The Utah foreclosure process, in plain English
In Utah the clock that matters most starts when a Notice of Default is recorded with your county recorder. From that moment you have a three month window that state law gives you to bring the loan current. Most homeowners do not know this window exists, and it is the single most valuable thing on this page.
Three months is the number to remember
How Utah forecloses: Non-judicial trustee's sale. Utah allows judicial foreclosure, but almost every residential loan uses a deed of trust with a power of sale. No judge is involved.
The sequence, step by step
- Your servicer has to reach out
Within 36 to 45 days of a missed payment
Federal rules require your servicer to make live contact about loss mitigation and then follow up in writing. Answering that contact costs you nothing and starts a paper trail.
- Federal waiting period
120 days delinquent
Your servicer generally cannot start foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. This is federal law and it applies in every state.
- Utah pre-foreclosure notice to cure
At least 30 days before a Notice of Default
Before recording a Notice of Default, the lender must mail you a notice with a cure date at least 30 days out. Utah also requires the servicer to give you a single point of contact.
- Notice of Default recorded
Day 0 of your cure window
Recorded with the county recorder, with a copy mailed to you within 10 days. This is the public record that put your name on the list that brought you here.
- Your three month right to reinstate
3 months from the recording date
This is the window. Pay what is past due plus costs and fees and the loan is reinstated as if it had never been accelerated.
- Notice of Sale
Only after the 3 months has run
Published once a week for three consecutive weeks, with the last publication at least 10 and not more than 30 days before the sale. Posted on the property and mailed to you at least 20 days before.
- Trustee's sale
At a county courthouse, 8am to 5pm
Public auction. Once the trustee's deed is delivered, Utah gives you no right to buy the property back.
The four questions everyone asks
Can I catch up and stop it?
Yes, and Utah's is unusually strong
Under Utah Code 57-1-31 you can cure by paying the amount actually past due plus costs and fees. You do not have to pay off the whole accelerated balance. Many deeds of trust extend this further, often to roughly five business days before the sale, so three months is the floor and not necessarily your real deadline. Ask for your reinstatement quote in writing.
Deadline: Three months from the Notice of Default recording date
Can I get it back after the sale?
None after a trustee's sale
The trustee's deed conveys title without any right of redemption. This is why the pre-sale window matters so much in Utah. After the gavel falls there is no buy-back period.
Can they come after me for the shortfall?
Yes, but with a deadline and a value offset
The lender must sue within three months of the sale, and the judgment is capped at the debt minus the property's fair market value at the sale date. A low credit bid at auction does not increase what you owe.
How long does all of this take?
Roughly 7 to 10 months from your first missed payment to a sale, with about 4 months of that after the Notice of Default is recorded.
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 Utah that is not us
These are free and independent. We list them because you should have somewhere to check our answers against.
- Community Development Corporation of Utah
Free HUD-certified foreclosure counseling
801-994-7222
- Utah Legal Services
Free civil legal help for qualifying households
- Utah Courts foreclosure self-help
The state court's own plain-language guide
- Utah Housing Corporation
State housing finance agency
Where this comes from
So you can check it yourself, or hand it to an attorney.
Utah Code 57-1-23 through 57-1-34, in particular 57-1-24 (notice of default and the three month wait), 57-1-24.3 (pre-foreclosure notice), 57-1-25 (notice of sale, publication and posting), 57-1-31 (reinstatement) and 57-1-32 (deficiency). Federal: 12 CFR 1024.39 and 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.