Hawaii Foreclosures

Hawaii foreclosures may fall under either the judicial or non-judicial process. The primary security affected in the foreclosure is the deed of trust or mortgage, and the minimum timeline for foreclosure is sixty days. Lenders may foreclose on mortgages or deeds of trust as well as seek deficiency judgments in the case of the loan not being satisfied, and a borrower in Hawaii has no rights of redemption after the property is sold.

In a Hawaiian judicial foreclosure , a lawsuit is filed to obtain a court order. This is necessary if there is no clause in the mortgage allowing power of sale - in other words, the lender cannot sell the property to satisfy the debt without an order, since the deed of trust did not give them that power. Judicial foreclosure generally moves quickly, with the property being sold at auction to the highest bidder.

In a Hawaiian non- judicial foreclosure, a clause is present in the deed of sale or mortgage empowering the lender or their agent to effect a sale of the property in the event that the borrower defaults. The borrower should have been made aware of this fact when they signed the original mortgage agreement. It is basically a pre-authorization allowing the lender or their representative (also known as the trustee) to try to recover the debt by selling the house.

Rarely, the deed of trust will actually specify a time, place and terms for a foreclosure sale. Usually this is not the case, and the following steps must be taken.

A notice of intent to foreclose must be published in a newspaper that is circulated regularly in the county where the property is located. This must be done once a week for three weeks in a row. The last time should be no less than fourteen days before the day of sale. At least 21 days before the sale, the notice must be posted on the premises themselves.

Multiple copies of the notice must be made. These have to be mailed or hand delivered by courier immediately to both the borrower, any other creditors with claims on the property, and others. The notice must actually bear the following information:

• The dates and times of any planned open houses - or if there will be no open house, the notice must say so plainly
• The date, time, and place of the public sale
• The amount remaining on the mortgage agreement
• A full description of the property, including the address or a detailed description of the location of said property including a tax map key number
• The name of the mortgagor/borrower
• The name of the lender
• The name(s) of any other creditors holding a recorded lien on the mortgaged property
• The name, address, and telephone number of the person conducting the public sale (all information must be within the state)
• The terms and conditions of the public sale as set forth in the court judgment or deed of trust.

The sale takes place no sooner than 14 days after the final publication of the notice. Property is auctioned to the highest bidder. The sale may be postponed only with a public announcement made by the seller.

The borrower has up until 3 days prior to the sale to settle accounts with the bank - either by paying the debt in full plus fees and further charges, or by coming to an agreement privately between the borrower and lender.

How does foreclosure work? Let's find out!

Timeline for foreclosure

How to avoid foreclosure from Hawaii foreclosures

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