If you're figuring out how to stop a foreclosure, call your mortgage servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor. Ask about keeping your home through forbearance, repayment, or a loan modification. Your finances, loan program, and foreclosure stage determine which options are available. Approval is not guaranteed.
Loss mitigation is the process of working with your mortgage servicer on an alternative to foreclosure. Some options preserve ownership; others involve leaving the home.
If a sale date is pending or you have court papers, seek local foreclosure legal help immediately. An assistance request does not automatically suspend every deadline.
Our guide to distressed-property records explains how these situations appear in public data. This page focuses on the homeowner's response.
Four steps to respond to foreclosure
1. Confirm the deadline
Collect your mortgage statements and foreclosure notices. Confirm any scheduled sale date and court response deadline with the appropriate office, and seek local legal help immediately if a sale is pending.
Beside each notice, write down what it requires: a payment, an application, a court response, or a hearing. Put the dates on one calendar. Save the envelopes so a lawyer can check mailing and delivery details.
Our guide to checking a property's foreclosure status explains where to find recorder and court records. Then confirm the current schedule with the trustee, court, or foreclosure attorney identified in your documents. An old listing or auction advertisement may not reflect a later change.
Keep mortgage, property-tax, and association notices separate. A mortgage workout should not be assumed to resolve a different creditor's action. Our explanation of how foreclosure auctions work can help you identify the sale process named in the notice.
2. Contact the servicer and a housing counselor
Call the mortgage servicer using the number on your statement. Ask for the loss mitigation team and the application requirements, and contact a HUD-approved housing counselor for help comparing your options.
Explain what changed, whether you expect your income to recover, and what you can afford now. Say clearly if your goal is to stay. Ask which company owns or guarantees the loan and which assistance programs apply to it.
Keep a call log with the date, representative's name, promised next action, and reference number. Request written confirmation of anything said about postponing a sale. If you have a second mortgage, contact that servicer as well.
The CFPB's housing-counselor directory uses HUD's approved-agency list. Search by ZIP code and check that the agency offers foreclosure prevention services. A counselor can help organize the discussion; court papers still need legal attention.
3. Submit the required documents
Request the servicer's document checklist, submit the requested information through its designated channel, and keep proof of delivery. Ask the servicer to identify anything missing and confirm when your application is complete.
Gather income records, bank statements, household expenses, hardship information, and any tax records the servicer requests. Work from its current checklist. A generic form downloaded elsewhere can leave gaps.
Check the practical details before sending: signatures, all requested pages, readable scans, and matching names and loan numbers. If a document is unavailable, ask what substitute the servicer will accept. Keep a copy of the answer.
Keep the upload receipt. Then check that the servicer has everything it needs. Answer missing-document notices promptly, and save earlier submissions so you can show when you sent an item requested again.
4. Review the written decision
Review the servicer's written decision with your counselor or attorney. Check payment terms, response and appeal deadlines, and the status of any scheduled foreclosure sale before choosing your next action.
For an offer, write down the payment amount, start date, duration, and treatment of the missed payments. Ask whether the amount includes taxes and insurance, whether it can change, and what balance will remain at the end.
Check whether the offer is a trial arrangement or a permanent modification. Put the proposed payment into your household budget before agreeing. If it depends on income you don't have, tell the reviewer.
For a denial, ask your counselor or attorney to check the stated reasons against your submitted records and determine whether an appeal is available. Highlight the response deadline immediately. Keep the decision, any appeal, and proof that it was received together.
Forbearance vs. repayment plan vs. loan modification
These options address different payment problems. The CFPB's foreclosure-alternative guide explains temporary payment relief and changes to an existing loan. Ask about the programs available for your particular mortgage.
| Home-retention option | When to discuss it | Effect on your mortgage | What to check before accepting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forbearance | A temporary income shortfall | Payments are reduced or paused temporarily | When regular payments resume and how missed amounts will be repaid |
| Repayment plan | You can afford regular payments plus catch-up payments | Part of the overdue amount is added to regular payments | Whether you can sustain the higher payment throughout the plan |
| Loan modification | The existing payment is no longer affordable | The existing loan's terms change | New payment, interest rate, loan length, and treatment of overdue amounts |
Forbearance does not erase the skipped payments. A modification may lower the monthly payment while extending the repayment period or adding missed amounts to the balance. Read the repayment schedule as well as the monthly figure.
Illustrative situation: If your hours were cut but have now recovered, ask whether a repayment plan fits the amount you can set aside each month. If your income has fallen for the foreseeable future, ask the reviewer to assess a modification. Those facts help frame the conversation; they do not establish eligibility.
If you have funds to catch up, request an itemized reinstatement quote and the applicable payment deadline. Ask the servicer or attorney to explain exactly what payment would cure the default and where it must be delivered.
Federal foreclosure protections have conditions
Under the CFPB's Regulation X coverage rules, these loss mitigation procedures apply to covered loans secured by a principal residence. Reverse mortgages and certain Farm Credit loans are exempt. Small servicers are exempt from much of the process but retain specific foreclosure restrictions. Tax and association foreclosures require separate review.
The CFPB's loss mitigation regulation sets several important limits:
- First foreclosure notice or filing: Generally, the loan must be more than 120 days delinquent. Exceptions include a due-on-sale violation or joining another lienholder's foreclosure. This is not a guaranteed interval before an auction.
- Complete application after foreclosure starts: If received more than 37 days before sale, a qualifying application generally bars moving for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or conducting the sale, during the protected review process. Other procedural steps can continue.
- Protection can end: The regulation permits foreclosure to advance after an ineligibility decision and the applicable appeal process, rejection of all offered options, or failure to perform an agreed option.
A complete application includes all information the servicer requires from you. Repeat applications can be outside these protections if the servicer already complied on a complete application and you remained delinquent throughout. The rule does not require a specific offer.
Ask an attorney to check coverage and deadlines against your file. At 37 days or less before sale, do not assume a new application creates these protections. Other assistance may still be available, but you need immediate advice about the pending sale.
Washington example: check mediation eligibility early
Washington's Department of Commerce Foreclosure Fairness Program provides free foreclosure counseling and access to mediation for eligible homeowners. A housing counselor or attorney must make the mediation referral. Homeowners cannot self-refer, and some lenders are exempt.
For deed of trust foreclosures, Washington's RCW 61.24.163 allows referral after a notice of default, no later than 90 days before the sale date listed in the notice of trustee's sale.
The statute also has a narrower 25-day deadline for an amended notice recorded after a trustee sale was stayed under RCW 61.24.130. Have a Washington counselor or attorney check whether that provision applies. A changed sale date alone is not enough to assume eligibility.
Mediation creates a chance to negotiate. It does not guarantee a modification or permanent relief, and foreclosure can proceed after the required certification when no agreement is reached. Other states have their own mediation rules.
If keeping the home is no longer workable
If staying no longer works for you, compare the sale options. Start with a current mortgage payoff and a written estimate of what's left after required payoffs and selling expenses. The asking price won't tell you what you can take away from closing.
If the proceeds cover those obligations, ask the closing team how a normal sale would fit the foreclosure schedule. If they fall short, discuss a short sale with the servicer. A short sale needs creditor approval; our short-sale guide explains approval letters and remaining-debt questions.
A deed in lieu involves voluntarily transferring ownership to the mortgage creditor under an approved agreement. The CFPB's foreclosure-alternative guide describes both routes. Ask a lawyer to review lien releases, any remaining personal liability, and possession terms. Have a tax professional review the proposed agreement before relying on any tax outcome.
Treat the buyer's closing date and the foreclosure sale date as separate deadlines. Get written confirmation of any approved postponement; listing the property or accepting an offer is not that confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to stop a foreclosure?
There is no universally fastest method. If a sale is scheduled, contact a local foreclosure attorney and your servicer immediately. Ask what can be completed in your case and how any postponement will be documented. A pending application alone is not proof that the sale has stopped.
How long can a home stay in foreclosure?
There is no single national duration. State procedure, court proceedings, required notices, and postponements affect the schedule. Check your current documents for the next deadline. The federal 120-day rule limits when the first foreclosure notice or filing can occur; it sets no national completion date.
How does a foreclosure get dismissed?
Dismissal concerns a court case and depends on the applicable law and case record. A settlement can also end a case; New York Courts' settlement-conference guidance gives a state-specific example. Ask your lawyer what filing or order confirms the result and what debt remains. A postponed trustee sale is a different event.
Do I need a lawyer to stop foreclosure?
You can contact your servicer and a housing counselor yourself. Seek local legal help promptly if you have a sale date, court papers, a disputed balance, or a question about enforcing your rights. Ask about legal aid if you need help paying for representation. Counseling and legal representation serve different purposes.
Find a foreclosure counselor
For your first counseling appointment, have the latest notice, mortgage statement, and a short list of unanswered questions ready. Use the CFPB's HUD-approved counselor search and tell the agency about any scheduled sale when you contact it.