Like homeowners in other states, a Nevada homeowner usually gets plenty of time to find a way to work out a way to keep the home before the bank can sell it at a foreclosure sale. Under federal law, in most cases, the bank must wait at least 120 days before starting a foreclosure. This preforeclosure period gives the borrower time to make up the missed payments or work out another arrangement to avoid foreclosure.
But if you and the bank don’t come to a solution during the preforeclosure period, the foreclosure can go forward. However, you’ll still have some time to recover financially before the foreclosure sale happens. If you can save up enough money, you can consider reinstating the loan. You might also consider applying for an alternative to foreclosure, like a loan modification.
Here’s a step-by-step explanation of what typically happens in a Nevada foreclosure and your rights during the process.
When Will a Nevada Foreclosure Start?
During the mortgage crisis, many homeowners couldn't recover from financial difficulties before losing their homes to foreclosure sales. But federal law changed in 2014. Now, the loan servicer (acting on behalf of the bank) must give you extensive opportunities to avoid foreclosure.
If the home is your principal residence, the servicer has to contact you, or make reasonable efforts to contact you, by phone or in-person no later than 36 days after you fall behind on the loan. The servicer also has to contact you again within 36 days after each subsequent missed payment. Once the servicer contacts you, it must let you know about the availability of loss mitigation (foreclosure avoidance) options, like a repayment plan or modification, if appropriate. No later than the time you’re 45 days delinquent, the servicer has to assign someone to help you with the loss mitigation process. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.39 (2025).)
Also, the servicer generally can’t put the foreclosure in motion until your payment is more than 120 days delinquent. This preforeclosure period gives you the time needed to get your finances in order, or apply for a foreclosure alternative. If you send the servicer a complete loss mitigation (foreclosure alternative) application, the foreclosure can’t begin until:
- the servicer determines you don’t qualify for a loss mitigation option (and the appeal period expires)
- you turn down the servicer’s loss mitigation offer, or
- you fail to comply with a loss mitigation agreement, like by not making the payments on a trial modification. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 (2025).)
Even if you don't submit an application during the preforeclosure period, you can still apply later. Under federal law, as long as you turn in a complete application more than 37 days before a foreclosure sale, the servicer can’t move for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or conduct a foreclosure sale, until it reviews the application and one of the three conditions mentioned above is satisfied. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 (2025).)
How Does the Nevada Foreclosure Process Work?
Nevada law allows two kinds of foreclosure: judicial and nonjudicial. Because Nevada foreclosures are usually nonjudicial, this article focuses on that process.
Nevada Preforeclosure Timeline
At least 30 days before the foreclosure officially begins, the servicer or the loan owner has to mail you a statement that has information about your loan account, including the total amount needed to get current on the loan and about foreclosure prevention alternatives, among other things. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 107.500 (2025).)
Nevada's Homeowner's Bill of Rights (Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 107.400 and following (2025)) provides additional protections, similar to federal law, to help borrowers facing foreclosure in Nevada.
Nevada Foreclosure Timeline
Under Nevada law, the trustee has to give you the following notices in a nonjudicial foreclosure.
- Notice of default. The nonjudicial foreclosure starts after the trustee records a “notice of default and election to sell” with the county recorder’s office and sends a copy to you. A copy of the notice gets posted on the property, as well. (Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 107.080(3), 107.090, 107.087 (2025).)
- Foreclosure danger notice. Under Nevada law, the trustee must also serve you with a notice at least 60 days before the sale that explains the risk of losing your home to foreclosure. Additionally, the notice must include phone numbers for foreclosure prevention agencies. (Nev. Rev. Stat § 107.085 (2025).)
- Notice of the foreclosure sale. Three months after recording the default notice, the trustee must record another notice—a notice of sale—and mail a copy to you 20 days before the sale. (Nev. Rev. Stat §§ 107.080, 107.090 (2025).) Additionally, the trustee must post the notice at your home and a public place, as well as publish it in a local newspaper.
What Are My Rights in a Nevada Foreclosure?
In Nevada, for owner-occupied properties, you get the right to “reinstate” the loan and stop the foreclosure by bringing the loan current in one lump sum payment. After you reinstate the loan, you resume making your regular monthly payments. Your right to reinstate expires five days before the sale. (Nev. Rev. Stat § 107.0805).
Nevada law also provides you with the option to participate in mediation. (Nev. Rev. Stat § 107.086 (2025).)
How Do Nevada Foreclosure Sales Work?
At the sale, the foreclosing bank will likely make a bid on your property using a “credit bid.” With a credit bid, the bank gets a credit in the amount of the mortgage debt. The bank can bid up to the total amount owed, which includes fees and costs, or it may bid less.
Does Nevada Allow Deficiency Judgments After Foreclosure?
In some states, including Nevada, when the bank is the high bidder at the sale but bids less than the total debt, it can get a deficiency judgment against the borrower. But Nevada has an anti-deficiency law that limits the amount of deficiency judgments and prohibits them in some circumstances. So, many borrowers won't face one.
Statute of Limitations for a Deficiency Judgment in Nevada, Other Limitations on Deficiency Judgments
Under Nevada law, a lender can get a deficiency judgment by filing a lawsuit within six months following a foreclosure, but the amount of the judgment is limited to the lesser of:
- the difference between the borrower's total debt and the home's fair market value at the time of the sale, plus interest, or
- the difference between the borrower's total debt and the foreclosure sale price, plus interest. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 40.459 (2025).)
If the party seeking the deficiency judgment acquired the right to obtain the judgment from a party that previously held that right, the judgment is limited to the difference between the amount the party paid to acquire the loan and the larger of the property's fair market value or the amount paid for the property at the foreclosure sale, plus interest and reasonable costs. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 40.459 (2025).)
How Fair Market Value Is Determined
Before the court awards a deficiency judgment, it holds a hearing during which it receives evidence from the bank and the borrower about the fair market value of the home as of the foreclosure sale date. The borrower gets notice about the hearing 15 days beforehand. If the bank or borrower makes a request at least 10 days before the hearing date, the court will assign an appraiser to assess the home. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 40.457 (2025).)
When Deficiency Judgments Are Prohibited in Nevada
Deficiency judgments aren’t allowed in Nevada if all of the following conditions are met:
- the foreclosing party is a financial institution, like a bank
- the borrower used the loan to buy the property and the loan hasn’t been refinanced
- the property is a single-family residence owned by the borrower at the time of the foreclosure sale
- the borrower has continuously occupied the property as their principal residence after getting the loan, and
- the loan was obtained on or after October 1, 2009. (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 40.455 (2025).)
When Do I Have to Move Out After a Nevada Foreclosure?
After a Nevada foreclosure sale, the property's new owner must give you a notice to quit (move out) before starting an eviction action in court.
Getting Help With a Nevada Foreclosure
While this article provides an overview of a typical Nevada foreclosure, keep in mind that federal and state laws are complicated. If you want to learn more about the process, including whether you might have any defenses to the foreclosure and how long foreclosures generally take in your area, talk to a foreclosure lawyer.
If you need help applying for a loss mitigation option or need more information about foreclosure alternatives, contact a HUD-approved housing counselor.