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What happens after a foreclosure sale in West Virginia

After a West Virginia trustee's sale, the home belongs to the buyer and state law does not give you a right to buy it back. You cannot be removed on the day of the sale, but the buyer can go to court quickly. You may also owe a shortfall, or be owed a surplus. Here is what happens, in order.

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

What happens after the sale in West Virginia, in order

  1. No right to buy the home back

    From the moment of the sale

    West Virginia's trustee sale statutes do not provide a redemption period. Any chance to keep the home has to come before the auction.

  2. Trustee pays out the sale money

    After the sale closes

    The trustee pays the costs of the sale and its commission, then the debts the deed of trust secures. Any surplus must be paid to you or your heirs, personal representatives or assigns.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(a)

  3. Report of sale with the county clerk

    Within 2 months after the sale

    The trustee files an inventory and account of the sale with the county clerk where the deed of trust was first recorded. For a home you lived in, the report includes a disclosure form with the net amount applied to the loan and the trustee's contact information. You can ask the clerk for a copy.

    W. Va. Code §§ 38-1-8, 38-1-8a

  4. Unlawful detainer case

    Summons served at least 10 days before the court date

    If you stay, the buyer can file to recover possession in circuit court. You can answer and go to trial, and a jury can be asked to decide. These cases go ahead of other civil cases, so call legal aid the day you are served.

    W. Va. Code §§ 55-3-1, 55-3-3

  5. Tenants in a foreclosed home

    90 days' notice, or 30 days for month-to-month

    If you rent the home, the buyer can end an unexpired written lease with 90 days' written notice, or 30 days before the lease ends if that is sooner. A month-to-month tenancy can be ended with 30 days' written notice. The notice must name the buyer and give the sale date.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-16

  6. Deficiency

    After the sale

    The lender can sue you if the sale brings less than you owe. You cannot defend by saying the home sold for less than fair market value, as long as the sale followed the trustee sale law.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b)

  7. Challenging the sale

    Within 1 year of the sale

    If you were sent the required notice, a suit to set aside the sale for a notice or procedure failure must be filed within 1 year. Contact Legal Aid of West Virginia or Mountain State Justice right away if you think the sale was done wrong.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a

The three questions that matter after a sale

Can I get the home back in West Virginia?

No redemption after sale

West Virginia's trustee sale statutes do not provide a right to buy the home back after the sale. Act before the sale date.

Can the lender come after me for the rest?

Deficiency judgments allowed

The lender can sue you for the shortfall if the sale brings less than you owe. In that lawsuit you cannot defend by arguing that the home sold for less than its fair market value, as long as the sale followed the trustee sale law.

W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b)

What if the home sold for more than I owed?

The trustee must apply the sale money first to the costs of the sale, including the trustee's commission, then to the debts the deed of trust secures. Any surplus must be paid to you as the grantor, or to your heirs or assigns. If the home sold for more than you owed, write to the trustee named in the notice of sale and ask for an accounting. The trustee must file an inventory and account of the sale with the county clerk where the deed of trust was first recorded within 2 months of the sale, so you can also ask the clerk for it.

W. Va. Code §§ 38-1-7(a), 38-1-8

Common questions in West Virginia

How much commission can a West Virginia trustee take from the sale?

The statute sets the trustee's commission at 5 percent of the first $300 and 2 percent of the rest of the sale proceeds, paid along with the other costs of the sale before the debt (W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(a)). Compare the trustee's report of sale against that rule when you check for a surplus.

How do I find out if there was surplus money from my West Virginia foreclosure?

Within 2 months of the sale, the trustee must file an account of the sale with the county clerk where the deed of trust was first recorded (W. Va. Code § 38-1-8). Ask the clerk for it, and write to the trustee. Any surplus belongs to you as the grantor, or to your heirs or assigns (W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(a)).

Can I argue in a West Virginia deficiency lawsuit that my house sold too cheap?

Not on that ground alone. W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b) says a borrower, co-signer or guarantor cannot defend a deficiency suit by arguing the sale did not bring fair market value, if the sale followed the trustee sale law. Other defenses may exist, so get legal advice.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in West Virginia

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. W. Va. Code § 38-1-5 (terms of sale)
  2. W. Va. Code § 38-1-13 (substitution of trustees)
  3. West Virginia Housing Development Fund: Help for Homeowners
  4. Mountain State Justice
  5. W. Va. Code § 38-1-3 (sales under trust deeds)
  6. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4 (notice of sale)
  7. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a (statute of limitations for sales by trustees)
  8. W. Va. Code § 38-1-7 (application of proceeds; action to recover a deficiency)
  9. W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106 (notice of consumer's right to cure default)
  10. W. Va. Code § 59-3-2 (legal advertisements; frequency of publication)
  11. WVHDF news release: WV Homeowners Rescue Program closed to new applications
  12. Legal Aid of West Virginia: Foreclosure podcast
  13. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8 (return of account of sale)
  14. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8a (trustee's report of sale disclosure form)
  15. W. Va. Code § 38-1-16 (sale under deed of trust; preexisting tenancy)
  16. W. Va. Code § 46A-1-102 (definitions; consumer loan)
  17. W. Va. Code § 55-3-1 (unlawful entry and detainer)
  18. W. Va. Code § 55-3-3 (return day and service of summons)