You Received a Notice of Default. Here Is What It Means in Nevada.
A notice of default is the formal start of a Nevada trustee foreclosure, not the end of the road. It comes with paperwork, deadlines and choices, and most of those choices have nothing to do with us.
- Bought as-is, for cash
- Leave repairs and cleaning to us
- Zero agent commission when you sell to us direct
- Closing on a date you choose
- Nevada-based buyer
What the document in your hands actually is
In Nevada, most home loans are secured by a deed of trust, and lenders usually foreclose outside of court through a trustee. The first formal step is your lender's notice of default and election to sell. A trustee acting for the lender records it with the county recorder and mails a copy to the owner by certified or registered mail. It describes what is behind and states that the lender intends to have the property sold if the default is not resolved.
Receiving it does not mean the house has been sold, and it does not mean a sale date exists yet. It means the clock described in Nevada's deed of trust statute, NRS Chapter 107, has started. Reading that statute is optional; reading every page of the packet you were mailed is not.
The cure language in the statute
NRS 107.080 says the lender cannot exercise the power of sale until the owner has failed to make good the deficiency for a set period after recording and mailing, and it limits acceleration of the full balance if the deficiency and certain costs are paid within that window. In practice, the reinstatement figure your servicer quotes is the number that matters, so ask for it in writing.
The mediation papers tucked inside
For owner-occupied homes, Nevada requires the trustee to include information about the state Foreclosure Mediation Program, contact details for someone who can discuss a loan modification, and contact information for at least one HUD-approved housing counseling agency. There is also a form to waive mediation. Do not sign that form without understanding what you are giving up.
The timeline, in plain terms
Under NRS 107.080, at least three months must pass after the notice of default is recorded before the trustee can move to the next stage, a notice of sale. The notice of sale then has to be served or mailed, posted for 20 days in a public place, and published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a local newspaper. Only after those steps can an auction happen.
If you live in the home and you file a timely petition for mediation, the statute says no further action may be taken to exercise the power of sale until mediation is completed. Separately, Nevada's homeowner protection provisions in NRS 107 generally restrict a covered servicer from moving forward while a complete application for a foreclosure prevention alternative is pending. A counselor or attorney can tell you whether those rules apply to your loan and your servicer.
Why the calendar is rarely exact
Those periods are minimums, not a schedule. Servicer workload, loss mitigation reviews, mediation, bankruptcy filings and postponements can all stretch things out. Nobody, including us, can tell you the exact date your file will move. If you need a date for planning, ask the trustee named on the notice whether a notice of sale has been recorded. If one already has, our page on what to weigh once a trustee sale date is set covers that stage.
If a Sale Is the Path You Choose
Send the address and we will look at the property, the neighborhood and whatever you decide to share. Then we reach out with a few questions and explain any offer in writing, at your pace.
Talking with us never takes other doors off the table. You can still speak with your loan servicer, a HUD-approved housing counselor or a Nevada attorney, and we would encourage it. Prefer a voice? The TALK TO ALEX button rings our line.
Options to weigh before selling
A notice of default leaves room for several routes. Some keep you in the house; some do not. We are a cash home buyer, so our only offer is to buy the property. That is one route, and often not the first one to explore.
Reinstating or modifying with your servicer
Call the loss mitigation department, not general customer service. Ask for the reinstatement amount, whether you can apply for a modification, repayment plan or forbearance, and who your single point of contact is. Keep notes of every call. If your trouble started with a missed payment or two, our page on options when you are a few payments behind walks through the earlier stage of this same conversation.
Mediation and housing counseling
If the home is your residence, Nevada's Foreclosure Mediation Program lets you petition the district court within the deadline in your packet, generally 30 days after service, and pay a small filing fee. A mediator then brings you and the lender together. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you prepare, often at no cost, and can help you decide whether mediation is realistic.
Attorneys, bankruptcy counsel, agents and short sales
A Nevada real estate attorney can review whether the notices were handled properly. A bankruptcy attorney can explain how a filing would affect the process. If you have equity, a licensed agent may be able to list the home and reach more buyers than we can. If your loan balance tops what the house is worth, read about the honest math on underwater homes and short sales before talking to any buyer.
If you decide to sell to a direct buyer
Some owners weigh everything above and decide they would rather sell, keep whatever equity remains, and move on their own schedule. That is the situation where a direct cash sale can make sense. The house can stay as it is with nothing repaired or cleaned, a direct sale to us carries no agent's fee, and you decide which day escrow closes, within the time left before the trustee sale. We do not negotiate with your lender, we do not offer foreclosure consulting, and we cannot pause or end a foreclosure. A sale simply pays off the loan through escrow, if the price covers it.
- Get your reinstatement and payoff figures from the servicer in writing.
- Talk with a housing counselor or attorney about whether keeping the home is realistic.
- If selling is the better fit, ask for a written offer and compare it with what a listing might bring.
- Have any purchase contract reviewed by a Nevada attorney before you sign.
- Pick a closing date that fits your move, and confirm escrow will pay the lender directly.
Nevada's protections when you sell to a buyer like us
Nevada law calls a business that buys a home with a recorded notice of default a foreclosure purchaser. Under NRS 645F, fraud or deceit by such a buyer is a crime, and the homeowner can rescind the sale within a period after the deed is recorded. Get every term in writing, read it slowly, and have it reviewed. Our page on each stage of a direct sale, from the first call until closing lays out how we handle paperwork.
Owners call us from all over the valley, from Henderson neighborhoods to homes across North Las Vegas. Wherever you are, start with the full list of every option for a Las Vegas homeowner in default, not just ours.
Fair Questions, Plain Answers
Does a notice of default mean I have to move out?
No. A notice of default is the start of the trustee process. You still own the home and can live in it while the process runs. Under NRS 107.080, at least three months must pass after it is recorded before a notice of sale can be given, and more notice steps follow. A housing counselor or attorney can explain how the timeline applies to you.
Can your company stop the foreclosure for me?
No. We are a cash home buyer, not a foreclosure consultant, and we do not negotiate with lenders or delay sales. If you sell to us before the trustee sale, escrow uses the sale proceeds to pay off the loan, assuming the price covers it. Ways to keep the home run through your servicer, mediation, a counselor or an attorney.
Should I sign the mediation waiver form in the packet?
Not without understanding it. The form exists for owners who decide they do not want mediation. Signing it gives up a process that can bring you and your lender together with a neutral mediator. Talk with a HUD-approved housing counselor or a Nevada attorney first, and keep track of the deadline printed in your paperwork.
How do I find out whether a sale date has been set?
Check for a recorded notice of sale with the Clark County Recorder, or call the trustee listed on your notice of default and ask directly. Your servicer can also confirm the status of your file. Ask for answers in writing when possible so you have a record of what you were told and when.