The trustee's deed: what a foreclosure auction buyer actually gets
What a trustee's deed is, what it says and what it conveys: no warranty, junior liens cleared, senior liens kept, and the 120-day IRS redemption right bidders miss.
Blog · Basics
120 days
When a trustee's sale wipes out a junior federal tax lien, the IRS still has 120 days to redeem the property from the buyer, a right the trustee's deed does not cut off.
Key takeaways
- A trustee's deed is the deed the trustee signs to the winning bidder after a trustee's sale. It moves the property out of the defaulted borrower's name without the borrower's signature, under the power of sale in the deed of trust. Arizona's statute calls it the trustee's deed upon sale; Colorado's public trustee issues a confirmation deed.
- It is not a deed of trust. The deed of trust is the security instrument the borrower signs at closing; the trustee's deed is what the trustee issues years later, when that deed of trust is foreclosed. A deed signed by the trustee of a living trust is a third thing, with nothing to do with foreclosure.
- It gives no warranty. The buyer takes the title the borrower had, and in Texas buys "as is" at the buyer's own risk. Liens junior to the foreclosed deed of trust are cleared and senior ones stay, which Arizona's statute says in so many words.
- Its recitals that the notices were given are conclusive for a good-faith buyer for value in California, Arizona and Washington, but in Washington they do not cut off the lien of anyone the trustee failed to notify.
- A recorded federal tax lien survives the sale unless the IRS got written notice at least 25 days before it, and even when it is discharged the IRS can redeem the property for 120 days afterward.
A trustee's deed is the last document in a trustee's sale. When the auctioneer accepts the high bid and the buyer pays, the trustee, and not the owner, signs a deed that moves the property out of the borrower's name. Every one of the 13,000 sales on our calendar for the next 30 days ends with one of these deeds, if anyone bids. It promises less than an ordinary deed, and buyers who have only ever bought with a warranty deed tend to assume more. This article sets out what a trustee's deed is, what it says, what title it carries, and the few things it does not clear, with each rule quoted from the statute.
What is a trustee's deed?
A trustee's deed is the deed a trustee signs to the winning bidder after a trustee's sale, conveying the borrower's property under the power of sale in the deed of trust, without the borrower's signature.
A home loan in a deed-of-trust state is secured by a deed of trust, which gives a trustee the power to sell the property if the borrower defaults. When the lender invokes that power, the trustee advertises the sale, holds the auction and, once the price is paid, signs a deed to the buyer. That deed is the trustee's deed. Arizona's statute names it after the event: "The recording of the trustee's deed upon sale shall constitute delivery of the deed to the purchaser." [1] California deeds carry the same title, often shortened to TDUS. In Texas the deed usually comes from a substitute trustee, and so is called a substitute trustee's deed. In Colorado, where a county's public trustee runs the sale, it is a confirmation deed, and the statute even sets out its wording: "The confirmation deed executed by the public trustee in a foreclosure sale may be in substantially the following form" [2].
The grantee is whoever won. Often that is the lender itself, which bids the debt instead of cash (a credit bid); the deed then names the lender, and the house becomes REO, bank-owned property it will sell later. When a third party outbids the lender, the deed names that buyer, and any price above the debt becomes surplus proceeds for junior lienholders and the former owner.
Trustee's deed vs deed of trust
A deed of trust is the security instrument a borrower signs at closing; a trustee's deed is the document the trustee signs when it forecloses that deed of trust and sells the property.
The two names are a step apart and easy to confuse, and "trust deed" is a third name for the first one. The deed of trust starts the arrangement: the borrower conveys the property to a trustee as security for the loan. The trustee's deed ends it: the trustee conveys the property to the buyer at the sale. Washington's statute shows how the two connect. Its trustee's deed conveys "all of the right, title, and interest in the real and personal property sold at the trustee's sale which the grantor had or had the power to convey at the time of the execution of the deed of trust, and such as the grantor may have thereafter acquired" [3]. The buyer steps into the borrower's shoes as of the day the deed of trust was signed. What is a trustee sale? covers why some states use deeds of trust and others mortgages.
The other trustee deed: from a living trust
A deed signed by the trustee of a living or family trust, to sell or transfer real estate the trust owns, is also called a trustee's deed, but it has nothing to do with foreclosure.
Estate-planning pages use the same words for a different document. When a trust holds a house and its trustee sells it, or hands it to a beneficiary after the person who made the trust dies, the trustee signs the deed in that capacity. What that deed promises depends on its wording, like any private deed. You can tell the two apart at a glance: a foreclosure trustee's deed recites a default, a notice of sale and an auction, while a living-trust deed refers to a trust agreement and its date. The rest of this article is about the foreclosure kind.
What a trustee's deed says
A trustee's deed names the trustee as grantor and the high bidder as grantee, recites the default and the notices that led to the sale, describes the land, usually states the amount bid, and gives no warranty of title.
Most trustee's deeds are a page or two, and most of the text is recitals: statements of fact about how the sale came about. The layout below is typical; the order and wording vary by state and by trustee.
The recitals are the point. They say that the borrower defaulted, that the notices were recorded, mailed, published and posted as the law requires, and that the sale was held when and where the notice said. The law gives them weight. In Arizona, "The trustee's deed shall raise the presumption of compliance with the requirements of the deed of trust and this chapter relating to the exercise of the power of sale and the sale of the trust property, including recording, mailing, publishing and posting of notice of sale and the conduct of the sale." [4] In Colorado, "Any deed executed by an officer or other official under this article shall be prima facie evidence of compliance with all statutory requirements for the sale and execution of the deed and evidence of the truth of the recitals contained in the deed." [5]
The legal description governs. As on the notice of trustee's sale, the street address is a convenience. The legal description is what the deed conveys, and if the two disagree, the legal description wins.
Trustee's deed vs warranty deed
A warranty deed carries the seller's promise that the title is good and that the seller will defend it; a trustee's deed makes no such promise and passes the borrower's title as it stood.
On an ordinary sale the seller signs the deed and stands behind it. At a trustee's sale the seller is a trustee who never owned the property and knows nothing about it beyond the loan file, so trustee's deeds are usually given without covenant or warranty. Texas puts the buyer's position into its statute. A buyer at a Texas trustee's sale "acquires the foreclosed property 'as is' without any expressed or implied warranties, except as to warranties of title, and at the purchaser's own risk" [6]. The exception keeps whatever warranty of title the deed itself carries, so read the deed; it does not add a guarantee that the house is sound, vacant or as advertised.
| Deed | Who signs it | What it promises about title | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warranty deed | The owner who is selling | That the title is good, and that the seller will defend it against claims | Most ordinary home sales |
| Quitclaim deed | Whoever holds an interest | Nothing: it passes whatever interest the signer has, if any | Transfers between family members, clearing a cloud on title |
| Trustee's deed | The foreclosure trustee, under the deed of trust's power of sale | Usually nothing from the trustee: the buyer takes the borrower's title, senior liens included | Trustee's sales, the non-judicial foreclosure of a deed of trust |
| Living-trust trustee's deed | The trustee of a living or family trust | Whatever its wording says | Sales and transfers of property a trust owns |
What the buyer gets: title, and the liens that stay
A trustee's deed conveys the borrower's title free of liens junior to the foreclosed deed of trust and subject to every lien senior to it.
A trustee's sale forecloses one deed of trust, and it sorts every other lien by whether it came before or after that one. Arizona states the rule in a sentence: the conveyance "shall be absolute without right of redemption and clear of all liens, claims or interests that have a priority subordinate to the deed of trust and shall be subject to all liens, claims or interests that have a priority senior to the deed of trust." [7] Nevada's sale likewise "vests in the purchaser the title of the grantor and any successors in interest without equity or right of redemption" [8].
So the first thing to know about any trustee's deed is which deed of trust it came from. A sale by the first lender clears a second mortgage and a home equity line recorded after it. A sale by the second lender clears neither the first deed of trust nor anything else ahead of it, and the buyer takes the property with the first loan still owed against it. Unpaid property taxes generally come ahead of every deed of trust and stay too. What happens after a trustee sale covers how the price is paid out and how a buyer gets possession, which the deed alone does not give.
The federal tax lien exception
A recorded federal tax lien survives a trustee's sale unless the IRS was given written notice at least 25 days before it, and even when the lien is discharged, the IRS can redeem the property for 120 days after the sale.
Federal law sets its own rule for a tax lien junior to the deed of trust. If the lien was recorded more than 30 days before the sale, the sale is made "subject to and without disturbing such lien or title, if notice of such lien was filed or such title recorded in the place provided by law for such filing or recording more than 30 days before such sale and the United States is not given notice of such sale in the manner prescribed in subsection (c)(1)" [9]. That notice must be given "in writing, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, not less than 25 days prior to such sale, to the Secretary" [10].
Proper notice discharges the lien, but it leaves the IRS a way back to the property: "the Secretary may redeem such property within the period of 120 days from the date of such sale or the period allowable for redemption under local law, whichever is longer" [11]. A redeemed buyer is paid back, not left with the house. If the title shows a federal tax lien, ask the trustee whether the IRS was sent notice of the sale and when, and price the bid knowing the IRS could take the property back for four months.
What the recitals protect, and what they don't
In California, Arizona and Washington, a trustee's deed's recitals that the sale was properly noticed are conclusive in favor of a good-faith buyer for value, so a borrower's later complaint about the notices cannot take the property back from that buyer.
This is what makes a trustee's deed worth buying. California's recitals are "conclusive evidence thereof in favor of bona fide purchasers and encumbrancers for value and without notice" [12]. Arizona's rule is about the deed itself: "A trustee's deed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the meeting of those requirements in favor of purchasers or encumbrancers for value and without actual notice." [13] Arizona also closes the door before the sale: the borrower and everyone sent notice of it "shall waive all defenses and objections to the sale not raised in an action that results in the issuance of a court order granting relief pursuant to rule 65, Arizona rules of civil procedure" [14], that is, an order stopping the sale entered before 5 p.m. on the last business day before it.
Washington's version has a limit worth knowing. Its deed "shall recite the facts showing that the sale was conducted in compliance with all of the requirements of this chapter and of the deed of trust, which recital shall be prima facie evidence of such compliance and conclusive evidence thereof in favor of bona fide purchasers and encumbrancers for value" [15], except that "these recitals shall not affect the lien or interest of any person entitled to notice under subsection (1) of this section, if the trustee fails to give the required notice to such person" [16]. A junior lienholder the trustee forgot to notify keeps its lien, whatever the deed says.
The protection belongs to a bona fide purchaser: someone who paid value and had no notice of the defect. A lender that takes the deed on its own credit bid, or a buyer who knew the sale was flawed, may stand in a weaker position. Recitals cover the process, too, not the title: they do not clear a senior lien, a recorded federal tax lien or a defect in the borrower's own title.
When the deed is signed and recorded
The trustee signs the deed once the price is paid, and recording it, usually within one to three weeks, is what completes the sale in several states.
Recording matters because, in several states, it fixes the moment the sale became final. Colorado works differently: the buyer gets a certificate of purchase first and the deed later.
| State | When the deed is recorded | What recording does |
|---|---|---|
| California | Within 21 calendar days of the sale, for the sale to date back to it | The sale is final on the last and highest bid, and is "deemed perfected as of 8 a.m. on the actual date of sale if the trustee’s deed is recorded within 21 calendar days after the sale" [17] |
| Arizona | The trustee submits it for recording within seven business days of payment [18] | Recording is delivery to the buyer, and if it happens within 15 business days the sale is perfected as of the auction [19] |
| Washington | Within 15 days of the accepted bid | The sale "is final as of the date and time of such acceptance if the trustee's deed is recorded within fifteen days thereafter" [20] |
| Colorado | A certificate of purchase within five business days of the sale [21]; the confirmation deed 10 to 15 business days after title vests and the fees are paid [22] | The certificate holder "shall be entitled to a confirmation deed at the expiration of all redemption periods" [23] unless a lienor redeems |
Until the deed is recorded, the public record still shows the borrower as owner. That matters to anyone checking a property soon after its sale date: a recorded notice of trustee's sale with no trustee's deed after it may mean the sale was postponed or canceled, or just that the deed has not reached the recorder yet. Trustee sale postponed covers how to tell which.
Buying with a trustee's deed: checks before you bid
Because a trustee's deed promises nothing about the title, the checks a warranty deed would cover are the bidder's job, and they have to be done before the auction.
- Find out which deed of trust is being foreclosed. The notice names it by recording date and number. Look up every lien recorded before it: those stay with the property.
- Search for federal tax liens and other government liens. If one is recorded, ask the trustee whether the IRS was sent notice at least 25 days before the sale.
- Check property taxes and association dues. Unpaid taxes generally come ahead of the deed of trust; whether association dues do depends on the state.
- Ask a title company first. Many will insure a trustee's-deed purchase after reviewing the foreclosure file, sometimes with exceptions. Find out before you pay, quoting the trustee sale number.
- Plan for occupants. The deed transfers title, not possession. Removing a former owner or a tenant takes the state's eviction process.
- Set your ceiling with all of that in it. The foreclosure auction max bid calculator works backward from the after-repair value to the highest bid that still pays, and how foreclosure auctions work walks through the sale day itself.
How to find a recorded trustee's deed
A trustee's deed is recorded with the recorder of the county where the property lies, and you can find it by searching the parcel number or the trustee's name as grantor.
Recorders index the document under several names: trustee's deed, trustee's deed upon sale, substitute trustee's deed, and in Colorado, confirmation deed. The deed shows who bought the property and, on many deeds, what they paid and what the debt was, which makes it the best record of how a sale turned out. It only exists after the auction, though. Before the sale, the record to watch is the notice of trustee's sale, and it is only useful for the two to four weeks between publication and the auction.
That is the part we track. We hold 34,894 notices across 21 deed-of-trust states, with 13,000 sales set for the next 30 days. Trustee sales by state lists them county by county, trustee firms groups them by the trustee who will sign the deed, and trustee sale laws by state compares each state's rules on notice, deposits and recording.
Sources
23 primary- [1]A.R.S. § 33-811(B) — Arizona Legislature“The recording of the trustee's deed upon sale shall constitute delivery of the deed to the purchaser.”
- [2]C.R.S. § 38-38-502 — Colorado General Assembly“The confirmation deed executed by the public trustee in a foreclosure sale may be in substantially the following form”
- [3]RCW 61.24.050(1) — Washington State Legislature“the trustee's deed shall convey all of the right, title, and interest in the real and personal property sold at the trustee's sale which the grantor had or had the power to convey at the time of the execution of the deed of trust, and such as the grantor may have thereafter acquired”
- [4]A.R.S. § 33-811(B) — Arizona Legislature“The trustee's deed shall raise the presumption of compliance with the requirements of the deed of trust and this chapter relating to the exercise of the power of sale and the sale of the trust property, including recording, mailing, publishing and posting of notice of sale and the conduct of the sale.”
- [5]C.R.S. § 38-38-504 — Colorado General Assembly“Any deed executed by an officer or other official under this article shall be prima facie evidence of compliance with all statutory requirements for the sale and execution of the deed and evidence of the truth of the recitals contained in the deed.”
- [6]Tex. Prop. Code § 51.009(1) — Texas Legislature“acquires the foreclosed property "as is" without any expressed or implied warranties, except as to warranties of title, and at the purchaser's own risk”
- [7]A.R.S. § 33-811(E) — Arizona Legislature“That conveyance shall be absolute without right of redemption and clear of all liens, claims or interests that have a priority subordinate to the deed of trust and shall be subject to all liens, claims or interests that have a priority senior to the deed of trust.”
- [8]NRS 107.080(5) — Nevada Legislature“vests in the purchaser the title of the grantor and any successors in interest without equity or right of redemption”
- [9]26 U.S.C. § 7425(b)(1) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code)“be made subject to and without disturbing such lien or title, if notice of such lien was filed or such title recorded in the place provided by law for such filing or recording more than 30 days before such sale and the United States is not given notice of such sale in the manner prescribed in subsection (c)(1)”
- [10]26 U.S.C. § 7425(c)(1) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code)“in writing, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, not less than 25 days prior to such sale, to the Secretary”
- [11]26 U.S.C. § 7425(d)(1) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code)“the Secretary may redeem such property within the period of 120 days from the date of such sale or the period allowable for redemption under local law, whichever is longer”
- [12]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924(c) — California Legislature“conclusive evidence thereof in favor of bona fide purchasers and encumbrancers for value and without notice”
- [13]A.R.S. § 33-811(B) — Arizona Legislature“A trustee's deed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the meeting of those requirements in favor of purchasers or encumbrancers for value and without actual notice.”
- [14]A.R.S. § 33-811(C) — Arizona Legislature“shall waive all defenses and objections to the sale not raised in an action that results in the issuance of a court order granting relief pursuant to rule 65, Arizona rules of civil procedure”
- [15]RCW 61.24.040(11) — Washington State Legislature“The deed shall recite the facts showing that the sale was conducted in compliance with all of the requirements of this chapter and of the deed of trust, which recital shall be prima facie evidence of such compliance and conclusive evidence thereof in favor of bona fide purchasers and encumbrancers for value”
- [16]RCW 61.24.040(11) — Washington State Legislature“these recitals shall not affect the lien or interest of any person entitled to notice under subsection (1) of this section, if the trustee fails to give the required notice to such person”
- [17]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924h(c) — California Legislature“the trustee’s sale shall be deemed final upon the acceptance of the last and highest bid, and shall be deemed perfected as of 8 a.m. on the actual date of sale if the trustee’s deed is recorded within 21 calendar days after the sale”
- [18]A.R.S. § 33-811(B) — Arizona Legislature“Within seven business days after receipt of payment by the trustee or the trustee's agent, made in a form that is satisfactory to the trustee, the trustee shall execute and submit the trustee's deed to the county recorder for recording”
- [19]A.R.S. § 33-810(A) — Arizona Legislature“within fifteen business days after the date of the sale, the trustee's sale is deemed perfected at the appointed date and time of the trustee's sale”
- [20]RCW 61.24.050(1) — Washington State Legislature“if the trustee accepts a bid, then the trustee's sale is final as of the date and time of such acceptance if the trustee's deed is recorded within fifteen days thereafter”
- [21]C.R.S. § 38-38-401(1) — Colorado General Assembly“No later than five business days after the sale, the officer shall execute and record in each county where the property or a portion thereof is located a certificate of purchase”
- [22]C.R.S. § 38-38-501(1) — Colorado General Assembly“No earlier than ten business days nor later than fifteen business days after both the title vests and the officer has received all statutory fees and costs, the officer shall execute and record a confirmation deed”
- [23]C.R.S. § 38-38-401(1)(d) — Colorado General Assembly“the purchaser or assignee of the certificate of purchase shall be entitled to a confirmation deed at the expiration of all redemption periods provided under part 3 of this article unless a redemption is made”
Questions
What is a trustee's deed?
The deed a trustee signs to transfer a property to the winning bidder at a trustee's sale, the non-judicial foreclosure of a deed of trust. The trustee is the grantor, not the owner, and acts under the power of sale the borrower gave in the deed of trust. If the lender wins with a credit bid, the deed names the lender. California and Arizona deeds are usually titled trustee's deed upon sale; Texas uses a substitute trustee's deed; Colorado's public trustee issues a confirmation deed.
What is the difference between a trust deed and a trustee's deed?
A trust deed, or deed of trust, is the security instrument a borrower signs at closing: it gives a trustee the power to sell the property if the loan goes into default. A trustee's deed is the document the trustee signs when it uses that power, conveying the property to the buyer at the trustee's sale. The first begins the arrangement; the second ends it.
Is a trustee's deed the same as a warranty deed?
No. A warranty deed carries the seller's promise that the title is good and that the seller will defend it. A trustee's deed makes no such promise: it passes whatever title the borrower held, with any liens senior to the foreclosed deed of trust still attached. Texas says the buyer takes the property as is, without express or implied warranties except as to warranties of title, and at the buyer's own risk.
Is a trustee's deed good title?
It can be, but it is only as good as the borrower's title and the foreclosure behind it. Junior liens are cleared and senior liens survive. In California, Arizona and Washington the deed's recitals that the notices were given are conclusive in favor of a good-faith buyer for value, which protects the buyer from most later arguments about the process. A recorded federal tax lien, an omitted lienholder in Washington, or a sale that should not have happened can still cloud it, so check the title before you bid.
Can you get title insurance on a trustee's deed?
Often, but on the title company's terms. An insurer reviews the foreclosure itself, including the recorded notices, the proof of mailing and the sale, and may add exceptions or wait for a redemption period to end before it writes a policy. Ask a title company before the auction, quoting the trustee sale number, rather than after you have paid.
How long after a trustee sale is the deed recorded?
It varies by state. An Arizona trustee must submit the deed for recording within seven business days of receiving payment. A California sale is perfected as of the sale date if the deed is recorded within 21 calendar days, and a Washington sale is final as of the accepted bid if the deed is recorded within 15 days. In Colorado the buyer first gets a certificate of purchase, recorded within five business days, and the confirmation deed comes after the redemption periods end.
Does a trustee's deed wipe out liens?
Only liens junior to the deed of trust that was foreclosed, such as a second mortgage when the first is foreclosed. Liens senior to it stay on the property. Arizona's statute says the conveyance is clear of all liens subordinate to the deed of trust and subject to all liens senior to it. A recorded federal tax lien is discharged only if the IRS was given written notice at least 25 days before the sale.
How do I find a recorded trustee's deed?
At the recorder's office of the county where the property is, by searching the property's parcel number or the trustee's name as grantor. Document types vary: trustee's deed, trustee's deed upon sale, substitute trustee's deed, or in Colorado, confirmation deed. It is recorded after the sale. Before the sale, the record to look for is the notice of trustee's sale.
How to cite this article
Quote freely with a link. Where a claim rests on a statute, the source above is the authority; cite it alongside this page.
TrusteeSaleData. "The trustee's deed: what a foreclosure auction buyer actually gets." Published October 14, 2026. https://www.trusteesaledata.com/blog/what-is-a-trustee-deed
Related
- The notice of default: the first public step toward a trustee's saleWhat a notice of default is, what it says, and how long each state makes it run before a trustee's sale: three months in California and Nevada, 30 days in Washington.
- How a Virginia foreclosure works, from the 60-day notice to the deedHow the Virginia foreclosure process works: the 60-day notice, the newspaper ads and their 8-to-30-day window, the 10% deposit, and the 90-day senior-loan payoff.
- Arizona's trustee sale, from recorded notice to deedHow an Arizona trustee sale works: the 91 days after the recorded notice, the lender's bid released the day before, the $10,000 deposit and next-day payment.