- Who sends it
- Your lender or the foreclosure attorney, by certified mail, return receipt requested
- What it starts
- At least 30 days before the first ad, then at least 21 more days before the auction
- Do this first
- Write down the mailing date and sale date, then call Rhode Island Legal Services at 401-274-2652
What this notice is in Rhode Island
Most Rhode Island foreclosures use the statutory power of sale in the mortgage (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-22). Under § 34-27-4(b), no newspaper notice of sale is valid unless the lender first mailed you written notice of the time and place of sale by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the home's address and, if different, to your address on file with the city or town tax assessor or any address you gave the lender in writing.
For an individual consumer borrower, the letter must be mailed at least 30 days before the first newspaper ad, counting the day of mailing. The lender must put a sworn statement in the foreclosure deed that it did this.
The letter must include, in large type, a notice that a servicemember on active duty or deployment, or who recently ended it, has rights under § 34-27-4(d), and a copy of that subsection (§ 34-27-4(c)).
For how this kind of document works in every state, see the national guide: Notice of trustee's sale.
What it does and does not mean
- It usually comes after the mediation conference has ended with a certificate letting the lender proceed.
- It is not a court case. Rhode Island lenders usually sell without suing, though they may choose to foreclose in court.
- The sale is a public auction at the home, or another place named in the mortgage or the published notice (§ 34-11-22).
- After the sale there is no right to buy the home back. The sale is a permanent bar against you and anyone claiming through you (§ 34-11-22).
- If the home sells for more than the debt, interest, sale costs and taxes or insurance the lender paid, the lender must pay you the surplus with a true and detailed account of the sale (§ 34-11-22).
The deadlines it starts and how to count them
- Certified letter to first ad: at least 30 days, counting the day of mailing (§ 34-27-4(b)).
- First ad to sale: at least 21 days, counting the day of the first ad (§ 34-27-4(a)). The ad runs once a week for 3 weeks in a row in the daily newspaper the law assigns to your city or town (§ 34-11-22).
- Third ad: no fewer than 7 and no more than 14 days before the original sale date, counting the day of the third ad. The sale must be held no more than 14 days after the third ad.
- Postponements: if the sale is put off to a day in the same calendar week, no new ad is needed. Otherwise the ad must keep running each week with a notice of the postponement, and the sale must happen in the same week as the last ad, at least one day after it.
- Servicemembers: if you are on active duty or deployment, or got this notice within 9 months after it ended, written notice from you or your representative to the servicer or foreclosure attorney before the sale bars the sale until that 9-month period ends, unless a court approves it (§ 34-27-4(d)(3)).
What to do this week
- Write down the mailing date on the certified mail receipt and count 30 days, including that day. The first ad should not run before then.
- Watch the newspaper for the 3 ads and check the 21-day and 7 to 14 day rules against the sale date.
- Call the foreclosure attorney named in the letter to confirm the date, and ask the servicer in writing for reinstatement and payoff figures.
- If you have a pending application, refinance or buyer, ask the servicer and its attorney in writing to postpone the sale.
- If a servicemember is on the loan, send the written notice described in the letter right away, before the sale.
- Show all your papers to Rhode Island Legal Services. Read how to stop foreclosure in Rhode Island.
Free help in Rhode Island and scam warnings
Rhode Island Legal Services at 401-274-2652 and RIHousing's HelpCenter at 401-457-1130 are free. If you need a private lawyer, the Rhode Island Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service can refer you. See the Rhode Island foreclosure help page.
- Sale ads are public, and scammers read them. A Rhode Island foreclosure consultant cannot take any payment until every promised service is fully done, and you can cancel its contract until midnight of the third business day after signing (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 5-79-3, 5-79-4).
- Never sign over your deed or pay someone to "stop the auction."
- If you rent out part of the building, your tenants must get their own notice of the sale, which says it is not an eviction notice (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-7).
The rest of the Rhode Island process
See how foreclosure works in Rhode Island, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Rhode Island, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How much notice does a Rhode Island homeowner get before a foreclosure sale?
The certified letter must be mailed at least 30 days before the first newspaper ad, counting the day of mailing, and the first ad must run at least 21 days before the sale (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-4). So the letter comes at least about 7 weeks before the sale.
What if the certified letter was sent to the wrong address?
The law requires mailing to the home and, if different, to your address on file with the tax assessor or any address you gave the lender in writing (§ 34-27-4(b)). Without proper mailing, the newspaper notice is not valid. Show the papers to Rhode Island Legal Services.
Can I buy my Rhode Island home back after the sale?
No. Under the statutory power of sale, the sale is a permanent bar against the borrower and anyone claiming through the borrower (§ 34-11-22). Act before the auction.
Other Rhode Island letters
- Notice of Mediation ConferenceBefore a Rhode Island lender can start a foreclosure sale on the home you live in, it must mail you a notice that it may not foreclose without first taking part in a mediation conference. A coordinator from a HUD-approved counseling agency then sets a free conference, which must happen within 60 days after the notice is mailed. If you do not respond, the lender can go ahead.
- Mediation Certificate (certificate to proceed, good faith certificate, or Certificate of Eligible Workout Agreement)When Rhode Island foreclosure mediation ends, the coordinator issues a certificate. If there was no deal, or you did not respond, the certificate lets the lender go ahead with the sale and must be recorded with the foreclosure deed. If you reached a workout that helps you, the coordinator issues a Certificate of Eligible Workout Agreement instead.
- Notice of Termination of Tenancy (notice to leave after a foreclosure sale)After a Rhode Island foreclosure sale, a foreclosing owner that wants to remove a former owner must follow the rules for ending a month-to-month tenancy. That means a written notice delivered at least 30 days before the date in it. If you have not left by then, the owner must file an eviction case and win before you can be removed.