Oregon foreclosure help
How to avoid foreclosure in Oregon
Most Oregon home loans use a trust deed, and most foreclosures happen without a lawsuit. A trustee records a notice of default, sends a notice of sale, and auctions the home. Before starting, larger lenders must offer you a resolution conference through the Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program. A lender can choose to foreclose in court instead, which follows different rules.
Reviewed against Oregon law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
- Oregon at a glance
- Type of foreclosure
- Nonjudicial (no court case)
- Catch up to stop the sale
- Yes
- Buy back after the sale
- Limited
- Owe money after the sale
- Limited
- Foreclosure mediation
- Available
How foreclosure works in Oregon, step by step
How long it takes: The notice of sale must go out at least 120 days before the sale, on top of the federal 120-day wait and the time for a resolution conference, so about eight months from the first missed payment is a realistic minimum. This is a floor built from the statutory periods, not a prediction.
Missed payments and pre-foreclosure
Federal rules generally bar the servicer from starting foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Contact your servicer and a free housing counselor early. If you are more than 30 days behind, a counselor can help you request a resolution conference yourself.
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)
Resolution conference
Before recording a notice of default, the lender must request a resolution conference with you unless it is exempt. The program mails you a notice. Within 25 days you must pay a fee of no more than $200 and send your documents, and you must see a housing counselor first. The conference is set within 75 days of the notice.
ORS 86.726, 86.729
Notice of default recorded
If no agreement is reached, the trustee records a notice of default in the county records. For a home loan it must be recorded with a certificate of compliance from the program, or a copy of the lender's exemption affidavit.
ORS 86.752
Notice of sale and danger notice
At least 120 days before the sale you must be served or mailed a notice of sale. With it comes a notice in large type that begins You are in danger of losing your property, which lists the sale date, the amount to catch up, and where to get free help.
ORS 86.764, 86.756
Cure the default
You can stop the sale by paying the past-due amount plus allowed costs any time up to five days before the sale date. For a home loan, trustee and attorney fees you must pay to cure are capped at $1,000 in total.
ORS 86.778
Trustee's sale
The trustee auctions the home to the highest bidder for cash. The sale can be postponed for up to 180 days in total, and you must get written notice of a new date at least 15 days ahead. After the sale you cannot redeem.
ORS 86.782, 86.797
Moving out
The buyer is entitled to possession on the 10th day after the sale. If you stay, the buyer must use the court eviction process to remove you.
ORS 86.782(6)
Oregon foreclosure deadlines to know
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Your response to the resolution conference noticeORS 86.729 | Pay the fee and send documents within 25 days |
| Notice of sale to sale dateORS 86.764 | At least 120 days |
| Last day to cure the defaultORS 86.778 | 5 days before the sale date |
| Notice of a postponed sale dateORS 86.782 | At least 15 days before the new date |
| Buyer's right to possessionORS 86.782(6) | 10th day after the sale |
| Redemption after a court foreclosure saleORS 18.964 | 180 days after the sale |
These are the periods written into the law. Your own dates are on the notices you received. If a notice and this page disagree, trust the notice and ask a counselor or lawyer.
Your rights as a homeowner in Oregon
Can I stop a foreclosure in Oregon by catching up on what I owe?
Right to reinstateYou have a statutory right to cure the default and have the foreclosure dismissed any time up to five days before the sale date. You pay the amount then past due (not the whole loan), plus the lender's actual costs and trustee and attorney fees, which are capped at $1,000 in total for a residential trust deed.
ORS 86.778
Can I get my home back after a foreclosure sale in Oregon?
Limited redemptionThere is no right to redeem after a nonjudicial trustee's sale. If the lender forecloses through the courts instead, the former owner can redeem within 180 days after the sheriff's sale.
ORS 86.797(1); ORS 18.964
Can the lender come after me for the remaining balance in Oregon?
LimitedAfter a trustee's sale, or after a court foreclosure of a residential trust deed, the lender cannot sue you for the shortfall on that loan. The same protection covers a second loan made the same day, as part of the same purchase, by the same lender or its affiliate. Other debts secured by the home, such as an unrelated second mortgage, may still be collectible.
ORS 86.797(2)
Is there foreclosure mediation in Oregon?
Program availableThe Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program requires lenders that started more than 30 residential foreclosures in the prior year to request a resolution conference with you before foreclosing, in court or out. A neutral facilitator runs the meeting. You must meet a housing counselor first and pay a fee of no more than $200. If you have not received a notice, a housing counselor can certify that you are more than 30 days behind or have a hardship, and you can request a conference yourself. The Oregon Department of Justice oversees the program and Mediation Case Manager runs it.
Other Oregon protections
Resolution conference before foreclosure
A non-exempt lender cannot record a notice of default on a home loan without a valid certificate of compliance showing it took part in the program.
ORS 86.726, 86.752
Written reasons for denial
If the lender decides you do not qualify for a foreclosure avoidance measure, it must mail you a plain-language explanation within 10 days. A lender that fails to do so can owe you $500 plus actual damages.
ORS 86.748
Cap on fees to cure
For a residential trust deed, the trustee and attorney fees you must pay to cure the default are limited to $1,000 in total, or the actual charge if lower.
ORS 86.778
Deficiency bar on home loans
A lender that forecloses a residential trust deed cannot get a money judgment against you for the unpaid balance of that loan.
ORS 86.797
Limits on postponed sales
A trustee may postpone a sale for no more than 180 days in total and must send written notice of the new date, with one short exception of up to two calendar days.
ORS 86.782(2)
Oregon mortgage assistance programs
Oregon Homeowner Assistance Fund
Closed to new applicationsOregon Housing and Community Services says the Homeowner Assistance Fund stopped accepting new applications on July 17, 2026. The U.S. Treasury says the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund period ended on September 30, 2026, so HAF money can no longer pay for new assistance. Free foreclosure counseling through OHCS homeownership centers and the Foreclosure Avoidance Program remain available.
If the home is sold for more than you owe
After a trustee's sale the trustee pays sale costs, then the foreclosed loan, then recorded junior liens in order. Any surplus goes to the grantor of the trust deed (the borrower) or the borrower's successor. Contact the trustee named in your notice of sale to ask whether there is a surplus. In a court foreclosure the court orders how sale proceeds are distributed.
ORS 86.794; ORS 18.950
Ways to avoid foreclosure
Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in Oregon as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.
Step by step
Oregon foreclosure guides, step by step
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.
Free, official, nationwide
Free help anywhere in the country
HUD-approved housing counselors
Free foreclosure prevention counseling from agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A counselor can review your budget and deal with your servicer alongside you.
(800) 569-4287CFPB: help for struggling homeowners
Plain-language guides from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and a complaint form if your mortgage servicer is not following the rules.
Legal Services Corporation: find legal aid
Find the free civil legal aid office for your county if you have been served with a foreclosure lawsuit or given a sale date and cannot afford a lawyer.
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If a sale is days away, do not wait for an email. Call a free HUD-approved housing counselor now at (800) 569-4287.
Sources for this page
Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Laws and programs change. If you find something out of date, tell us.
- ORS Chapter 86, Mortgages; Trust Deeds
- ORS Chapter 18, Judgments (redemption, §§ 18.960 to 18.985)
- ORS Chapter 646A, Trade Regulation (foreclosure consultants)
- ORS Chapter 88, Foreclosure of Mortgages and Trust Deeds by suit
- Oregon DOJ: Foreclosure Avoidance Program
- OHCS: Homeowner Assistance Fund
- OHCS: Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program