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Foreclosure sale date set in Hawaii: what you can still do

Once a Hawaii foreclosure auction is scheduled, your options depend on who is running it. A court-appointed commissioner runs a court sale and the judge still has to confirm it afterward. The lender runs a power of sale auction, and there the law gives you a firm cure deadline of three business days before the sale. Find out which kind you have from the notice, then work the list below.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Hawaii law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

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Options still open before a sale in Hawaii

  • Cure the default (power of sale)

    No later than 3 business days before the sale

    Pay the amount that would be owed if the loan had not been accelerated, plus the lender's attorney fees and costs. If you cure, the sale must be canceled. Contact the lender's Hawaii attorney named in the notice for the exact figure and payment instructions, and get a receipt.

    HRS §§ 667-27(b), 667-28(d)

  • Ask the lender to reinstate or hold the sale (court foreclosure)

    Before the auction, and at the latest before the confirmation hearing

    No statute sets a cutoff in a court foreclosure, so ask the servicer and the lender's attorney in writing for a reinstatement figure or a decision on your pending application. The commissioner has the power to postpone or cancel the sale. If the auction happens anyway, the judge must still approve it at a hearing where you can be heard.

    HRS §§ 667-20.1, 667-41

  • Raise a pending loan modification (power of sale)

    Before the sale is completed

    A lender may not complete a nonjudicial foreclosure during bona fide loan modification negotiations or while you are being evaluated for a federal modification program. Put the facts in writing to the lender's attorney and your servicer, and talk to Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.

    HRS § 667-56

  • Use dispute resolution or conversion if the 30 days are still open

    30 days after the state's mailing (dispute resolution) or after service of the notice of default (conversion)

    Either one stays a power of sale foreclosure. By the time a sale is advertised these deadlines have usually passed, but check your dates, especially if you were served late.

    HRS §§ 667-53, 667-78, 667-83

  • File bankruptcy

    Before the auction

    A bankruptcy filing brings a federal stay that covers foreclosure sales. Use a licensed attorney and make sure the commissioner or the lender's attorney is told before the sale time.

  • Confirm whether the sale is still on

    The week of the sale and again that morning

    For a court sale, call the commissioner named in the notice. For a power of sale, call the person conducting the sale, whose Hawaii phone number must be in the notice. Notices published electronically appear under Notices of Public Sale on the state's Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution portal. A postponement is announced at the time and place of the scheduled sale, and a new notice must be published and posted on the property at least 14 days before the new date.

    HRS §§ 667-20.1, 667-27, 667-28

Call today, not tomorrow

With a sale on the calendar, every option above has a cutoff. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can call your servicer with you today: (800) 569-4287. For legal aid and court help, see free foreclosure help in Hawaii.

Common questions in Hawaii

Where are foreclosure auctions held in Hawaii?

Power of sale auctions must be held on state grounds in the county where the home is: the state capitol for Honolulu, and state facilities in Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and the county seats of Maui and Kauai, during business hours on a business day under HRS § 667-25. They cannot be held at Judiciary facilities. For a court-ordered sale, the place is the one stated in the commissioner's notice.

How will I know if my Hawaii foreclosure sale is postponed?

The postponement is announced at the date, time and place of the scheduled sale and notice is given to you. A new public notice, marked as a notice of a postponed sale, must be published, and the new sale cannot be sooner than 14 days after that. At least 14 days before the new date a copy must be posted on the property and mailed or delivered to you, under HRS §§ 667-20.1 and 667-28.

What is the last day to stop a power of sale foreclosure in Hawaii by paying?

Three business days before the public sale. HRS § 667-28(d) says the default may be cured by then by paying the amount owed without acceleration plus the lender's fees and costs, and that there is no right to cure or redeem after that time.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Hawaii

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

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Sources for this page

  1. HRS § 667-20.1 (postponement or cancellation of sale by court-appointed commissioner)
  2. HRS § 667-28 (postponement, cancellation of power of sale; cure three business days before sale)
  3. HRS § 667-32 (affidavit after public sale)
  4. HRS § 667-51 (appeals in foreclosure cases)
  5. HRS § 667-74 (dispute resolution required before foreclosure at owner-occupant's election)
  6. HRS § 667-75 (notice of dispute resolution availability)
  7. HRS § 667-79 (notification of opening a dispute resolution case; session 40 to 70 days out)
  8. HRS § 667-80 (dispute resolution parties, requirements, process)
  9. HRS § 667-81 (outcome of dispute resolution; neutral's closing report)
  10. DCCA Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution online filing portal (Notices of Public Sale)
  11. HRS Chapter 667, Foreclosures (current table of contents)
  12. HRS § 667-1 (definitions, including owner-occupant)
  13. HRS § 667-1.5 (foreclosure by action)
  14. HRS § 667-3 (proceeds, how applied)
  15. HRS § 667-10 (surplus after sale)
  16. HRS § 667-17 (attorney affirmation in judicial foreclosure)
  17. HRS § 667-20 (publication of notice of public sale in a foreclosure by action)
  18. HRS § 667-22 (notice of default and intention to foreclose)
  19. HRS § 667-24 (cure of default)
  20. HRS § 667-25 (date and place of public sale)
  21. HRS § 667-27 (public notice of public sale, cure up to three business days before sale)
  22. HRS § 667-29.5 (eligible bidder, subsequent bid; added 2025)
  23. HRS § 667-31 (distribution of sale proceeds in power of sale foreclosure)
  24. HRS § 667-33 (recordation of affidavit and conveyance; possession)
  25. HRS § 667-38 (deficiency judgment against owner-occupant prohibited)
  26. HRS § 667-41 (public information notice describing both foreclosure types)
  27. HRS § 667-53 (conversion to judicial foreclosure)
  28. HRS § 667-55 (required statement on conversion and deficiency)
  29. HRS § 667-56 (prohibited conduct)
  30. HRS § 667-59 (lender bound by agents' communications)
  31. HRS § 667-71 (dispute resolution: applicability)
  32. HRS § 667-78 (owner-occupant's election of dispute resolution; $300 fee; 30 days)
  33. HRS § 667-83 (stay of nonjudicial foreclosure during dispute resolution)
  34. HRS Chapter 480E, Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act (table of contents)
  35. HRS § 480E-10 (prohibitions for distressed property consultants)
  36. Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 (S.B. 332), effective July 1, 2025
  37. Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 12(a), 20 days to answer)
  38. Hawaii State Judiciary: Mortgage Foreclosure (conversion, Third Circuit mediation pilot, legal help contacts)
  39. Hawaii State Judiciary: Judicial Foreclosure Cases and Conversion Petitions Filed (monthly counts through September 2026)
  40. H.B. 1417 (2013), legislative findings on lenders' move to judicial foreclosure
  41. DCCA: Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution (MFDR) Program and FAQs
  42. DCCA: Hawaii Foreclosure Information Center
  43. DCCA: Foreclosure Scams
  44. HHFDC: Homeowner Assistance Fund (all programs closed to new applications)
  45. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  46. Governor of Hawaii: Thirty-Second Proclamation Relating to Wildfires (August 2026, through October 23, 2026)
  47. County of Maui Resolution 23-244 (December 2023) urging a foreclosure moratorium, noting HRS Chapter 667 had not been suspended
  48. DCCA Division of Financial Institutions: Consumer Complaint FAQs
  49. Hawaii State Bar Association: Lawyer Referral and Information Service
  50. Legal Aid Society of Hawaii: Get Help