording date on your calendar.
- Write to the trustee and ask for the exact cure amount, good through a stated date, and how it must be paid. Keep a copy.
- Send your servicer a complete loss mitigation application and keep proof. A complete application more than 37 days before the sale gets the most federal protection. Alaska has no state foreclosure mediation program that the state file found.
- Call Alaska Legal Services Corporation at 1-888-478-2572 to apply for free legal help.
- If you think the default or the notice is wrong, talk to a lawyer about a court action to stop the sale. Alaska lets the borrower, a guarantor, an heir and some others bring one (§ 34.20.070(l)).
- Read how to stop foreclosure in Alaska and an Alaska sale date is set.
Help and scam warnings
Alaska has no law written just for foreclosure rescue companies, according to the state file. Be careful with anyone who asks for money up front to stop a foreclosure.
- Report suspected scams to the Alaska Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit at 907-269-5200, or toll free outside Anchorage at 1-888-576-2529.
- Never sign over your deed to someone who promises to rent the home back to you.
- The Alaska Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service is at 907-272-0352 or 1-800-770-9999 in Alaska.
- More is on the Alaska foreclosure help page.
The rest of the Alaska process
See how foreclosure works in Alaska, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Alaska, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How much do I have to pay to stop an Alaska foreclosure?
For a payment default, the sum then in default, not counting principal that would not yet be due, plus the attorney and foreclosure fees and costs actually incurred by the lender and trustee (Alaska Stat. § 34.20.070(b)). You can pay any time before the sale date in the notice or a postponed date.
Why does my Alaska notice of default already have a sale date?
Alaska law requires the notice of default to state the date, time and place of the sale, set at least 90 days after recording (Alaska Stat. § 34.20.070(b)). The sale is then advertised by posting and publication, but no separate mailed sale notice is required.
Can the trustee refuse my payment in Alaska?
Only in one case: if a notice of default has been recorded two or more times before under the same deed of trust and you cured each time, the trustee may refuse and continue the sale (Alaska Stat. § 34.20.070(b), (e)).
Where will my Alaska sale be held?
At a public auction at the front door of a superior court courthouse in the judicial district where the home is, unless the deed of trust names another place. The trustee may also take bids by phone, internet or email if the method is fair and accessible (Alaska Stat. § 34.20.080(a)).
Other Alaska letters
- Notice to quit and forcible entry and detainer (FED) summons after a trustee's saleOnce the trustee delivers a deed to the buyer, Alaska law says the buyer is entitled to possession against you. If you stay, the buyer generally must give a written notice to quit and then file a forcible entry and detainer case, called an FED, in court. The summons must be served at least two days before the trial date, so act fast.
- Notice of foreclosure proceeding for delinquent property taxesIn Alaska, your city or borough collects property taxes and forecloses on unpaid taxes once a year through one superior court case. After it publishes the foreclosure list, it must mail you a notice describing the property and the amount due. You can pay the taxes, penalty, interest and costs up to the transfer, and you can object in court within 30 days after the last publication.
- Redemption period expiration notice (property tax foreclosure)After a tax foreclosure judgment, an Alaska city or borough holds your home for at least a year while you can redeem it. Near the end, the clerk publishes a redemption period expiration notice and mails you a copy by certified mail. Your right to redeem ends 30 days after the first publication, and then the home is deeded to the municipality.