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Foreclosure in West Virginia

In West Virginia, the trustee named in your deed of trust can sell your home at a public auction without a court case. Before the sale, the notice runs in a county newspaper and a copy is mailed to you by certified mail.

Type: Non-judicial

Last checked October 26, 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.

Type
Non-judicial. After a default, the trustee in your deed of trust sells the home at public auction when the lender asks, once notice is given.
FHA time frame
HUD's time frame for FHA loans: 7 months from the first legal action to clear title and possession.
Right to cure
For a consumer loan, the lender can't call the whole loan due or start any action until 10 days after it gives you notice of your right to cure.
Notice of sale
Two newspaper ads in the county within 14 days, plus a copy to you by certified mail.

How a West Virginia foreclosure works, step by step

  1. Generally, the legal foreclosure process can't start until you're at least 120 days behind.
  2. Once you're five days late on a scheduled payment, the lender may send you a written notice of your right to cure. It must say how much you have to pay, and by what date, to cure the default. The lender can't call the whole loan due or start any action until 10 days after it gives you that notice.
  3. The trustee publishes a notice of sale as a legal ad in a newspaper in the county where the home is. The ad runs twice within 14 days, with at least six full days between the two.
  4. A copy of the notice is sent to you by certified mail, return receipt requested. It goes to the address in your deed of trust, or to a newer address you gave the lender in writing. The notice counts as given once it's mailed, even if it comes back refused or undeliverable.
  5. The trustee sells the home at a public auction, at the time and place stated in the notice.
  6. Within two months, the trustee must file an inventory and an account of the sale with the county clerk where the deed of trust was first recorded.
  7. Once you've moved out, on your own or after an eviction case, the buyer can send you a notice about anything you left behind. Your things count as abandoned if you don't remove them by the end of the 30th day after the notice's postmark. If the locks were changed, the buyer must give you access on reasonable terms to get your things.

Catching up: your right to cure

West Virginia's consumer credit law protects consumer loans, and a loan can count even if it's over $45,000, as long as it's secured by land or a factory-built home. Until the 10 days after the notice run out, you can cure by paying all the past-due amounts, without the rest of the loan being called due, plus any unpaid late or deferral charges. A cure puts you back where you were under the loan, as if there had been no default.

This right has a limit. If you've defaulted and been given notice three or more times on the same loan, you can't use it again.

If you ask your servicer for help, send a complete application more than 37 days before the sale. Then the servicer has to evaluate it.

Ask your servicer in writing for the exact amount it takes to catch up, and keep a copy of every letter you send and get.

The trustee's sale

Every notice of sale must list the time and place of the sale, the names of the parties to the deed of trust, its date and where it's recorded, a description of the property, and the terms of sale. The sale follows the terms set in the deed of trust. If the deed sets no terms for real estate, the law's default is one third in cash, one third with interest in one year, and the rest with interest in two years.

A lawsuit to set aside a trustee's sale because a notice or other step wasn't followed can't be filed more than one year after the sale.

If you think a step was skipped, talk to a lawyer soon. These windows are short.

How long it takes

Foreclosure generally can't legally start until you're at least 120 days behind. Once it starts, how long you have until the sale depends on your state.

For FHA loans, HUD's time frame runs from the first legal action until the lender has clear title to the home and possession of it. In West Virginia, that's 7 months, and the first legal action is publication.

Without a court case, the state's own markers are short: 10 days after a notice of your right to cure, then two newspaper ads of the notice of sale within 14 days.

These are official markers, not a forecast. Your case can move faster or slower, so don't count on extra time.

Where the sale money goes, and what you could still owe

The trustee pays the costs of the sale first, including its commission: five percent of the first $300 and two percent of the rest. Next it pays the debts the deed of trust secures. Any surplus is paid to you, the grantor, or to your heirs or assigns.

If you're sued for a deficiency judgment after a sale that followed the law, you can't defend by saying the sale didn't bring the home's fair market value.

If the sale might not cover what you owe, or you think there's money left over, ask a lawyer or legal aid before the sale date, and get any deal with your lender in writing.

Protections when you sell, lease or get offers

  • West Virginia's consumer protection law makes unfair or deceptive acts or practices in any trade or commerce unlawful.
  • Companies that offer mortgage or foreclosure help can't collect fees up front. Warning signs of a scam include being told to stop making your mortgage payments, or being pushed to sign over title to your home.
  • Under federal law, it's a crime to, with intent to defraud, make a pattern of buying homes with FHA or VA loans in default, then not making the loan payments and keeping the rent, even if the buyer isn't on the loan.
  • Under West Virginia's real estate license law, a broker is anyone who, for pay, lists, sells, buys, options, rents or leases any interest in real estate. That law doesn't apply to someone acting for themselves as the owner or landlord.

Two of these touch how I buy. The federal payment rule matters when I take over your payments, and the license law matters in a novation, where your home is marketed for sale while you stay on title. Get every promise in writing, from anyone. And don't stop talking to your lender while you weigh any offer, including mine.

Free help in West Virginia

Sources

Last checked October 26, 2026. Every fact on this page comes from one of these official sources.

  1. HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (PDF) (hud.gov)
  2. West Virginia Code § 38-1-3 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  3. West Virginia Code § 46A-2-106 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  4. West Virginia Code § 38-1-4 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  5. West Virginia Code § 59-3-1 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  6. CFPB: How long will it take before I’ll face foreclosure if I can’t make my mortgage payments? What is the foreclosure timeline? (consumerfinance.gov)
  7. West Virginia Code § 59-3-2 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  8. West Virginia Code § 38-1-8 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  9. West Virginia Code § 38-1-17 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  10. West Virginia Code § 46A-1-102 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  11. CFPB, Regulation X: § 1024.41 Loss mitigation procedures (consumerfinance.gov)
  12. West Virginia Code § 38-1-5 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  13. West Virginia Code § 38-1-4a (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  14. West Virginia Code § 38-1-7 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  15. West Virginia Code § 46A-6-104 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  16. CFPB: How to spot and avoid foreclosure relief scams (consumerfinance.gov)
  17. 12 U.S.C. 1709-2: Equity skimming (GovInfo) (govinfo.gov)
  18. West Virginia Code § 30-40-4 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  19. West Virginia Code § 30-40-5 (code.wvlegislature.gov)
  20. West Virginia Attorney General: file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division (ago.wv.gov)
  21. West Virginia Judiciary: State Law Library resources (courtswv.gov)

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