Facing Foreclosure in Nashville? What the 2025 Notice Law Means
Tennessee changed how foreclosure sales are advertised in 2025, and Nashville sales don’t follow a fixed day. Here’s how to find your sale, what the notice has to tell you, and what you can still do.
The short answer: Most Tennessee foreclosures are out-of-court trustee sales under a deed of trust. Since July 1, 2025, the trustee must run the sale notice in a Davidson County newspaper at least twice, the first at least 20 days before the sale, post it online with a registered posting company for at least 20 days, and mail it to you by the first publication date. Tennessee has no fixed sale day: your notice sets the date, time and courthouse entrance.
In Nashville, a foreclosure can go from the first newspaper ad to a courthouse sale in about three weeks. Tennessee doesn’t send these cases to court, and unlike Georgia or Texas, it doesn’t sell on a fixed day of the month. The notice is everything: it tells you when and where, and in 2025 the law changed how it’s published.
What the 2025 notice law changed
Public Chapter 515 took effect July 1, 2025. For a sale under a deed of trust in Davidson County, the trustee now has to:
Advertise in a newspaper at least twice (it used to be three times), in a paper published in the county, with the first ad at least 20 days before the sale (T.C.A. §35-5-101).
Post the notice online for at least 20 continuous days with a third-party posting company registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State. The notice itself must name that website (§35-5-104).
Mail the notice to you by registered or certified mail on or before the date of the first newspaper ad.
Some deeds of trust still call for three newspaper ads, so you may see more. And a sale can be postponed for up to a year without a new newspaper ad, as long as each new date is posted online and announced; delays of more than 30 days also require a mailed notice at least 10 days ahead.
How to find your Davidson County sale
Read the mailed notice first. It names the date, time, courthouse entrance and the posting website.
The sale itself is usually at the Historic Davidson County Courthouse, One Public Square. The entrance and time vary by trustee.
What Tennessee does and doesn’t require before that
Tennessee used to require a separate 60-day “notice of right to foreclose,” but that rule was repealed in 2013, so don’t count on getting one. What you can count on: for most home loans, federal rules generally keep the servicer from starting foreclosure until you’re more than 120 days behind (12 CFR §1024.41(f)), and your deed of trust may require a default letter before the trustee advertises. After the sale, Tennessee’s two-year right of redemption (§66-8-101) only applies if your deed of trust didn’t waive it, and most do.
Your options, and free help in Nashville
Call your servicer for a written reinstatement amount and ask about a repayment plan, forbearance or a loan modification. Get a complete application in early.
Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor for free. Nashville options include the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (888-483-8432) and Affordable Housing Resources (615-251-0025). HUD’s line is 800-569-4287.
Consider selling if the numbers don’t work for keeping the house, or a short sale if you owe more than it’s worth.
Where a cash sale fits
With as little as three weeks between the first ad and the sale, there’s rarely time for a traditional listing. We buy Nashville houses as-is, with no repairs, fees or commissions, and when the timeline allows we can close in as little as two weeks through a Tennessee title company, paying off your loan at closing so the equity left after liens and costs goes to you. If your sale date is too close, or keeping the house looks realistic, we’ll tell you straight.
What happens when you reach out
You talk to an owner. Call or text (678) 926-9776 and you’ll reach William or Peter, the owners of MarKey Home Buyers. We’ve been in business for more than 10 years.
We ask a few questions. The address, roughly what you owe, the condition of the house, and your sale date if you have one. Your latest mortgage statement and any notice you’ve received help.
You get an honest read. We tell you whether there’s realistically time for a sale to close before your sale date, and whether selling makes sense for you at all.
If it fits, you get a written offer after a quick walkthrough, in person or by video. No fees, no obligation.
You decide. Compare it with your other options and talk it over with family, your servicer, a housing counselor or an attorney first.
How we figure an offer: we start from what the house would sell for after repairs, then subtract the repairs it needs, our costs to buy, hold and resell it, and a margin for our risk. That’s why a cash offer is lower than a full retail price. In return you skip repairs, showings and commissions, and you pick the closing date. We’ll walk you through the numbers on your house.
What we’ll never do
Promise we can stop your foreclosure. No honest buyer can promise that.
Charge you a fee, ask for money up front, or ask you to make payments to us.
Ask you to sign over your deed before closing. The house stays yours until a closing attorney or title company closes the sale.
Tell you to stop talking to your lender, a housing counselor or an attorney.
Rush you. Every term is in writing before you agree to anything.
Hide how we buy. We may buy your house ourselves or assign our purchase contract to another buyer, and we tell you which in writing before you sign.
MarKey Home Buyers is a real estate investment company that buys houses. We are not a lender, law firm, government agency or housing counselor, and we’re not affiliated with your lender or servicer. A sale to us is a sale: at closing, ownership transfers and you move out on the date we agree.
When a cash sale probably isn’t your best move
You can afford the payment again and your servicer offers a reinstatement, repayment plan or modification that works.
The house is in good shape, you have real equity, and there’s enough time before the sale to list it with an agent. That will usually net you more.
You qualify for an assistance program that can catch you up.
If any of those fit, we’ll tell you, even if it means we don’t buy your house.
Got a notice or a sale date?
Send us the address and the sale date. We’ll tell you honestly whether there’s time for a sale to close, and what you’d walk away with.
Davidson County trustee sales are usually held at the Historic Davidson County Courthouse, One Public Square, Nashville. The exact entrance, day and time are set by each trustee and printed in the notice; recent notices have named the front, main or south door, mostly on weekday mornings.
What changed in Tennessee foreclosure notices in 2025?
Public Chapter 515, effective July 1, 2025, cut the required newspaper ads from three to at least two and added a requirement that the notice also be posted online for at least 20 continuous days by a third-party posting company registered with the Secretary of State. The notice must name that website. Some deeds of trust still require more newspaper ads than the statute.
Can my sale be postponed?
Yes. A trustee can postpone without a new newspaper ad if the new date is within a year of the original. Each new date has to be posted on the online site and announced at the original sale, except for delays under five days, and delays over 30 days require a mailed notice at least 10 days before the new date.
Do I have a right to redeem my house after a Tennessee foreclosure?
Tennessee law allows two years to redeem after a sale, but only if the deed of trust didn’t waive it, and most do. Davidson County notices typically say the right of redemption was expressly waived. Check your own deed of trust or ask an attorney.
Can I sell my Nashville house before the foreclosure sale?
Yes. You own the house until the trustee sale. If a sale closes first, the loan is paid off from the proceeds and any equity left after liens and costs goes to you. Because sales can come as soon as about three weeks after the first ad, start as early as you can.
Last reviewed . General information, not legal advice. Laws and county procedures change; confirm dates with your notice, your servicer, or an attorney.
Facing Foreclosure? See Your Options
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