- Who sends it
- Your lender or servicer, often by certified or registered mail
- What it starts
- A state waiting period before the lender can call the loan due, sue or start a sale
- Do this first
- Find the deadline in the letter and call a counselor on its list
What this letter is
A notice of intent to foreclose is a warning required by state law. It goes by many names: notice of intention to foreclose, pre-foreclosure notice, right to cure notice, pre-suit notice. Most say how much you are behind, what you must pay to cure, the date to pay by, and where to get free help.
It comes on top of your federal protections. Federal rules still generally bar the first foreclosure notice or filing until you are more than 120 days behind, and your servicer still must review a complete loss mitigation application you send before then.
What it does and does not mean
- It is a warning, not a lawsuit, a sale or an eviction.
- It usually means the lender is getting ready to file in court or start the sale process once the waiting period ends.
- In several states, using the counseling or cure rights in the letter can pause or end the foreclosure.
- If the lender skipped a required notice or got it wrong, that can matter later. Keep the letter and the envelope.
What it is called in each state, and the deadline
- Pennsylvania: Act 91 notice. You have 33 days from the date on the notice to meet face to face with a listed counseling agency; if you do, foreclosure is put on hold while you apply for a HEMAP loan. An Act 6 notice of intention to foreclose must also come at least 30 days before the lender sues.
- New York: 90-Day Pre-Foreclosure Notice, headed "YOU MAY BE AT RISK OF FORECLOSURE", at least 90 days before a lawsuit. It lists at least five housing counseling agencies in your county.
- Maryland: Notice of Intent to Foreclose, at least 45 days before the case is filed. If you live in the home it comes with a loss mitigation application; fill it out and send it back right away.
- Massachusetts: 90-Day Right to Cure Notice. Paying the amount by the deadline stops the lender from calling the whole loan due. You get this right once in any 5-year period.
- New Jersey: Notice of Intention to Foreclose, at least 30 and no more than 180 days before suit. It lists the cure amount and the free mediation and counseling programs.
- Connecticut: 60-day notice. You have 60 days to meet or talk with the lender or a counseling agency and to contact the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
- Delaware: Notice of Intent to Foreclose, at least 45 days before filing, headed "TAKE ACTION TO SAVE YOUR HOME FROM FORECLOSURE".
- District of Columbia: Notice of Intention to Foreclose (Form FM-5), with the auction date, at least 30 days before the sale.
- North Carolina: 45-day pre-foreclosure notice listing counselors and the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project.
- Indiana: pre-suit notice by certified mail, at least 30 days before the lawsuit.
- Washington: pre-foreclosure letter. Respond within 30 days and you get 60 more days to meet with your lender before a notice of default.
- Minnesota: Preforeclosure Notice: Foreclosure Prevention Counseling, on colored paper, naming a nonprofit counseling agency.
- Arkansas: pre-foreclosure packet, at least 10 days before the lender starts the foreclosure.
- Oklahoma: notice of intention to foreclose by power of sale, with 35 days to cure from the date it was sent (power of sale cases only).
- Wyoming: notice of intent to foreclose, at least 10 days before the newspaper notice starts.
- Right to cure notices in Iowa, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota and West Virginia. See the breach letter page.
- Pre-foreclosure contact rules in California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah, and a resolution conference notice in Oregon.
What to do this week
- Find the deadline in the letter and write it down. Count from the date the letter names (for Pennsylvania's Act 91 notice, the date on the notice).
- Call one of the counselors listed in the letter, or HUD at (800) 569-4287. HUD-approved agencies may not charge for foreclosure counseling.
- Check the cure amount. If it looks wrong, call the contact named in the letter and follow up in writing.
- Send your servicer a complete loss mitigation application. See your federal rights.
- Read how to stop a foreclosure on your state's page and use the deadline calculator.
Scams tied to this letter
The real letter points you to free counselors. Be wary of anyone else who contacts you about it:
- Anyone who asks for a fee before you have signed an agreement with your servicer. A company that is not your lawyer cannot charge for mortgage relief until then.
- Anyone who tells you to stop talking to your servicer, your housing counselor or your lawyer.
- Anyone who wants payment by wire, cashier's check or a payment app, or who asks you to sign over your deed.
- Anyone who says they are with the government or your lender without proof. Call the number on your own statement or letter to check.
Several state notices list the attorney general's hotline. Use it to check a company before you sign anything. See foreclosure rescue scams.
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
My state is not listed. Does that mean I get no notice?
Not exactly. Your mortgage may require a default notice, and federal rules still require the early intervention letter and the 120-day wait. Check your state's page for every notice used there.
Does meeting a counselor stop the foreclosure?
In some states it can. In Pennsylvania, meeting a listed agency within 33 days of the Act 91 notice puts the foreclosure on hold while your HEMAP application is reviewed, as long as the time limits are met. Elsewhere, counseling helps you apply but does not pause the case by itself.
Can the lender sue before the notice period ends?
The state laws listed above set a minimum wait. If you are sued earlier, or never got the notice, tell a lawyer or legal aid right away. See lawyers by city.
Keep reading
- Late notice and early intervention letterThis letter is a warning, not a foreclosure. Federal rules make your servicer reach out early and tell you about help. In most cases a foreclosure cannot start until you are more than 120 days behind, so this is the best time to act.
- Breach letter (demand or notice of intent to accelerate)A breach letter says you are in default and gives you a date to catch up. If you do not, the lender can call the whole loan due and move toward foreclosure. Many standard mortgages and deeds of trust require at least 30 days to cure.
- Notice of defaultIn many states that foreclose without a court, a recorded notice of default is the official start of the foreclosure. It is not a sale and not an eviction. It starts a waiting period before a sale can be set, and you can usually still catch up or apply for help.
- Lis pendens (notice of pendency)A lis pendens is a public notice, filed in the land records, that a lawsuit or foreclosure affecting your home is pending. It does not mean the home is sold or that you must move. It usually means the court papers are coming or have already been served.
- Foreclosure summons and complaintA summons and complaint means the lender has sued to foreclose. You have a short, firm deadline to respond in writing, often 20 to 30 days from the day you were served. Missing it can let the lender win without your side being heard.
- Notice of trustee's saleA notice of sale sets the date, time and place your home will be auctioned. It is serious, but it is not the end. You may still be able to catch up, get a review, use mediation or file bankruptcy, and each of those has its own cutoff.