Alaska Foreclosure Laws

Although most foreclosures in Alaska are non-judicial, Alaska foreclosure laws allow for both judicial and non-judicial foreclosure proceedings. Most non-judicial proceedings take between three and four months. Usually, judicial proceedings are used only when there is a conflict that cannot be resolved out of court in any other way.

Pre-Foreclosure

In Alaska, most real property is purchased using a deed of trust and there is usually a clause that allows lenders to sell the property as collateral in the event of a mortgage default. This clause allows lenders to avoid the court foreclosure process. By Alaska foreclosure law, a homeowner must be in default for at least 30 days before foreclosure proceedings to begin. Once this happens, a lender can file a notice of default and must send it to everyone who is affected by the foreclosure. The notice must contain the amount owning, a description of the property, the deed of trust information, and details about where and when the foreclosure sale is to take place. The notice must also be posted on the property itself. At this pre-foreclosure stage, the homeowner can still avoid foreclosure by paying off the amount owing on the loan as well as any additional expenses the lender has incurred.

In the rarer event of a judicial foreclosure in Alaska, the homeowner does not need to be at least 30 days in default. For this type of foreclosure to take place, the lender must file a lis pendens and compliant in court, declaring an intent to sue, and this notice must be delivered to the homeowner. The homeowner has 20 days to respond. If the homeowner does not respond, the court can rule that the homeowner is in default and may decide that the property can be sold.

The Foreclosure Sale

Whether a foreclosure is judicial or non-judicial, Alaska foreclosure laws demands that a notice of sale for the property must be posted for at least 30 days before the sale. Moreover, the notice must be posted in three public places and one of these three places must be the closest U.S. post office to the property. In addition, the notice must be published in a local newspaper for four weeks before the sale, at a rate of at least once per week. If the sale is postponed, the person in charge of the sale must announce the delay publicly. If a judicial foreclosure is taking place and the sale is delayed for more than 30 days, the notice of sale must be issued and advertised anew.

In non-judicial Alaska foreclosures, the lender's attorney will usually conduct the sale and the lender will usually determine the location of the sale. After the sale, the person who has won the highest bid will get the deed to the property. Usually, all secondary liens against the property are cleared before the new owner takes ownership.

In the event of a judicial foreclosure, the winning bidder is granted a certificate of sale but the sale must be confirmed for ownership to take place. In Alaska's judicial foreclosures, homeowners can redeem a property 12 months after a sale confirmation. In order to do this, the homeowner must pay the sale price and 8% interest as well as any additional costs. If the homeowner does not redeem the property, the winning bidder with the confirmed sale can take full ownership.