The short answer
When you took out your mortgage you signed two things: a promise to repay the loan, and a mortgage or deed of trust that makes the home security for that promise. If the payments stop, the second document lets the lender have the home sold and use the money to pay the loan. That process is foreclosure.
A foreclosure ends with a sale, usually an auction. Until the sale happens you still own the home, and in most cases you can still live in it.
The stages
- Missed payments. You are behind from the first unpaid due date. Your servicer must try to call you by day 36 and write to you by day 45. See missed a mortgage payment.
- The 120-day wait. In most cases the servicer cannot start a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. This is the best time to apply for help.
- The start. The servicer makes the first official notice or court filing. What that is depends on your state. See what your letter means.
- The sale. The home is sold at auction by a trustee, a sheriff or a court officer, on a date given in a notice of sale.
- After the sale. Depending on your state, you may have time to buy the home back, you may be owed money left over from the sale, the lender may be able to collect a shortfall, and the new owner has to follow an eviction process before you must leave.
Two kinds of foreclosure
In a judicial foreclosure the lender files a lawsuit and a judge has to approve the sale. In a nonjudicial foreclosure there is no lawsuit: a trustee sends and records notices and then holds the sale. Which one applies depends on your state and your loan documents. See judicial vs nonjudicial foreclosure.
Who is involved
- Your servicer: the company you send payments to. It handles the loan, your application for help, and usually the foreclosure.
- The owner or insurer of the loan: often Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA or USDA. Its rules decide which options you can get. See help by loan type.
- A trustee or a foreclosure law firm: hired to carry out the foreclosure.
- The court, the sheriff or a court officer: in states where foreclosures go through court.
Ways it can stop
- You catch up: reinstatement or a repayment plan.
- The servicer changes or pauses the payments: forbearance, a payment deferral or partial claim, or a loan modification.
- You leave on agreed terms: a short sale or a deed in lieu.
- A bankruptcy filing puts the sale on hold: see Chapter 13.
Start with what to do first, and find your state for its timeline and free help.
How much time do you have? It depends on your state.
See the foreclosure timeline, deadlines and free local help for the state where the home is.
Common questions
Is pre-foreclosure the same as foreclosure?
"Pre-foreclosure" is not a legal term. People use it for the time between falling behind and the sale, and real estate websites use it to label homes whose owners have received a foreclosure notice. You still own the home during that time and can still use every option above.
Does foreclosure mean I have to move out right away?
No. You own the home until the sale. After a sale, the new owner has to follow your state's eviction process, and some states give you time to buy the home back first. See the after-the-sale page for your state.
Is a foreclosure notice public?
Usually yes. Foreclosure notices are recorded or filed in public records, which is why strangers may start calling and mailing you. Many of those offers are not safe. See how to spot a rescue scam.
Keep reading
- What to do firstThe earlier you act, the more options you have. These are the first six things to do, in order, whether you are about to miss a payment or are already a few months behind.
- A sale date is setA sale date means time is short, not that it has run out. Each option below has its own cutoff, so the order you act in matters. Start today.
- Avoid foreclosure rescue scamsPeople facing foreclosure are a target. Federal law bans most upfront fees for mortgage relief, so any company that asks to be paid before you have an offer from your servicer is breaking the rules.
- Your federal rightsFederal rules (Regulation X) set the floor in every state. They do not force your servicer to approve any option, but they control when it can start a foreclosure and how it must handle your application.
- Help by loan typeYour servicer collects the payments, but the rules for what it can offer you come from whoever owns or insures the loan. Find that out first.
- Taxes after foreclosureThe IRS treats a foreclosure as a sale, and forgiven debt is usually income. The main home exclusion many people relied on has expired for most 2026 cases, but insolvency and bankruptcy exclusions still apply.