Can the lender come after you for the rest? Deficiency judgments in Wyoming

Deficiency rules in Wyoming, point by point

• How the sale money is paid out

  After the sale

  The person who made the sale pays the reasonable costs of collection and allowed attorney's fees first, then the mortgage being foreclosed, then junior liens, and any surplus goes to you on demand. If the money does not cover your mortgage, the rest is the deficiency.

  Wyo. Stat. § 34-4-113(a)

• You are liable for any deficiency

  After a sale by advertisement

  The statute says the mortgagee must account to you for any surplus and the mortgagor is liable for any deficiency. We did not find an exception for owner-occupied homes.

  Wyo. Stat. § 34-4-113(c)

• Time limits on a lawsuit

  Generally 6 or 10 years

  Wyoming sets a six-year limit for suits on a promissory note, counted from the due date or the date the loan was accelerated, and a ten-year limit for written contracts. Which applies to your case is a question for a lawyer.

  Wyo. Stat. §§ 34.1-3-118(a), 1-3-105(a)(i)

• Short sale or deed in lieu

  Before you sign

  We did not find a Wyoming statute with deficiency rules for a short sale or deed in lieu, so the written agreement controls. Ask the lender to state in writing that it waives any remaining balance.

• Judgments go dormant after 5 years without execution

  5 years

  If no execution is issued within five years of a judgment, or five years pass between executions, the judgment becomes dormant and stops being a lien on your property. Wyoming judgments generally carry interest of 10 percent a year.

  Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-17-307, 1-16-102(a)

• Wage garnishment is capped

  After a judgment

  A writ of garnishment can reach no more than the lesser of 25 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount above a multiple of the federal minimum wage.

  Wyo. Stat. § 1-15-408(b)

The short answer in Wyoming

Common questions in Wyoming