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The Montana foreclosure process, in plain English

Montana gives homeowners two things worth knowing. You get at least 120 days of notice before a trustee's sale, and your right to cure runs all the way up to the sale itself rather than expiring months earlier. Montana also bars the lender from coming after you for a shortfall after a trustee's sale.

Call (844) 655-1903

You can cure right up to the sale

Unlike most states, Montana does not close your cure window months before the auction. If you can get current before the sale time, the foreclosure is cancelled. That changes what is worth attempting.

How Montana forecloses: Non-judicial trustee's sale under the Small Tract Financing Act. Montana's Small Tract Financing Act applies when the property is 40 acres or less and the security instrument is a trust indenture with a named trustee. Larger tracts go through a judicial sheriff's sale instead.

The sequence, step by step

  1. Federal waiting period

    120 days delinquent

    The first foreclosure filing generally cannot come until you are more than 120 days behind.

  2. Notice of Trustee's Sale recorded

    At least 120 days before the sale

    Recorded with the county clerk and recorder. The sale date must be at least 120 days out from the recording.

  3. Certified mail to you

    At least 120 days before the sale

    Sent to the grantor and other interested parties.

  4. Publication and posting

    At least 20 days before the sale

    Published once each week for three successive weeks, and posted in a conspicuous place on the property.

  5. Your right to cure runs to the sale

    Any time before the sale time

    Montana lets you cure right up to the moment fixed for the sale. Pay the amount then due plus costs and fees and the foreclosure is cancelled.

  6. Trustee's sale

    Public auction, 9am to 4pm

    Can be postponed up to 15 days by proclamation, with a 120 day aggregate cap on postponements.

The four questions everyone asks

Can I catch up and stop it?

Yes, and the window is the longest of the five states we serve

Under MCA 71-1-312 the grantor, a successor in interest, or even a junior lienholder may cure at any point prior to the sale by paying the entire amount then due plus costs, trustee fees and attorney fees. The foreclosure is then cancelled and the loan reinstated. This is a full reinstatement right, not just a payoff.

Deadline: Any time before the time fixed for the trustee's sale

Can I get it back after the sale?

None after a trustee's sale

The trustee's deed conveys title free of redemption. A judicial foreclosure, which applies to tracts over 40 acres, carries a one year redemption period instead, and the borrower may stay in possession during it.

Can they come after me for the shortfall?

No, not after a trustee's sale

MCA 71-1-317 prohibits any deficiency action against the grantor, surety, guarantor or successor after a non-judicial sale under the Small Tract Financing Act. If your property goes to a trustee's sale in Montana, the shortfall is not a debt that follows you. Judicial foreclosure is different and does permit a deficiency.

How long does all of this take?

Roughly 7 to 10 months from your first missed payment to a trustee's sale, because the 120 day delinquency period and the 120 day notice period stack.

These are typical ranges, not promises. Bankruptcy filings, a complete loss mitigation application, or a signed purchase contract can all extend them.

Free help in Montana that is not us

These are free and independent. We list them because you should have somewhere to check our answers against.

Where this comes from

So you can check it yourself, or hand it to an attorney.

MCA 71-1-301 through 71-1-321, in particular 71-1-304 (40 acre limit), 71-1-312 (cure), 71-1-313 (120 day notice), 71-1-315 (notice, publication and posting), 71-1-317 (no deficiency) and 71-1-318 (trustee's deed). Federal: 12 CFR 1024.41.

The information on this site is general education about state foreclosure procedure. It is not legal advice, and laws change. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state about your specific situation.

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