The short answer is yes — you can sell your house at any point before the trustee’s sale, and for most Spokane homeowners in this situation, selling is the smartest financial move available. A sale lets you pay off the lender, protect whatever equity you have, and walk away with cash instead of letting the property go to auction. The trick is timing and choosing the right path based on how much time you actually have left. Here’s how it works in Washington State.
The Window You’re Working With
Washington foreclosure under RCW 61.24 follows a specific timeline. From first missed payment to trustee’s sale typically takes 7 to 10 months. Within that window, you can sell the property at any point up until the day of the sale. The key milestones are:
- Before the Notice of Default: Easiest scenario. You have lots of time, no public records of distress, and full flexibility on how to sell.
- After the Notice of Default but before the Notice of Trustee’s Sale: Still plenty of time (typically 90+ days before sale is scheduled). Mediation may still be an option.
- After the Notice of Trustee’s Sale is recorded: You have at least 90 days, but the foreclosure is now public record. Listing the property may be slower because the title shows the pending sale.
- Within 11 days of the sale: Reinstatement window has closed. The only way to stop the sale is to pay off the loan in full (typically through a sale) or use bankruptcy.
- Day of the sale: The sale generally happens in the morning. Once it occurs, your right to sell is gone.
The Two Basic Paths
You have two practical ways to sell a Spokane property under foreclosure pressure.
Path 1: Traditional Listing
If you have at least 90 days before the trustee’s sale and the property is in saleable condition, listing with an agent can sometimes net you more money. The challenges:
- Spokane traditional listings average 25-45 days on market, plus another 30-45 days to close. That’s 60-90 days minimum.
- Once a Notice of Trustee’s Sale is recorded, the foreclosure is public. Some buyers will lowball aggressively knowing you’re under pressure.
- Financed buyers can fall through. A failed financing contingency at day 50 leaves you with no time to find a new buyer.
- You’ll pay 5-6% in commissions, 1.78% in excise tax, plus potential repair credits.
Traditional listings work best when you have a clean, move-in-ready property and the sale is set far enough out that even a slow buyer can close in time.
Path 2: Cash Sale
If your timeline is tight (under 60 days), the property needs work, or you simply want certainty, a direct cash sale is typically the better option. The trade-off is accepting a lower price in exchange for speed and reliability. The upside:
- Typical close time: 7 to 21 days
- No agent commissions
- No buyer financing risk
- No repair requirements
- Closing can sometimes be coordinated to fund before the trustee’s sale date
For homeowners with less than 30 days, a cash sale is often the only realistic way to close before the auction. Our page on cash home buyers in Spokane covers what to expect from a legitimate cash buyer.
How the Mortgage Gets Paid Off
People sometimes worry that selling won’t actually stop the foreclosure. It will — here’s how. At closing, the title company:
- Receives the buyer’s funds (the purchase price)
- Requests an updated payoff statement from your lender
- Sends the full payoff amount directly to the lender
- Pays excise tax, recording fees, and any other closing costs
- Disburses any remaining proceeds to you as the seller
Once the lender receives the payoff, they cancel the Notice of Trustee’s Sale and release the deed of trust. Foreclosure stops. The new owner takes title clear.
The whole process is routine for any Washington title company. There’s nothing unusual about closing a sale while a foreclosure is pending — title companies do it constantly.
What If There’s Not Enough Equity?
If your sale price won’t cover the full mortgage payoff (plus fees and excise tax), you’re in a short sale situation. This is when the lender has to agree to accept less than the full balance. Short sales are common but they:
- Require lender approval (usually 30-90 days for a decision)
- Can include 1099-C forms for forgiven debt (potential tax implications)
- Have a smaller credit impact than foreclosure but still hurt your score
- Sometimes include “cash for keys” payments from the lender
If you suspect you’re underwater, get a free property valuation early. Comparing what you owe to current market value tells you whether a normal sale or a short sale is on the table. Spokane home values have risen significantly over the past several years, so many homeowners have more equity than they realize even if they’ve fallen behind on payments.
Timing the Close to Stop the Sale
This is the most important coordination piece. If your trustee’s sale is scheduled for, say, March 15, and you have a cash buyer ready to close, here’s how the timing typically works:
- Sign offer: Day 1
- Title work begins: Days 2-7
- Payoff statement requested from lender: Days 7-10
- Closing documents prepared: Days 10-12
- Signing: Day 12-14
- Wire to lender: Day 14-15
- Notice of Trustee’s Sale cancelled: Day 16-20
Most cash buyers can comfortably close inside 14 days for a clean Spokane property. For tight timelines, the buyer and title company coordinate to expedite. We’ve closed sales as late as 5 days before the trustee’s sale, but the safer rule is to have the sale funded at least 11 days before the auction date.
What You Keep After Paying Off the Mortgage
Your “net” from a sale equals: sale price minus mortgage payoff minus closing costs. For a typical Spokane home worth $375,000 with a $250,000 mortgage balance:
- Sale price (cash buyer): ~$300,000
- Mortgage payoff: $250,000
- Excise tax (1.78%): ~$5,340
- Past-due payments and fees rolled into payoff: variable, typically $5,000-$15,000
- Other closing costs (often covered by cash buyer)
- Estimated net to seller: $30,000-$40,000
That same property at a trustee’s sale would typically generate zero proceeds to the homeowner — the lender takes the property, and any surplus rarely exists because the lender’s opening bid usually consumes the equity. The math is usually crystal clear in favor of selling, even at a discount.
Other Considerations
A few things to keep in mind:
- You can sell during foreclosure mediation. If you requested mediation, you can still pursue a sale in parallel. Lenders often welcome it.
- Your credit will recover faster. A sale that pays off the loan in full has zero direct credit impact from the foreclosure itself. Late payments still hurt, but the foreclosure mark is avoided.
- You avoid the deficiency risk. Although most Washington non-judicial foreclosures don’t generate deficiencies, selling avoids the issue entirely.
- You control the timeline and money. At a sale, the lender controls everything. In a sale, you do.
The Practical Move
If you’re behind on payments and the foreclosure clock is running, the right move is usually:
- Calculate your rough equity (current market value minus what you owe).
- Look at your timeline (when is the sale scheduled?).
- Decide whether a traditional listing or cash sale fits the timeline.
- Get a real cash offer as a benchmark — even if you list traditionally, knowing the floor helps you negotiate.
- Coordinate the sale to fund before the auction.
Our page on stopping foreclosure in Spokane walks through the broader strategy if you’re weighing other options like loan modification or mediation.
If you want to know exactly what a cash sale on your Spokane property would look like and how it would line up with your foreclosure timeline, call us at (509) 720-8429 or fill out the short form on this page. We’ll give you a no-obligation cash offer within 24 hours and walk through the timing so you can make a decision based on real numbers, not estimates.