Hawaii Foreclosure Help: Know Your Timeline, Know Your Equity
The earlier you act, the more options you may have.
Most Hawaii foreclosures go through court — and there is a reason
Hawaii allows both judicial foreclosure and non-judicial power-of-sale foreclosure. Judicial foreclosure predominates for residential mortgages, and the reason is worth understanding: after 2011 reforms attached a dispute-resolution requirement to non-judicial foreclosures of owner-occupied property, lenders shifted to the courts to avoid it.
So Hawaii's mediation program exists, but most homeowners will never see it, because their case is filed in court instead. Timelines are long regardless — commonly 12 to 24 months or more, among the slowest in the country.
The notice sequence
Non-judicial track: the foreclosing mortgagee serves a Notice of Default and Intention to Foreclose stating a cure date at least 60 days after the date of the notice. It is served on you, on junior and prior recorded lienholders, on the state director of taxation, on the county director of finance and on the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and it is recorded.
A Public Notice of Public Sale follows, published once each week for three consecutive weeks, with the sale no sooner than 14 days after the third advertisement, and posted on the property. An alternative route allows state-website posting at least 28 days before the sale plus at least one newspaper publication at least 14 days before.
Judicial track: you are served with a complaint and summons, and notice of the court-ordered public sale is published on a similar schedule. The court must confirm the sale.
Deficiency: a real protection on the non-judicial track
In a judicial foreclosure, a deficiency is permitted.
In a non-judicial power-of-sale foreclosure, Hawaii prohibits a deficiency judgment against an owner-occupant unless the debt is also secured by other collateral.
That is a meaningful difference, and it is worth knowing which track your case is on.
No redemption
Hawaii provides no statutory post-sale right of redemption after either judicial or non-judicial foreclosure. Payoff must happen before the sale.
What this means if you are behind in Hawaii
The long timeline is Hawaii's most useful feature for a homeowner in trouble — it is genuine time to arrange a modification, sell, or evaluate a cash offer. The confirmation step in judicial cases adds more.
The Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution program applies only to non-judicial foreclosures of owner-occupied property, and its current operating status is worth confirming directly with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs before relying on it.
Given Hawaii values, the equity question is usually the decisive one. Find out what the property is actually worth early — the timeline gives you room to act on the answer.
A note on what this page is
This is general information about how the foreclosure process works in this state. It is not legal advice and it is not a prediction about your loan. Timelines vary by lender, by servicer, by county and by the specifics of your file, and the law changes. If you are facing foreclosure, a conversation with an attorney licensed in your state about your particular situation is time well spent — and a confidential review with us costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
Understand your value. Know your equity. Review your options.
One confidential review. Every available option. Call or text 888-870-0443.
KW Home Solutions, part of KW Default Solutions and powered by Keller Williams Realty. Corporate Office: Laguna Niguel, CA.