Washington DC Foreclosure Laws

Both Title Deeds and Mortgages are used in Washington DC, so both judicial and non-judicial foreclosures may be used, it is only in very rare instances that the judicial foreclosure process is used however. This state is primarily a title theory state and therefore the non-judicial foreclosure takes place in most instances.

The title deed as a rule contains a “Power of Sale” clause, and this creates a pre-condition whereby the borrower agrees that if they default on a home loan, the trustee takes over and sells the property in the non-judicial foreclosure process. The property is sold on auction to the highest bidder after a stringent notice process has been followed. If the trustee does not follow the strict notice requirements the borrower may have recourse to sue.

Washington DC is in the District of Columbia and there are some specific instances in which a judicial foreclosure takes place, however this is out of the ordinary. Normally the trustee commences with a non-judicial foreclosure by filing a “Notice of Sale” at the Mayoral Office of the county with the Recorder of Deeds. The home owner and any junior lien holders have to be notified of this action.

Up until 5 days before the scheduled sale of the property, the home owner has the right to stop the foreclosure by paying in full the debt owed to the lender, this includes interest and costs. In the District of Columbia this process is very streamlined and takes as little as 50 days unless it is contested. There are no statutory rights of redemption for non-judicial foreclosures, and they vary for judicial action. Deficiency judgments are allowed for both the judicial and non-judicial process in the case that the property is sold for less than the amount owed to the lender.

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