Mortgage Note Investing in Washington

Washington's dominant path is fast, final, and collateral-only — a rich underwrite once you understand the three rules that shape it. Most foreclosures are non-judicial trustee sales under the deed of trust, completing in roughly four to five months. There is no right to redeem after a trustee's sale under Wash. Rev. Code §61.24.050, so once the sale closes, title is clean.

The defining rule is anti-deficiency. Under Wash. Rev. Code §61.24.100, a lender that forecloses non-judicially by trustee's sale cannot pursue the borrower for any deficiency — and this applies broadly across deeds of trust. Recovery is therefore capped at the collateral: underwrite to the property's value and treat personal recovery as off the table on the trustee-sale path. Judicial foreclosure can preserve a deficiency but is slower and rarely the chosen route here.

The one real trap is the association super-lien. Under Wash. Rev. Code §64.34.364 and §64.90.485, a condominium or homeowners-association lien for up to six months of assessments takes priority over a prior recorded first mortgage — that slice can prime your lien on association-governed collateral, so pull a ledger before you close. Delinquent taxes are senior as well, and a Washington tax deed conveys with no redemption. No license is required to buy or hold these notes. Net: fast, clean-title, collateral-only, with the six-month super-lien the line item to watch.