The short answer: In Arizona, foreclosure almost always happens through a non-judicial "trustee sale." Once the trustee records a Notice of Trustee's Sale with the county recorder, the sale cannot happen sooner than the 91st day after recording (A.R.S. § 33-808). During that window you have more options than most homeowners realize — including the right to reinstate your loan by paying only the past-due amount, not the full balance, up until 5:00 p.m. the last business day before the sale (A.R.S. § 33-813). This guide walks through the timeline, your rights, and every option on the table.
Liquid Liabilities LLC is a property resolution company, not a law firm or a licensed real estate brokerage. This guide is general education about Arizona's foreclosure process, not legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, consult an Arizona attorney.
How long does foreclosure take in Arizona?
Longer than the "91 days" headline suggests. Arizona's clock has two layers that stack:
The federal layer comes first. Under federal mortgage servicing rules (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41), your loan servicer generally cannot start foreclosure until you are more than 120 days delinquent. During those months you will typically receive default letters and loss-mitigation offers — these are warnings, not the foreclosure itself.
The state layer starts at recording. Arizona's formal foreclosure begins only when the trustee records a Notice of Trustee's Sale with the county recorder — in this area, the Maricopa County Recorder. From that recording date, A.R.S. § 33-808 requires the sale date to be no sooner than the 91st day.
For many federally regulated residential mortgage loans, the minimum timelines can add up to roughly seven months from initial delinquency to a scheduled trustee sale — and actual timing varies with the loan, the servicer, applicable exceptions, postponements, and any loss-mitigation activity. That is working time — but only if you use it.
The Arizona trustee sale timeline, step by step
| Stage | What happens | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Months 1–4 of missed payments | Servicer sends default and loss-mitigation notices; generally cannot start foreclosure until you are 120+ days delinquent | 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 |
| Day 0 | Notice of Trustee's Sale recorded with the county recorder; sale date set | A.R.S. § 33-808(A)(1) |
| Within 5 business days | Trustee mails the notice to the borrower by certified mail | A.R.S. § 33-809(C) |
| At least 20 days before sale | Notice posted on the property and at the courthouse | A.R.S. § 33-808(A)(3) |
| Weeks before sale | Notice published in a newspaper once a week for four weeks | A.R.S. § 33-808(A)(4) |
| Until 5:00 p.m. the last business day before the sale | Your right to reinstate the loan by paying the past-due amount plus allowed fees | A.R.S. § 33-813(A) |
| Day 91 or later | Public auction — held on a business day between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. | A.R.S. § 33-808(B), (C)(1) |
| After the sale | Trustee's deed to the highest bidder; no right of redemption | A.R.S. § 33-811 |
Two timeline notes worth knowing: the trustee may postpone the sale (postponements are announced at the scheduled sale and can run up to 90 days each under A.R.S. § 33-810), and the Arizona Supreme Court has held that recording the notice does not by itself accelerate your whole loan balance (Bridges v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, 2022) — which is exactly why reinstatement works the way it does.
What is a Notice of Trustee's Sale?
It is the single document that starts Arizona's formal foreclosure. Don't confuse it with the default letters that come before it — those are lender communications, not statutory steps. The Notice of Trustee's Sale is recorded with the Maricopa County Recorder, and it must state the sale date, time, and place, the property's address and legal description, and the trustee's contact information (A.R.S. § 33-808(C)).
If you want to confirm whether a notice has been recorded against your property, you can search Maricopa County recorded documents free of charge, by name or parcel number.
Can I stop a trustee sale in Arizona?
Often, yes — and the most direct tool is one many homeowners have never heard of.
Reinstatement (A.R.S. § 33-813). If the deed of trust is still eligible for statutory reinstatement (the statute applies before the loan's maturity date), Arizona law generally allows the borrower — or certain other qualifying parties — to cure the default until 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on the last business day before the sale by paying the amount that is past due — missed payments, late charges, and the trustee's allowed costs — not the entire loan balance. The statute caps the trustee's fee at $600 or one-half of one percent of the unpaid principal, whichever is greater. Once reinstatement is completed, the sale is canceled and, in the statute's words, the deed of trust is reinstated and in force as if no breach or default had occurred.
You also have the right to know the exact number: under A.R.S. § 33-813(D), you can send the trustee a written request for a full, itemized reinstatement quote, and the trustee must respond within five business days.
Other ways the sale can stop or pause: an approved loan modification or forbearance from your servicer, a completed sale of the home before the auction date, a bankruptcy filing (which triggers an automatic stay — a decision to make only with a bankruptcy attorney), or a court order if you believe there is a legal defect in the foreclosure (which must be obtained no later than 5:00 p.m. the last business day before the sale under A.R.S. § 33-811).
What are my options during the 91 days?
Every situation is different, but the full menu looks like this. Note that several of these options don't involve selling at all — and none of them should be ruled out before you've compared them.
Keep the home:
- Reinstate the loan — pay the arrears (see above). Best if the hardship was temporary and is over.
- Loan modification — the servicer restructures the loan (rate, term, or adding arrears to the balance). A complete loss-mitigation application may create federal foreclosure protections depending on when it is submitted, whether Regulation X applies to the loan, and where the foreclosure stands — confirm the applicable deadlines directly with the servicer or a qualified housing counselor or attorney.
- Forbearance or repayment plan — a short-term arrangement to catch up over time.
Exit the home on your terms:
- Sell before the sale date. If you have equity, a sale — on the open market or off-market — pays the loan and puts the remaining equity in your pocket instead of leaving it to the auction process. Ninety-one days is tight for a traditional listing but often workable, especially with an as-is sale.
- Short sale — if you owe more than the home is worth, the lender may approve a sale for less than the balance. Requires lender cooperation and time.
- Deed in lieu of foreclosure — you hand the keys back by agreement. Less damaging than a completed foreclosure in some cases, but you walk away with nothing, so it makes sense only when there is no equity.
Take no action. If no other resolution is completed, the trustee sale proceeds. We list this because it is, in fact, an option — but it is the only one on this page that should never be chosen by default. The consequences can include loss of title, relocation, credit effects, unresolved junior obligations, and hard legal deadlines, and whether any protection (like Arizona's anti-deficiency statutes, next section) applies to your situation is a legal question. A homeowner considering this path should get individualized legal and financial advice before the sale date — and at minimum should know their equity position and exact reinstatement number first, because walking away from money you didn't know you had is not a decision, it's an accident.
What happens if the sale goes through?
Title transfers and there is no redemption. Arizona's trustee sale is final — once the trustee's deed is delivered to the highest bidder, the former owner has no statutory right to buy the property back (A.R.S. § 33-811).
Arizona's anti-deficiency statutes protect many qualifying homes. For certain properties of 2.5 acres or less limited to one-family or two-family dwellings, A.R.S. § 33-814(G) generally bars the lender from pursuing the shortfall after a trustee sale. Whether the protection applies to a specific loan and property depends on factors like property use, loan structure, and lien position — it is a legal determination, not an assumption to rely on without advice.
If the sale brings more than what was owed, excess proceeds may belong to the former owner. Under A.R.S. § 33-812, sale proceeds are distributed in statutory priority — sale costs, the foreclosing debt, and qualifying junior claims are paid first — and remaining excess proceeds may belong to the trustor or the person who owned the property when the sale occurred. If funds are deposited with the county treasurer, claiming them may require a court application. In a market like Maricopa County, homeowners with substantial equity sometimes lose homes at auction without realizing excess proceeds may exist — and that equity is precisely why comparing a pre-sale exit against the auction matters.
How this works in Maricopa County
The Notice of Trustee's Sale is recorded with the Maricopa County Recorder (search recorded documents free by name or parcel). The auction occurs at the date, time, and authorized location stated in the recorded Notice of Trustee's Sale — read the notice itself for the specifics, and confirm any postponement directly with the trustee. By statute it is held on a business day between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The 91-day clock, the reinstatement deadline, and every right described above apply identically whether the home is in Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, or anywhere else in the county.
Where Liquid Liabilities fits
We are a property resolution company. We don't charge homeowners for consultations, and we are not attorneys, lenders, or a brokerage — so the first thing we do is exactly what this guide does: lay out every option, including the ones that don't involve us, like reinstatement or a loan modification. If keeping the home is realistic, we'll say so. If selling before the sale date protects your equity better than the auction will, we can walk through what an as-is sale looks like on your timeline — or connect you with the right professional if a different path fits better.
There's no pressure and no obligation. If a trustee sale date is on your calendar, the one mistake to avoid is waiting: every option on this page gets weaker as Day 91 gets closer.
Facing a foreclosure timeline in Maricopa County? Get a free consultation — we'll go through your options together.
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- A.R.S. § 33-807 — Sale of trust property; power of trustee
- A.R.S. § 33-808 — Notice of trustee's sale
- A.R.S. § 33-809 — Request for copies of notice; mailing by trustee
- A.R.S. § 33-810 — Sale by public auction; postponement
- A.R.S. § 33-811 — Payment of bid; trustee's deed
- A.R.S. § 33-812 — Disposition of proceeds of sale
- A.R.S. § 33-813 — Default; reinstatement; cancellation of sale
- A.R.S. § 33-814 — Action to recover balance after sale
- 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 — Federal loss-mitigation procedures (Regulation X)
- Bridges v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC (Ariz. 2022)
Statutes summarized for education; consult an Arizona attorney for legal advice about your situation.