Utah Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure Laws in Utah

Utah allows both judicial foreclosure and non judicial foreclosures, although non judicial foreclosures are far more prevalent. The non judicial foreclosure process in Utah takes about 5 months to complete.

A judicial foreclosure is generally only necessary when a mortgage does not contain a Power of Sale clause enabling the lender to pursue a foreclosure themselves. In this case, the lender must file a Lis Pendens, or pending suit, against the homeowner for the default amount owed in court. The borrower then is allowed a set time in which to pay back the default, and if this does not occur, the court will order a foreclosure sale of the property to collect the outstanding debt.

For non judicial foreclosures, the lender simply files a Notice of Default with the county registrar and mails a copy to the homeowner. After the Notice is filed, the homeowner has three months to pat the default and avoid foreclosures before a sale will occur. This allows ample time for the homeowner to seek foreclosures help and pay off their debt.

As long as 3 months have passed since the issue of the Notice of Default, the lender must post a Notice of Sale on the property at least 20 days before any sale can occur. The Notice of Sale must be additionally published in a local newspaper for 3 consecutive weeks leading up to the date of the sale.

Utah foreclosure homes are sold at the county courthouse between 8 am and 5 pm in the style of a public auction, where anyone may bid. Once a winning bidder is established, they must present the full amount of their bid to the trustee running the sale. Any additional proceeds garnered by the sale will be awarded first to any junior lien holders, and then to the original homeowner.

There is no legal period of redemption allowed to the original homeowner once a sale is complete.