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Washington · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Washington

In Washington you can stop or delay a trustee sale in several ways, and each has its own cutoff. The state's strongest tools come early: answering the pre-foreclosure letter within 30 days and getting referred to mediation at least 90 days before the sale. Catching up is possible until 11 days before the sale. None of these is guaranteed to work in your case.

Ask for help in Washington Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Washington law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Washington

  • Answer the pre-foreclosure letter and ask for a meeting

    Within 30 days of the letter

    Responding gives you a total of 90 days from first contact and a meeting where the lender must assess your ability to modify or restructure the loan. The meeting can be by phone, or in person in your county if you ask in writing within 30 days. A housing counselor or attorney can meet for you.

    RCW 61.24.031(1), (3)

  • Get referred to foreclosure mediation

    After the notice of default and no later than 90 days before the sale date

    Only a housing counselor or attorney can refer you, so call the hotline at 1-877-894-4663. The lender must mediate in good faith and send a representative with authority to settle. The mediator's fee is capped at $400 for a one to three hour session unless the department allows more, and you and the lender split it.

    RCW 61.24.163(2), (10), (20)

  • Reinstate the loan

    Before the 11th day before the sale

    Pay the trustee the amount then past due, not the whole loan, plus the trustee's actual expenses and reasonable fees. If the sale is continued, the cutoff moves to the 11th day before the actual sale. You can ask a court to decide if the fees are reasonable, but that does not stop the sale.

    RCW 61.24.090

  • Pay off the whole loan

    From the 11th day before the sale until the sale

    After the reinstatement cutoff, you can still stop the sale by paying the full principal, interest, costs and advances and curing any other default. Ask the trustee in writing for the payoff amount; the Notice of Foreclosure says it will answer within 10 days.

    RCW 61.24.040(2), (4)

  • Ask a court to restrain the sale

    Before the sale, with at least 5 days' notice to the trustee

    You must serve the trustee 5 days ahead with copies of your court papers, and the court will require you to pay your monthly payment to the court clerk every 30 days. A mediator's finding that the lender did not act in good faith is a defense to the foreclosure. This takes a lawyer, so contact legal aid quickly.

    RCW 61.24.130; RCW 61.24.163(17)

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sale is held

    A bankruptcy filing stops the sale. After the stay ends, the trustee can set a new sale date at least 45 days later and must send and publish new notices. Bankruptcy has serious costs and effects, so talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid first.

    RCW 61.24.130(4)

What Washington law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Right to reinstate

You have a right to cure the default and stop the trustee's sale at any time before the 11th day before the sale date, including a postponed sale date. You pay the amounts then past due and the allowed costs and fees, not the whole loan.

RCW 61.24.090

Foreclosure mediation

Program available

Washington's Foreclosure Fairness Program offers mediation with a neutral mediator. You cannot refer yourself. A housing counselor or attorney must make the referral to the Department of Commerce after you get a notice of default and no later than 90 days before the sale date in the notice of trustee's sale. Counseling is free. The mediator's fee, capped at $400 for a session of one to three hours unless changed, is split equally between you and the lender. Some loans and lenders are not covered: commercial loans, seller-financed sales, loans where the grantor is not the borrower or a guarantor, and homes owned by a company are excluded. A federally insured bank or credit union is also exempt for a year if it certifies it was the lender in no more than 250 Washington trustee sales of homes with up to four units the year before. Call 1-877-894-4663 to reach a free housing counselor.

Meet-and-confer letter before any notice of default

The lender must send a letter and try to reach you by phone before it can issue a notice of default. If you respond within 30 days, you get a total of 90 days from first contact and a right to ask for a meeting with the lender.

RCW 61.24.031

State mediation program

After a notice of default, a housing counselor or attorney can refer you to mediation, where both sides must take part in good faith.

RCW 61.24.163

No deficiency after a trustee's sale

For a home loan, the lender cannot sue you for the shortfall after a nonjudicial trustee's sale.

RCW 61.24.100(1)

Minimum 190 days from default to sale

A trustee's sale cannot be held less than 190 days after the default.

RCW 61.24.040

Right to cure until 11 days before the sale

You can reinstate the loan and stop the sale by paying the arrears and costs before the 11th day before the sale.

RCW 61.24.090

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Washington

Can I sign myself up for Washington foreclosure mediation?

No. The Department of Commerce says homeowners cannot self-refer. A housing counselor or attorney must send the referral after you get a notice of default and no later than 90 days before the sale date (RCW 61.24.163). Call the free hotline at 1-877-894-4663 to reach a counselor who can do this.

Which Washington lenders do not have to mediate?

A federally insured bank or credit union that certifies each year that it was the beneficiary in no more than 250 Washington trustee sales of homes of up to four units the year before (RCW 61.24.166). Mediation also does not apply to commercial loans, seller-financed sales, or homes owned by a company (RCW 61.24.165). Commerce posts a list of exempt institutions.

If I do not sue before my Washington sale, do I lose my claims?

Not all of them. For an owner-occupied home, claims for fraud, violations of Title 19 RCW such as the Consumer Protection Act, or the trustee's failure to follow the Deed of Trust Act are not waived (RCW 61.24.127). You must bring them within two years of the sale, and you can only get money, not the house back.

Is it illegal for a Washington lender to skip the pre-foreclosure contact?

Yes. Failing to contact you and use due diligence under RCW 61.24.031, or breaking the duty to mediate in good faith, is an unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act (RCW 61.24.135(2)). Talk to legal aid or a lawyer about what that means for your case.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Washington

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. Chapter 61.24 RCW: Deeds of Trust (full text)
  2. Chapter 59.12 RCW: Unlawful Detainer (full text)
  3. Chapter 61.34 RCW: Distressed Property Conveyances (full text)
  4. Washington Department of Financial Institutions: Foreclosure Assistance
  5. Washington Attorney General: Foreclosure and Mortgage Assistance
  6. Washington Homeownership Resource Center
  7. Chapter 61.24 RCW: Deeds of Trust
  8. RCW 61.24.031 (notice of default; beneficiary's duties; borrower's options)
  9. RCW 61.24.040 (foreclosure and sale; notice of sale)
  10. RCW 61.24.090 (curing defaults before sale)
  11. RCW 61.24.100 (deficiency judgments)
  12. RCW 61.24.163 (foreclosure mediation program)
  13. RCW 61.24.080 (disposition of proceeds of sale; surplus funds)
  14. RCW 6.23.020 (time for redemption from purchaser)
  15. Chapter 61.34 RCW: Distressed Property Conveyances
  16. Washington Department of Commerce: Foreclosure Fairness Program
  17. Washington Homeowner Assistance Fund
  18. RCW 61.24.165 (application of RCW 61.24.163)
  19. RCW 61.24.166 (federally insured depository institutions; exemption)