Montana lets you catch up until the sale, then there is no way back.
A trustee sale with no lawsuit and no separate notice of default that we could find: the notice of sale is recorded, the sale cannot come less than 120 days later, and you can pay what is past due any time before it. After the sale there is no right to buy the home back, and a sale by advertisement bars any claim against you for a shortfall.
Not sure what date to put in? Tell us which paper you were sent and we will work the timeline out backwards from it.
Each is a different statute.
When you first fell behind.
Local pace is the variable.
Past steps fade out.
FHA and VA add steps.
A tenant gets 90 days under federal law.
Three dates decide a Montana trust indenture case. The day the notice of sale is recorded, which starts a 120 day minimum before the sale. The time fixed for the sale, which is the last moment to catch up. And the sale itself, after which there is no redemption and no shortfall claim.
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Make the call.
Call your mortgage servicer (the number is on your statement) before the next payment is due, or today if you are already behind. Servicers have programs for people who lose a job, get sick or hit a rough patch, but they only start when you ask. A foreclosure costs them money too.
“I’ve had a hardship and I want to keep my home. Please send me a loss mitigation application and tell me every option for my loan.” If your loan is FHA, VA or USDA, ask about that program’s options by name.
Your latest mortgage statement, recent pay stubs or unemployment letter, two months of bank statements, last year’s tax return, and a short hardship letter. Expect a lot of paperwork. Send all of it, because a complete application is what protects you.
Date, time, who you spoke to and what they said. Keep copies and proof of when you sent your papers. A complete application more than 37 days before a sale stops that sale while they decide.
Don’t want to call alone? A free HUD-approved counselor will help: 1-800-569-4287. And if the home is ever sold at auction, ask about surplus funds: money left over after the debt is paid can belong to you, but you usually have to claim it.
What Montana gives you
Rights that exist because the property is in Montana, whatever a servicer tells you on the phone.
Where to get real help, free
Regional legal aid programs take foreclosure cases at no cost if you qualify by income. Start at LawHelp.org, which lists free legal aid programs state by state.
HUD-approved housing counselors are free in every state — 1-800-569-4287. Some states, courts and counties run foreclosure mediation or counseling programs; ask your servicer or a HUD-approved counselor whether yours does.
Anyone who contacts you first, guarantees they can stop the sale for a fee paid up front, or asks you to sign the deed over is running a scam. Never sign a deed to someone promising to save your home.
Checked against the statutes cited beside each step. Every legal claim on this page is registered with its citation and was checked against official sources and then reviewed again by an independent checker. Dates marked as estimates are estimates. Appellate case law was not independently verified, and laws change, so have a Montana foreclosure attorney confirm anything that matters before you act.
Questions people ask about Montana foreclosure
Short answers, each one sourced to the statute cited on this page.
How long does foreclosure take in Montana?
With no delays or disputes, a Montana trustee sale runs roughly 241 days from the first missed payment. The sale cannot be less than 120 days after the notice of sale is filed, and the notice is published three weeks in a row. MCA 71-1-313 and 71-1-315.
How late can I catch up on my Montana mortgage?
You can cure at any time before the time fixed for the sale, and the fees a lender can charge to reinstate are capped at the lesser of $1,000 or 1 percent. MCA 71-1-312 and 71-1-320.
Is there redemption after a Montana trustee sale?
No. A sale by advertisement is without right of redemption. A judicial foreclosure carries a one year redemption right. MCA 71-1-318 and 25-13-802.
Can a Montana lender come after me for the shortfall?
Not after a sale by advertisement under the Small Tract Financing Act. MCA 71-1-317.
How long do I have to redeem after a Montana tax lien?
Until the first working day in August, three years after the county attached the lien. For a home lived in by its owner, an investor must then go through a public auction, and half of the assessed value plus any bid above the opening bid is paid to the owner as surplus. MCA 15-18-111, 15-18-220 and 15-18-221.
Last verified: October 18, 2026. Every deadline and citation on this page was checked against Montana law and the federal rules it cites. Laws change during the year, so if something here looks out of date or wrong, tell us and we will check it against the law.