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Properties of Alaska Real Estate Brokers of Alaska
There is room to take this one step at a time.
A missed payment, a notice from the servicer, or a scheduled sale date can make the usual selling advice feel out of reach. This page is a general orientation so you can see some of the paths people use. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not a promise that any option will be available on your loan, that a listing will stop a foreclosure, or that you will keep any equity.
The right next call is often your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor. If you also want to talk through a possible sale, we will meet you where you are.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is direct about the first move: if you are having trouble paying your mortgage, call your loan servicer as soon as you know you may miss a payment. The number is on your monthly statement. Tell them why the payment is hard, and ask what options they have to help you avoid foreclosure. Waiting is usually harder than making the call.
You can also ask for free help from a housing counselor approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A counselor can help you organize the file, understand the options your servicer may offer, and work through the paperwork. Counseling of this kind is offered at little or no cost. You should not have to pay someone up front for a promise to “stop” a foreclosure.
Use the CFPB tool at consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor, or call HUD at (800) 569-4287 and enter your ZIP code. HUD also lists agencies at hud.gov housing counseling. A 24-hour line, 888-995-HOPE (4673), can connect you with foreclosure-prevention help as well.
The CFPB’s overview of foreclosure-avoidance steps is at How to avoid foreclosure. A starting hub is also at consumerfinance.gov/mortgagehelp.
In many cases, yes — a home can still be sold before a foreclosure sale if the timing, the loan, and the buyer’s closing can all line up. Missing payments does not, by itself, make a sale impossible. It also does not guarantee that a sale will close in time, or that you will walk away with proceeds.
A listing, a home-value review, or an offer does not, by itself, stop, pause, or cancel a foreclosure. Your servicer sets many of the deadlines that matter. If a sale date is already on a notice, a sale generally has to close and record before that date unless the servicer agrees to a postponement. Talk with the servicer and a counselor early, then decide whether a listing conversation is part of the picture.
The kind of sale you might pursue depends on what you owe, the condition of the home, and how much time is left. None of these paths is automatic, and none of them stops a foreclosure by itself.
If a realistic sale could pay the loan and the usual selling costs, a regular listing may be possible. The constraint is often time: inspections, appraisal, and the buyer’s financing still have to finish before any scheduled foreclosure sale, unless the servicer postpones it.
You can often list a home in its current condition, which can matter when there is no budget for repairs. As-is does not remove Alaska’s residential disclosure duties when they apply, and buyers may still inspect. Repairs, a credit, or a walk-away can still come up in the contract.
A short sale is a sale for less than what is owed, with the lender’s written approval. Submitting a short-sale package does not, by itself, stop a scheduled foreclosure sale. The sale generally has to close and record before the auction, unless the servicer postpones it. Whether any remaining balance is forgiven is a separate question to get in writing. Tax results can follow a forgiven debt; a tax advisor should review that, not a webpage.
A starting home-value review compares a rough estimate of value with what you still owe. That can help you see whether a usual sale might cover the loan, whether you might be close, or whether a short sale or another conversation with the servicer is more likely. It is a conversation starter, not an appraisal, not a predicted sale price, and not a promise that you will keep any equity or receive proceeds.
Treat the number as a lead, then confirm it against recent nearby sales, the condition of the home, and what your lender says is owed, including fees. Our home-value form can be that first look. It does not list the home, and it does not stop a foreclosure.
Most Alaska home loans are secured by a deed of trust. If payments stop, the trustee can often sell the home at a public sale without first going to court. That is called a nonjudicial foreclosure. A judicial foreclosure (a lawsuit) is also possible in some situations, but the trustee-sale path is the one many residential loans follow.
Under Alaska Statute 34.20.070, the trustee records a notice of default at least 30 days after a default and at least 90 days before the scheduled sale, and then gives required notices. In many cases, if the default is a failure to make payments, it may still be possible to stop that sale by paying the amount then in default, plus certain costs, before the sale date — with limits if a default under the same deed of trust has already been cured more than once. After a nonjudicial trustee sale, Alaska law generally does not allow the lender to collect a deficiency judgment (AS 34.20.100). A short sale, a different kind of foreclosure, or a separately signed agreement can work differently, so leftover balances are a question to ask about in writing.
If a sale date is already set, listing the home or requesting a value review does not, by itself, postpone or cancel that date. A sale generally has to close and record before the auction, unless the servicer agrees to move it. Federal servicing rules can also apply. The CFPB notes that, on many principal-residence loans, a servicer generally may not make the first foreclosure notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days behind, with exceptions. None of this is a timeline for your loan. Read the notice you actually received, and confirm deadlines with a counselor or an Alaska attorney.
Statute text is on the Alaska Legislature site: AS 34.20.070. This is a summary, not legal advice.
The CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission warn that people in this situation are often targeted with paid “rescue” offers. Warning signs include an upfront fee for help, a guarantee that the home will be saved, a request to sign over the title, instructions to send your payment to someone other than your servicer, or a request that you stop paying your mortgage. Real government offices do not charge you for a foreclosure-prevention conversation. If something feels off, check the agency against the CFPB counselor list and report the pitch.
CFPB guidance: How to spot and avoid foreclosure relief scams.
When two people have to unwind a home, or a job requires a move on a fixed date, the housing questions sit next to legal and family ones. A listing or a buyout has to match what a court or a settlement actually allows. We can talk through timing and a possible sale. A family-law attorney, and a housing counselor if payments are also at risk, should be part of that picture. A tight personal deadline is not the same as a foreclosure sale date, but the same habit helps: get the documents together, and do not wait to ask for clear advice.
The statewide deed-of-trust process and the federal counseling resources on this page apply across Southcentral Alaska. What changes by town is the property itself — municipal utilities or a well and septic, a condo or a house on its own lot, and how long a buyer may need to close. For orientation on the area, not on your loan, start with the hub that matches your address: Anchorage, Eagle River, Palmer, or Wasilla. The seller guide at /Selling/ walks through a usual listing, separately from the foreclosure timeline.
Often, yes. Missing mortgage payments does not, by itself, make a sale impossible. Your loan, how far behind you are, and what your servicer will allow all affect timing. A sale still has to close, and a listing does not by itself stop a foreclosure. Talk with your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor as well as, if you wish, a listing conversation.
In many cases you can still list a home after a notice of default has been recorded. That notice starts a clock toward a possible sale date. A listing is not a substitute for contacting your servicer and a HUD-approved counselor, and it does not by itself postpone or cancel a scheduled trustee sale.
No, not by itself. Listing a home, requesting a home-value review, or starting a short-sale conversation does not automatically stop, pause, or cancel a foreclosure. A sale generally has to close and record before a scheduled auction, unless your servicer agrees to postpone it. Confirm deadlines in the notices you received.
If what you owe is more than a realistic sale would bring, you may be looking at a short sale or another option with your servicer. A short sale requires the lender’s written approval and generally must close before a scheduled foreclosure sale unless the servicer postpones it. Whether any remaining balance is forgiven is a separate question to get in writing. This is not a promise that you will keep equity or walk away with proceeds.
Often, yes. You can usually list a home in its current condition. As-is does not remove Alaska’s residential disclosure duties when they apply, and buyers may still inspect. Repairs, credits, or a walk-away can still come up in the contract. An as-is listing also does not stop a foreclosure by itself.
If you want a calm conversation about whether a sale is part of the picture — or you simply need a place to start — use the contact page. We will not treat this as a hard sell. Bring whatever notice or statement you already have. We can help you think through timing, and we can point you back to counseling and official resources when those are the better first call.
This page is general information for people considering a sale or facing a hard housing deadline in Southcentral Alaska. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, not a promise about any loan or foreclosure, not a promise that a listing will stop a foreclosure or that equity will be kept, and not a substitute for your servicer, a HUD-approved housing counselor, or an Alaska attorney.
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