In Arizona, the time it takes to foreclose depends on whether your home loan is mortgage-based or a deed-of-trust loan. The former uses a judicial foreclosure sheriff’s sale, while the latter uses a non-judicial foreclosure trustee sale.
The non-judicial foreclosure process in Arizona requires at least 91 days from the recording of the notice of trustee sale before the foreclosure auction. The entire process, including the 120-day pre-foreclosure delinquency period to the final foreclosure sale, might take 211 or more days, or seven to eight months.
Judicial foreclosures in Arizona usually take longer, up to a year.
If you are facing foreclosure, call Stone Rose Law at (480) 739-2448 to set up a free consultation with one of our foreclosure attorneys.
Here, we examine the foreclosure timeline for both non-judicial and judicial Arizona foreclosure laws.
Pre-Foreclosure in Arizona
If you have too many missed payments on your home loan, the lender will begin enforcing its legal rights. Pre-foreclosure typically begins when the borrower falls behind on payments and the lender issues contractual default or breach notices, before recording a Notice of Trustee’s Sale.
The Notice of Default sets forth how much you are in arrears, plus any fees, interest, and other costs required for you to make the note current again.
During this period, you will have the chance to cure the default by paying the amount owed, negotiating with the lender for a loan payment modification, refinancing the loan, or considering alternatives like selling the property (including short sale) or offering a deed in lieu of foreclosure to the lender.
In some cases, you may also want to consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy as a possible way to keep your home. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing can delay foreclosure, but usually will not prevent it from eventually occurring.
The Non-Judicial Foreclosure Timeline
Most Arizona home buyers use a deed of trust instead of a mortgage. The trust deed appoints a trustee to handle the foreclosure process if you do not keep up with your monthly payments.
Deeds of trust are generally subject to non-judicial foreclosure. Non-judicial foreclosure does not require the lender to file a lawsuit against you, but instead allows the lender to sell your home to a new owner.
The non-judicial foreclosure process begins when the lender or trustee records a Notice of Trustee’s Sale with the county recorder. The foreclosure sale cannot occur until at least 91 days after this notice of sale is recorded.
As long as you, as the home buyer, do not contest it, the non-judicial foreclosure process usually takes between 90 and 120 days. But when we add in the pre-foreclosure period, which includes the time before the notice of sale is filed, the total time can be 211 days or more.
The notice of trustee sale must be published in a local newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks. It must also be posted on the property and at a public location, and mailed to you by certified mail within five business days of recording.
During this process, you have the right to reinstate your loan by paying all overdue amounts plus fees and costs by the last business day before the sale.
After the foreclosure sale, the trustee ordinarily will file a trustee’s deed the next day. This makes the change of ownership official. If you are still occupying the home at this point, the lender may initiate eviction proceedings against you. The eviction process includes a five-day notice to vacate, followed by a court hearing within ten days if you still have not left.
Unlike a judicial foreclosure, Arizona does not allow a redemption period after a non-judicial foreclosure. This means that you cannot reclaim the property after the sale by paying the full sale price.
If the loan is a purchase-money obligation secured by a qualifying single-family or two-family dwelling on two and one-half acres or less, Arizona law generally prohibits deficiency judgments after a trustee’s sale.
The table below provides an overview of the steps involved in non-judicial foreclosure and approximately when each step takes place during the process:
|
Event |
Number of Days After Foreclosure Begins |
| Trustee records a formal notice of sale with the county recorder’s office | 1 |
| Trustee’s Sale set for 91 days after the recording date for Notice of Sale | 2 |
| Notice of Sale mailed to all parties identified on the deed of trust | 7 |
| Review of trustee sale guarantee report | 9 |
| Required additional mailings to all parties who are recorded in the property | 30 |
| Notice of sale is posted for four consecutive weeks | 30 |
| If federal tax liens are discovered, additional notice requirements to the IRS may apply under federal law | 60 |
| Internal Revenue Service notices sent for liens that filed 30 days before trustee sale | 75 |
| Trustee sale occurs | 92 |
| Trustee sale is recorded | 93 |
This timeline is based on no delays occurring during the foreclosure process.
A trustee sale may be postponed (“continued”) on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis for as long as necessary, although no single continuance may be for more than 90 days. There is no statutory limit on the number of times a sale can be postponed.
The Judicial Foreclosure Timeline
In contrast to a deed of trust, a home mortgage loan is an agreement you enter into directly with the lender. Under Arizona law, if you are using a mortgage to finance your home purchase, the mortgage lender must use the judicial foreclosure procedure instead of non-judicial foreclosure when you begin to amass missed mortgage payments.
This judicial foreclosure lawsuit timeline follows this general process after pre-foreclosure:
- The mortgage lender files a lawsuit against you.
- Once the lawsuit is filed, the mortgage lender serves you with a copy of the legal complaint.
- After you have been served with the complaint, you will have a period to file an answer. If you do not file an answer, the lender can seek a default judgment against you.
- After you have answered the complaint, pretrial proceedings, such as discovery, will occur, usually in parallel with ongoing settlement negotiations for the lender’s lawsuit.
- If the lawsuit does not settle, it will eventually go to trial. Mortgage lenders almost always win in court in a judicial foreclosure, in which case the court will issue a judgment in the lender’s favor.
- A sheriff’s sale of the property will be scheduled after the judgment order.
Because it is a formal judicial proceeding, a judicial foreclosure in Arizona will take longer than a non-judicial foreclosure. It usually takes nine months to a year to complete, absent any litigation delays, bankruptcy filings, or other contested proceedings.
After a judicial foreclosure sheriff’s sale, you may have protection against a deficiency judgment similar to that after a non-judicial trustee sale. Anti-deficiency protection after a judicial foreclosure applies only to qualifying purchase-money loans secured by eligible residential property.
After a judicial foreclosure, Arizona law generally provides a six-month redemption period, which may be reduced to 30 days if the court determines the property is abandoned.
Are You Facing Foreclosure in Arizona?
Regardless of whether you have a home mortgage or a deed of trust loan, you have a limited amount of time to save your home from foreclosure proceedings in Arizona. Depending on your specific circumstances, this legal process time interval can pass more quickly than you are ready for if you do not have experienced legal counsel to guide you in the pre-foreclosure and foreclosure process.
A Stone Rose Law debt relief attorney can help you understand how the Arizona foreclosure process works and guide you through the foreclosure prevention methods that may best suit you. We are experienced Arizona bankruptcy lawyers, and we also help clients with alternatives to bankruptcy.
If your home lender is threatening foreclosure, a Stone Rose Law bankruptcy attorney can help guide you through your legal options to keep your property, including through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan and alternatives to bankruptcy.
To speak with one of our foreclosure attorneys, call us at (480) 739-2448 to set up a free consultation. You can also use our online contact form.
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