Skip to main content
How to Avoid
Foreclosure
Get free help

Massachusetts · Get help now

Foreclosure sale date set in Massachusetts: what you can still do

If your Massachusetts auction is scheduled, you can still act until the gavel falls, because the sale itself ends your right to redeem. The realistic options are a postponement from your servicer, the Division of Banks' one-time request, a court order, paying off or selling, or bankruptcy. First confirm whether the sale is still on.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Massachusetts law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Tell us your sale date

Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.

For example: a sale date, what your servicer has told you, or what changed in your income. Please do not include your loan number, Social Security number or bank details.

Free, and there is nothing to buy. A person reads your message and replies by email, or by phone if you leave a number. We never ask for a fee and we do not sell your details. See the privacy policy.

Options still open before a sale in Massachusetts

  • Confirm the sale is still scheduled

    Today, and again the day before the sale

    The notice of sale gives the date, time and place and runs in a local newspaper for 3 weeks. Call the lender's attorney named on the notice to ask if it is still on. MassLegalHelp says a sale postponed by public announcement at the auction takes place on the new date announced.

    M.G.L. c. 244, § 14

  • Call the Division of Banks

    When the sale is within 7 days

    The Massachusetts Division of Banks can make a one-time request asking the servicer to pause the foreclosure for up to 60 days, so you have time to work out another option. Call (617) 956-1501 or email the Consumer Assistance Unit.

  • Ask your servicer to postpone

    As early as possible before the sale

    Send a complete modification or short sale application and ask in writing for the sale to be postponed while it is reviewed. The Division of Banks says your servicer may still be willing to postpone to review you. Get any agreement in writing.

  • Ask a court to stop the sale

    The order must be in place before the auction

    If the lender skipped a required notice, does not hold the note, or broke the terms of your mortgage, a lawyer can file a case and ask a judge to stop the sale. Bring every notice and envelope you received.

    M.G.L. c. 244, §§ 35A, 35C

  • Pay off, redeem or sell

    Before the foreclosure sale

    You can redeem by paying the full amount due, or sell the home and pay off the loan, any time before the sale. Ask the lender's attorney for a written payoff figure good through the sale date.

    M.G.L. c. 244, § 18

  • File bankruptcy

    Before the auction

    A bankruptcy petition filed before the sale triggers a federal stay. Make sure the lender's attorney and the auctioneer get proof of the filing. Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer first, because it affects all your debts.

    11 U.S.C. § 362

Call today, not tomorrow

With a sale on the calendar, every option above has a cutoff. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can call your servicer with you today: (800) 569-4287. For legal aid and court help, see free foreclosure help in Massachusetts.

Common questions in Massachusetts

How much notice of the auction do I get in Massachusetts?

The notice must be published once a week for 3 weeks, the first at least 21 days before the sale, and mailed to you by registered mail at least 14 days before. A lender that wants to sue for a shortfall must also mail a deficiency warning at least 21 days before.

Where is a Massachusetts foreclosure auction held?

At the place named in the notice of sale. MassLegalHelp says it is usually at or near the property, run by a licensed auctioneer, and the bank can bid. You may also see a bank representative step onto the land that day, which is a backup foreclosure method called foreclosure by entry.

Can a Massachusetts auction be postponed without a new notice?

MassLegalHelp says an auction can be postponed by public announcement at the scheduled time and place, and then held on the new date announced. Ask the lender's attorney for the new date in writing so you do not miss it.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Massachusetts

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Back to the Massachusetts overview

Free, official, nationwide

Free help anywhere in the country

Sources for this page

  1. M.G.L. c. 244, § 15, Copy of notice; affidavit; recording
  2. M.G.L. c. 244, § 15A, Mortgagee taking possession or conveying title; notice
  3. M.G.L. c. 239, § 1, Persons entitled to summary process
  4. Land Court, Frequently asked questions about Servicemembers cases
  5. Division of Banks, FAQ about the January 1, 2016 updates to the Right to Cure Notice
  6. Division of Banks, Help for Distressed Homeowners
  7. MassLegalHelp, Homeowners facing foreclosure (reviewed October 2025)
  8. M.G.L. c. 244, § 14, Foreclosure under power of sale
  9. M.G.L. c. 244, § 17A, Limitation of actions
  10. M.G.L. c. 244, § 17B, Notice of intention to foreclose
  11. M.G.L. c. 244, § 18, Persons authorized to redeem
  12. M.G.L. c. 244, § 35A, Right to cure a default
  13. M.G.L. c. 244, § 35B, Good faith effort to avoid foreclosure
  14. M.G.L. c. 244, § 35C, Creditor actions in violation of chapter
  15. M.G.L. c. 183, § 27, Disposition of proceeds of foreclosure sale
  16. Acts of 2024, Chapter 150 (Affordable Homes Act), foreclosure mediation pilot
  17. Mass.gov, Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF)
  18. Mass. Attorney General, Frequently asked questions about mortgages and foreclosure
  19. Mass. Attorney General, Preventing Foreclosure
  20. Mass. Attorney General, Foreclosure-related scams
  21. 940 CMR 25.00, Foreclosure rescue transactions and foreclosure-related services
  22. Land Court Servicemembers Cases Resources
  23. Trial Court Law Libraries, Massachusetts law about mortgage foreclosure