What is the difference b/w a Sheriff's Sale and a Trustee Sale?

[Chris Stromdahl]

My partner and I are in the process of putting together the pieces/figuring out the process to leverage the publicly available information on Trustee Sales and Sheriff's Sales.

Please clarify the difference between the two.

[Jeff S.]

@Chris Stromdahl  I see you are in Washington. I am in Oregon. In Oregon we have both sheriff and trustee sales. In Washington it seems you primarily foreclose with a trustee.

A sheriff sale is a judicial foreclosure that includes a 180 day right of redemption. The trustee sale, at least in Oregon and I am quite sure Washington, does not have a redemption period.

With a sheriff sale you pay the money to the sheriff and you have possession of the property but no deed; and you risk losing rehab costs if the place is redeemed within the 180 days. Some people buy the redemption rights but that is another can of worms. With the judicial foreclosure the sheriff issues you a sheriff's deed after the redemption period.