Skip to main content
How to Avoid
Foreclosure
Get free help

Oregon · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Oregon

In Oregon you can stop or delay a trustee foreclosure in several ways, and each has its own cutoff. The earliest and often most useful is the resolution conference with your lender. Later, you can cure the default up to 5 days before the sale. None of these is guaranteed to work in your case, so start early.

Ask for help in Oregon Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Oregon law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Oregon

  • Respond to the Notice of Resolution Conference

    Pay the fee and send your documents within 25 days of the notice

    Meet a free housing counselor, pay the fee to Mediation Case Manager and upload your financial documents. The lender must then send a representative with full authority to agree to a deal, plus your loan papers, payment history and the amount needed to cure. The fee deadline is set by law, and missing it cancels the conference.

    ORS 86.729, 86.732

  • Ask for a resolution conference yourself

    Before a notice of default is recorded

    If your lender has not asked for one, a housing counselor can certify that you are more than 30 days behind or have a hardship, and you can request the conference through the program. This does not work if your lender filed a valid exemption.

    ORS 86.726(3)

  • Apply to your servicer for help

    As early as possible; a complete application more than 37 days before the sale gets federal review protection

    Ask about a modification, forbearance, short sale or deed in lieu. Oregon calls these foreclosure avoidance measures. If the lender says no, it must mail you a plain-language reason within 10 days, and it can owe you $500 plus actual damages if it fails to.

    ORS 86.707(2), 86.748

  • Cure the default

    Until 5 days before the date last set for the sale

    Pay the past-due amount, not the whole loan, plus the lender's actual costs. Trustee and attorney fees on a home loan are capped at $1,000 in total. After you cure, the trustee must dismiss the foreclosure and the loan goes on as if it was never accelerated.

    ORS 86.778

  • Challenge a missing step in court

    Before the sale

    A non-exempt lender cannot record a notice of default without a valid certificate of compliance, and it must record an affidavit at least 5 days before the sale saying it sent any required denial letter. Oregon law allows a court case for a temporary restraining order during a trustee foreclosure. This takes a lawyer, so contact legal aid quickly.

    ORS 86.752, 86.748(2)

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sale is held

    A bankruptcy filing stops the sale. When the stay ends, the trustee must send an amended notice of sale within 30 days and give at least 15 days before the new date. Bankruptcy has serious costs and effects, so talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid first.

    ORS 86.782(12)

  • Refinance, pay off or sell

    Any time before the sale

    The required danger notice tells you that you can refinance or pay off the loan in full any time before the sale, or sell the home if the price covers what you owe. Ask the servicer for a written payoff amount right away.

    ORS 86.756

What Oregon law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Right to reinstate

You 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

Foreclosure mediation

Program available

The 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.

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)

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Oregon

Can I stop an Oregon foreclosure by paying only what I am behind?

Yes, until 5 days before the date last set for the sale (ORS 86.778). You pay the amount that would be due if you had never defaulted, plus actual costs, and trustee and attorney fees capped at $1,000 for a home loan. You can ask a court to decide if the fees are reasonable, but that does not stop the sale.

What does the Oregon resolution conference cost, and can I get the fee lowered?

By law your fee cannot be more than $200 (ORS 86.729). Oregon Housing and Community Services says that if you have a low income, all but $50 of the fee may be waived, but the reduced fee must still be paid by the deadline. Call Mediation Case Manager at 855-658-6733 to ask. The housing counselor is free.

Does my Oregon lender have to offer me a deal at the resolution conference?

No. Oregon Housing and Community Services says the lender must send someone with complete authority to negotiate, but it does not have to modify your loan if you are not eligible. A lender that skips the conference or fails to send the required documents commits an unlawful practice under ORS 646.607 (ORS 86.741).

What happens if I miss the 25-day fee deadline for an Oregon resolution conference?

The program cancels the conference and gives your lender a certificate of compliance within 5 days (ORS 86.729, 86.736). The lender can then record a notice of default. Call a housing counselor right away, because you can still cure or apply for help later.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Oregon

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 Oregon overview

Free, official, nationwide

Free help anywhere in the country

Ask a question

Need help avoiding foreclosure in Oregon?

Tell us where things stand. A person reads every message and writes back with the options that fit your situation and the free, official help available in Oregon.

  • Free. There is nothing to buy and no fee, ever.
  • No loan number, Social Security number or documents needed.
  • We are not your lender, a law firm or a government agency.

If a sale is days away, do not wait for an email. Call a free HUD-approved housing counselor now at (800) 569-4287.

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.

Sources for this page

  1. ORS Chapter 105, Property Rights (forcible entry and wrongful detainer, §§ 105.105 to 105.168)
  2. Oregon DOJ: Mortgage Help for Oregon Homeowners
  3. Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program (Mediation Case Manager)
  4. ORS Chapter 86, Mortgages; Trust Deeds
  5. ORS Chapter 18, Judgments (redemption, §§ 18.960 to 18.985)
  6. ORS Chapter 646A, Trade Regulation (foreclosure consultants)
  7. ORS Chapter 88, Foreclosure of Mortgages and Trust Deeds by suit
  8. Oregon DOJ: Foreclosure Avoidance Program
  9. OHCS: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  10. OHCS: Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program