Get your Custom mortgage relief Plan

What happens after you fill out the form

My assistant will contact you, go over what you’ve sent, and, if it looks like I may be able to help, schedule a free consultation with me. If I can’t help, I’ll tell you. I won’t waste your time.

The consultation is free. If you decide to hire me, I’ll explain the fee and what it covers before you commit to anything. My practice is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google, from 106 reviews as of August 2026.

If you have them handy, it helps to have your most recent mortgage statement, any letters or notices from your servicer or a trustee, and a rough idea of your monthly income and expenses. If you don’t have everything, fill out the form anyway. We’ll figure out what’s missing together.

Who I work with

I represent Washington homeowners who are behind on their mortgage. Most of the people I help are in one of these situations:

• You fell behind after a hardship, such as a job loss, an illness or a divorce. You’re back on your feet now, but the servicer wants everything you missed at once.
• You applied for a modification and you’re still waiting, or you were denied, or you’ve been asked for the same documents again.
• You’ve received a Notice of Default or a Notice of Trustee Sale and want to know what it means and how much time you have.
• A sale date has been set and you want to understand what can still be done before it.
• You’ve decided the home isn’t affordable long term and want to understand your options for selling it or giving it back to the lender.

This is a private law practice. It is not a government program, it does not give grants, and it is not a bankruptcy practice. I only practice in Washington State.

What I do

My job is to represent you through the process:

• I represent you through the loan modification or loss mitigation review, from the application to the final decision.
• I deal with your servicer: the calls, the document requests, the paperwork that goes missing.
• If you’re denied, I review the reasons and pursue an appeal where one is available.
• I can refer eligible homeowners to Washington’s foreclosure mediation program and represent them in it.
• If keeping the home isn’t realistic, I handle the short sale or deed in lieu.

How foreclosure works in Washington

When a Washington home loan is secured by a deed of trust, the lender can foreclose without going to court. This is called a non-judicial foreclosure, and a trustee handles it. It follows a set order, and each step has its own deadlines. Knowing where you are in the process tells you how much time you have and which options are still open. It’s the first thing I look at.

• Contact about options. Before a Notice of Default can be issued on a home, the lender or its agent must try to reach the homeowner by letter and by phone to discuss options for avoiding foreclosure.
• Notice of Default. Sent at least 30 days before a Notice of Trustee Sale can be recorded.
• Mediation. Under Washington’s Foreclosure Fairness Act, a housing counselor or attorney can refer an eligible homeowner to mediation with the lender, any time after the Notice of Default and no later than 90 days before the sale date.
• Notice of Trustee Sale. Recorded at least 90 days before the sale, and at least 120 days before it for most home mortgages.
• The sale. The trustee may postpone the sale for up to 120 days in total, but doesn’t have to. After a sale, the buyer is generally entitled to possession on the 20th day.

How Ramon Benefited From Working with a Foreclosure Defense Attorney

Ramon’s result depended on his loan, his servicer and his timing. It is not a prediction of what will happen in your case.

Ramon came to me at 87 years old. He had lived in his home for over 40 years and was still paying a mortgage.

One day his pension benefit check stopped arriving. He didn’t have any way to make his mortgage payment. For six months his mortgage went unpaid.

All he was left with was his SSI check. But without his pension income, he was unable to afford both the mortgage payments and his living expenses.

He understood that his income was probably too low to save the home long-term, even with a loan modification. If he couldn’t secure a loan modification, his plan was to eventually sell the home and move in with his son, but he needed to stay in the home for nine months before he could move.

With both goals in mind, we built Ramon a tailored plan that tried for the modification first and protected his nine months in the home if it didn’t come through:

• We applied for a loan modification. That allowed us to secure a “loss mitigation hold” on the foreclosure while the review was ongoing, which gave Ramon time.
• When the loan modification was denied, we appealed the decision. That earned another 30-day loss mitigation hold while the appeal was reviewed, which gave Ramon more time. The appeal was also denied, so we turned to his fallback plan.
• Eventually, Ramon received his Notice of Default. That allowed us to refer him to mediation. Once he was referred, the trustee could not record the Notice of Trustee Sale until mediation was complete. We then used the mediation process to get his lender to agree to give us a 120-day hold on the recording of the final foreclosure notice.

At this point, we had secured an extra six months in the home. After the expiration of the foreclosure hold, the lender recorded its final foreclosure notice, the Notice of Trustee Sale. That gave Ramon an additional four months before the home was set to be sold at auction.

Two months before the auction date, we put the home on the market. By then we were eight months into the nine-month plan. The house sold and closed quickly. Ramon was then able to move in with his son as planned. He received cash from the sale of the home and he avoided foreclosure.

The plan was a success. We got him the nine months he needed to be able to peacefully transition out of the home.

Each of these steps has its own rules and deadlines. Part of my job is knowing which ones apply, and when.

Options that may be available

• Loan modification: permanently changes your loan’s terms so the missed payments are folded into the loan and you go back to regular monthly payments. It may extend the term or lower the interest rate. It does not always lower the payment.
• Repayment plan: you resume your regular payment and pay an extra amount each month until the missed payments are caught up.
• Forbearance: a temporary pause or reduction in payments during a hardship. What you missed still has to be resolved when it ends, usually through a repayment plan, a modification or, for FHA loans, a partial claim.
• Partial claim: for FHA loans, moves the missed amount into a separate, interest-free balance that generally comes due when the loan is paid off or refinanced, or the home is sold.
• Reinstatement: paying everything owed in one sum to bring the loan current. The amount often includes fees and costs, so it’s worth checking.
• Short sale: you sell the home for less than you owe on the mortgage. Your mortgage lender must approve the sale, and typically waives the deficiency balance (the remaining amount owed) so you can sell your home and move on without owing the remaining balance to the lender. Forgiven debt can have tax consequences.
• Deed in lieu: you sign the home over to the lender instead of going through foreclosure. Terms vary by lender and are worth reviewing before you sign.

Which of these you qualify for depends largely on who owns or insures your loan: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, USDA or a private investor. Each sets its own rules. That’s one of the first things to find out.

If you’re a Washington homeowner behind on your mortgage, fill out the form at the top of this page, or call my office at (425) 654-1674.

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The information contained on this website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter.

The transmission and receipt of information contained on this website in whole or in part, or communication with The Law Office of Nadia K. Kilburn via the internet or email through this website does not constitute or create a lawyer-client relationship between us and any recipient.

You should not send us any confidential information in response to this webpage. Such responses will not create a lawyer-client relationship, and whatever you disclose to us will not be privileged or confidential unless we have agreed to act as your legal counsel and you have executed a written engagement agreement with The Law Office of Nadia K. Kilburn.

The material on this website may not reflect the most current legal developments. Reasonable attempts have been made to ensure the information presented on this website is accurate, and The Law Office of Nadia K. Kilburn cannot make express or implied representations or warranties about the completeness or accuracy of the contents of this website.

Each mortgage relief issue is unique, and the materials presented on this website may not be applicable to your legal situation. Please contact a qualified attorney to discuss the specifics of your matter.

If you have a foreclosure auction date scheduled against your home, you may need to act immediately.

The Law Office of Nadia K. Kilburn does not offer any guarantees of case results. Any cases mentioned on this website are illustrative of some of the work handled by The Law Office of Nadia K. Kilburn.

These illustrations are based upon real cases. These case examples should not be viewed, in any way, as an assurance of a particular result in your case. Each case must have its own facts and circumstances.

The statistics provided on this website are drawn from Nadia Kilburn’s entire career, including her time managing a team of lawyers in a previous law firm

The Law Office of Nadia K. Kilburn is licensed to practice in: Washington State