Right to foreclosure mediation
RCW 61.24.163
In plain words
Under the Foreclosure Fairness Act, a housing counselor or attorney can refer you to mediation with your lender. The referral can be made any time after a notice of default, but no later than 90 days before the sale date in the notice of trustee sale. The lender must mediate in good faith.
Who is protected
Borrowers facing nonjudicial foreclosure of owner-occupied residential property in Washington.
When it applies
- Only in Washington.
- Only after a notice of default or once a sale date is set.
- Only if the home is your primary residence.
What you can do
Get referred by a housing counselor or attorney
Contact a HUD-approved counselor quickly; they submit the referral.
Deadline: No later than 90 days before the sale date in the notice
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Honest limits
- Mediation does not guarantee a modification; missing the 90-day cutoff can end the option.
- This is general education, not legal advice. Laws change and details matter — check the current official text or talk to a legal aid lawyer or HUD-approved housing counselor.
The law
- State lawForeclosure mediation program
RCW 61.24.163
What it says: A referral to mediation may be made after the notice of default and no later than 90 days before the sale.
Read the official texthttps://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=61.24.163
Court cases
- Homeowner lostSame topicMartins v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P.
Martins v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P., 722 F.3d 249 (5th Cir. 2013)
a mortgage servicer acting for a properly assigned mortgagee may foreclose in Texas without possessing the original note, and an oral promise to modify a large loan is not enforceable
- Partial winSame topicBain v. Metropolitan Mortgage Group, Inc.
Bain v. Metro. Mortg. Grp., Inc., 175 Wash. 2d 83 (2012)
MERS is not a lawful beneficiary under Washington's Deed of Trust Act if it never held the promissory note
- Homeowner lostSame topicLage v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC
Lage v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, 839 F.3d 1003 (11th Cir. 2016)
a servicer's duty to evaluate a loss-mitigation application depends on its being submitted more than 37 days before the sale date scheduled at that time
- Homeowner lostSame topicGresham v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Gresham v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 642 F. App'x 355 (5th Cir. 2016) (per curiam) (unpublished)
the federal dual-tracking bar applies only when the servicer receives a complete loss-mitigation application more than 37 days before the foreclosure sale
- Homeowner lostSame topicBoren v. U.S. National Bank Ass'n
Boren v. U.S. Nat'l Bank Ass'n, 807 F.3d 99 (5th Cir. 2015)
a lender may abandon a prior acceleration by giving notice that it seeks less than the full accelerated balance, which restarts the four-year limitations period
- Homeowner lostSame topicWhittier v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C.
Whittier v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C., 594 F. App'x 833 (5th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (unpublished)
a RESPA claim against a servicer fails without evidence of actual damages caused by the violation
Related rights
Right to be contacted first and to 120 days’ notice of sale
RCW 61.24.031
Before a notice of default on an owner-occupied home, the lender must contact you (or try diligently) about options. If you respond within 30 days, you get 60 more days to meet before a notice of default. When that pre-default letter was required, the notice of trustee sale must be recorded and sent at least 120 days before the sale.
Read this rightRight to ask a court to restrain the trustee sale
RCW 61.24.130(1)
Even though Washington foreclosures usually happen without a court, you can sue to restrain (stop) a trustee sale on any proper legal or equitable ground. The court will usually require you to pay into court the regular monthly payments while the case is pending.
Read this rightFHA loans: a meeting before foreclosure
24 C.F.R. § 203.604(a)(1)
If you have an FHA-insured mortgage, your lender must meet with you — or make a reasonable effort to arrange a meeting — before three full monthly payments are unpaid and at least 30 days before starting foreclosure. A reasonable effort means at least two verifiable attempts to contact you. HUD now decides how the meeting may be held.
Read this rightFHA loans: the lender must look at ways to avoid foreclosure
24 C.F.R. § 203.605(a)
If you have an FHA-insured mortgage, your lender must review loss-mitigation options every month before four full payments are unpaid, and take the appropriate action. FHA options can include special forbearance, loan modification, a partial claim (an interest-free second loan from HUD to cover arrears), a pre-foreclosure sale, or a deed in lieu.
Read this rightNo foreclosure filing until you are more than 120 days behind
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)(1)
Your servicer cannot make the first notice or filing to start a foreclosure until your loan is more than 120 days delinquent. This gives you time to apply for help. There are narrow exceptions, such as a due-on-sale violation.
Read this rightNo foreclosure while your complete application is being reviewed ("dual tracking")
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)(2)
If you send a complete application for help before the foreclosure is started, the servicer cannot start the foreclosure until it has decided and any appeal is over. If you send it after the foreclosure started but more than 37 days before the sale, the servicer cannot ask for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or hold the sale, until it has finished the review — unless you are denied and the appeal is over, you reject the offers, or you do not follow an agreement.
Read this right