Idaho Foreclosure Laws and Procedures

Before the nationwide foreclosure crisis and Great Recession, both federal and Idaho foreclosure laws provided minimal regulation of mortgage servicers and foreclosure procedures—often favoring lenders. Today, however, updated foreclosure laws in Idaho and at the federal level offer stronger legal protections for homeowners. Mortgage servicers are now required to provide loss mitigation options, follow strict foreclosure procedures, and ensure full compliance with mortgage servicing regulations.

In Idaho, most homebuyers who finance a home sign a promissory note and a deed of trust, which functions like a mortgage. These legal documents grant homeowners specific contractual rights in the event of a mortgage loan default.

If you're a homeowner in Idaho facing foreclosure, don't get caught off guard. Understanding the Idaho foreclosure process—from your first missed payment to a potential foreclosure sale—can help you protect your rights and explore possible solutions. By learning about the Idaho foreclosure process, homeowners can make informed decisions, explore ways to avoid foreclosure, and protect their home.

What Idaho Homeowners Need to Know About Foreclosure Laws

If you're a homeowner in Idaho and behind in mortgage payments, your should learn how Idaho foreclosure laws work. Here's a quick summary with more details below: Unlike some other states, Idaho lenders usually use a nonjudicial foreclosure process, which means lenders can foreclose on a home without going to court—as long as the deed of trust includes a power of sale clause. (Judicial foreclosures are also allowed, but this method is rarely used.)

The nonjudicial foreclosure process moves relatively quickly, so knowing your rights and keeping track of timelines is important.

Your Rights as a Homeowner Under Idaho Mortgage Laws

In an Idaho foreclosure, you'll most likely get the right to:

• receive a breach letter
• apply for loss mitigation
• receive certain foreclosure notices
• get current on the loan and stop the foreclosure sale
• receive special protections if you're in the military
• pay off the loan to prevent a sale, and
• get any excess money (surplus funds) after a foreclosure sale.

Once you understand the Idaho foreclosure process and your rights, you can make the most of your situation and, hopefully, work out a way to save your home or at least get through the process with as little anxiety as possible.

Missed a Mortgage Payment in Idaho? Here's What Happens

The period after you fall behind in payments, but before a foreclosure officially starts, is generally called the "preforeclosure" stage. (Sometimes, people refer to the period before a foreclosure sale happens as "preforeclosure," too.)

During the preforeclosure period, the servicer can charge you various fees, and most mortgage contracts require the servicer to send you a breach letter (a preforeclosure notice).

How Federal Laws Protect Borrowers

In most cases, federal law requires the servicer to let you know about ways to avoid foreclosure. Also, under federal law, the servicer usually can't officially begin a foreclosure until you're more than 120 days past due on payments, subject to a few exceptions. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 (2025).) This 120-day period provides most homeowners plenty of time to submit a loss mitigation application to the servicer.

What Is the Foreclosure Process in Idaho?

If you default on your mortgage payments in Idaho, the lender may foreclose using a judicial or nonjudicial method.

How Judicial Foreclosures Work

A judicial foreclosure begins when the lender files a lawsuit asking a court for an order allowing a foreclosure sale. If you don't respond with a written answer, the lender will automatically win the case.

But if you choose to defend the foreclosure lawsuit, the court will review the evidence and determine the winner. If the lender wins, the judge will enter a judgment and order your home sold at auction.

How Nonjudicial Foreclosures Work

If the lender chooses a nonjudicial foreclosure, it must complete the out-of-court procedures described in the state statutes. After completing the required steps, the lender can sell the home at a foreclosure sale.

Most lenders opt for the nonjudicial process because it's quicker and cheaper than litigation in court.

Understanding the Idaho Nonjudicial Foreclosure Process Step-by-Step

Again, most residential foreclosures in Idaho are nonjudicial. Here's how the process works.

Notice of Default

To officially start a foreclosure in Idaho, the trustee records a notice of default (NOD) in the county recorder's office and then sends a copy to you (the homeowner). (Idaho Code § 45-1505 (2025).)

Loan Modification Notice

If the borrower lives in the home as a primary residence, the lender has to provide information about how to request a loan modification, along with a form to request one, with the NOD. The lender determines if the property is a borrower's primary residence by running a search in the county assessor's tax rolls to see if a current homeowner's property tax exemption exists for the property. If one is in place, the property is considered the borrower's primary residence.(Idaho Code § 45-1506C (2025).)

You get 30 days to submit the form. (Idaho Code § 45-1506C (2025).)

If you apply for a modification using the form, the lender or its agency has to approve or reject your application within 45 days after the lender receives the form. (Federal law generally requires the servicer to review a loan modification within 30 days.) The sale can't take place until the lender or its agent timely responds to the application. (Idaho Code § 45-1506C (2025).)

After the NOD is recorded, the trustee must also mail you a notice of sale at least 120 days before the sale, which can be sent at the same time as the NOD. (Idaho Code § 45-1506 (2025).)

The trustee has to attempt, three times at least 30 days before the sale, to personally serve the notice of sale to an adult occupant living at the property and post the notice there. But if personal service is made upon an adult occupant and a copy of the notice is posted, then no further attempt at personal service and no further posting is required. Also, posting the notice isn't required if the adult occupant who was personally served is a person to whom the notice of sale was required to be mailed, like the homeowner, and the notice was mailed. (Idaho Code § 45-1506.)

The trustee must also publish the notice of sale in a newspaper once a week for four weeks and record an affidavit stating that it mailed, posted (when required), and published the notice. (Idaho Code § 45-1506.)

How Do Foreclosure Sales Work in Idaho?

At the sale, the lender usually makes a credit bid. The lender can bid up to the total amount owed, including fees and costs, or it may bid less. In some states, including Idaho, when the lender is the high bidder at the sale but bids less than the total debt, it can get a deficiency judgment against the borrower, subject to some limitations (see below). If the lender is the highest bidder, the property becomes "Real Estate Owned" (REO).

But if a bidder, say a third party, is the highest bidder and offers more than you owe, and the sale results in excess proceeds—that is, money over and above what's needed to pay off all the liens on your property—you're entitled to that surplus money.

How Long Do You Have to Move Out After Foreclosure in Idaho?

If you don't vacate the property following the foreclosure sale, the new owner will probably:

• offer you a cash-for-keys deal, or
• take steps to evict you.

The purchaser at the foreclosure sale is entitled to possession of the property on the tenth day following the sale. Anyone remaining in possession after that time is considered a tenant at sufferance. (Idaho Code § 45-1506 (2025).) The purchaser may then begin eviction proceedings.

Options for Struggling Homeowners in Idaho

A few potential ways to stop a foreclosure and keep your home include reinstating the loan, redeeming the property, or filing for bankruptcy. Working out a loss mitigation option, like a loan modification, will also stop a foreclosure.

Or you might be able to work out a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure and avoid foreclosure. But you'll have to give up your home with a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction.

Reinstating the Loan

Under Idaho law, you get the right to prevent a foreclosure by reinstating your loan up to 115 days after the recording date of the NOD. To reinstate, you must pay all missed payments, fees, and costs in one lump sum. (Idaho Code § 45-1506 (2025).)

Also, the deed of trust you signed when taking out the loan might give you more time to reinstate. Check the paperwork you signed when you got the loan to find out if you get more time to get caught up on past-due amounts and, if so, the deadline to reinstate. You can also call your loan servicer and ask if the lender will let you reinstate.

Does Idaho Have a Right of Redemption for Foreclosure?

One way to stop a foreclosure is by "redeeming" the property. To redeem, you have to pay off the full amount of the loan before the foreclosure sale.

Some states also provide foreclosed borrowers a redemption period after the foreclosure sale, during which they can buy back the home. Idaho law, however, doesn't provide a post-sale redemption period after a nonjudicial foreclosure. (Idaho Code § 45-1508 (2025).)

Filing for Bankruptcy

If you're facing a foreclosure, filing for bankruptcy might help. In fact, if a foreclosure sale is scheduled to occur in the next day or so, the best way to stop the sale immediately is by filing for bankruptcy. Once you file for bankruptcy, something called an "automatic stay" goes into effect. The stay functions as an injunction, which prohibits the lender from foreclosing on your home or otherwise trying to collect its debt, at least temporarily.

In many cases, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can delay the foreclosure by a matter of months. Or, if you want to save your home, filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be the answer. To find out the options available, speak with a local bankruptcy attorney.

Foreclosure Protections and Military Servicemembers

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides legal protections to military personnel facing foreclosure. Idaho law extends the protections of federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to national guard ordered to state active duty by the governor in certain circumstances. (Idaho Code § 46-409 (2025).)

Are Deficiency Judgments Allowed in Idaho?

In a foreclosure, the borrower's total mortgage debt sometimes exceeds the foreclosure sale price. The difference between the total debt and the sale price is called a "deficiency." For example, say the total debt owed is $400,000, but the home sells for $350,000 at the foreclosure sale. The deficiency is $50,000.

In some states, the lender can seek a personal judgment against the debtor to recover the deficiency. Generally, once the lender gets a deficiency judgment, the lender may collect this amount—in our example, $50,000—from the borrower.

Deficiency judgments are generally allowed in Idaho, subject to some limitations.

Idaho Deficiency Judgment Laws

In Idaho, the lender may file a lawsuit for a deficiency judgment after a nonjudicial foreclosure.

The property's fair market value limits the deficiency judgment. The deficiency judgment will be the lesser of:

• the difference between the total debt and the fair market value of the property at the time of sale or
• the difference between the total debt and the foreclosure sale price.

If you think your home sold at the foreclosure auction for less than it's fair market value, you could have a defense to the deficiency action. Or you might have another defense, such as the lender missed the deadline to sue you for a deficiency judgment.

Statute of limitations for deficiency judgments in Idaho. The lender has to file the lawsuit within three months after the sale. (Idaho Code § 45-1512 (2025).)

Getting More Foreclosure Information

To learn more about foreclosures in Idaho, visit the Idaho Housing and Finance Association and Idaho Legal Aid Services websites. In some cases, free legal help might be available.

For more information on federal mortgage servicing laws, as well as foreclosure relief options, go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) website. You can also learn more by reading Nolo's foreclosure articles:

• Get tips on what to do—and what not to do—if you're facing a foreclosure.
• Learn about last-minute strategies to stop foreclosure.
• Find out if foreclosures are on the rise.

If you have questions about Idaho's foreclosure process or want to learn about potential defenses to a foreclosure and possibly fight the foreclosure in court, consider talking to a foreclosure attorney. It's also a good idea to talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor about different loss mitigation options.