How to avoid foreclosure in Pennsylvania

How foreclosure works in Pennsylvania, step by step

1. Missed payments and pre-foreclosure

   Federal rules generally bar the servicer from starting foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Call your servicer and a housing counselor as soon as you fall behind.

   12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. Act 91 notice and HEMAP

   For most home loans the lender must send an Act 91 notice before foreclosing. You have 33 days from the date of 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 Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program loan.

   35 P.S. § 1680.403c

3. Notice of intention to foreclose

   The lender must also give at least 30 days' written notice by registered or certified mail before it speeds up the loan or files suit. The notice must say what the default is and exactly what you must pay to cure it.

   41 P.S. § 403

4. Foreclosure complaint

   The lender files a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas and you are served. The papers include a notice to defend with a short deadline to respond in writing. Some counties, including Philadelphia, send owner-occupied cases to a conciliation conference first.

5. Judgment and notice of sheriff's sale

   After a judgment the lender asks the sheriff to sell the home. A handbill must be posted on the property and written notice served on you at least 30 days before the sale, and the sale is advertised.

   Pa.R.C.P. 3129.2

6. Cure before the sale

   You can cure the default and stop the sale up to one hour before bidding starts by paying the missed payments, allowed fees and costs. You can use this right no more than three times in a calendar year.

   41 P.S. § 404

7. After the sale

   The sheriff files a schedule of how the money will be paid out within 30 days and delivers the deed after that process. If you remain in the home, the buyer must go back to court to get possession.

   Pa.R.C.P. 3135, 3136

Pennsylvania foreclosure deadlines to know

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 Pennsylvania

Other Pennsylvania protections

• Act 91 notice and HEMAP stay

  For covered loans the lender must send an Act 91 notice before foreclosing. Meeting a counseling agency within 33 days and applying on time pauses foreclosure while PHFA reviews your application for a HEMAP loan.

  35 P.S. § 1680.403c

• Act 6 notice of intention to foreclose

  A residential mortgage lender must give 30 days' notice by registered or certified mail, stating the default and the exact amount needed to cure, before accelerating the loan or suing.

  41 P.S. § 403

• Right to cure until one hour before the sale

  You can stop the sheriff's sale by paying the arrears and allowed costs up to one hour before bidding, up to three times a year.

  41 P.S. § 404

• Limits on attorney fees

  Before a foreclosure case is filed, a residential mortgage lender can charge no more than $50 in attorney fees, and none for work during the 30-day notice period.

  41 P.S. § 406

• Fair market value credit

  Under the Deficiency Judgment Act a lender that buys the home must credit you with its court-set fair market value before collecting any balance.

  42 Pa.C.S. § 8103

Pennsylvania mortgage assistance programs

If the home is sold for more than you owe

Within 30 days after the sale the sheriff files a schedule of proposed distribution showing who gets the sale money. Liens and costs are paid in order, and anything left belongs to the former owner. Anyone who disagrees must file exceptions within 10 days after the schedule is filed. Call the county sheriff's real estate office to ask whether your sale produced extra money and how to claim it.

Pa.R.C.P. 3136

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 Pennsylvania as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

• Repayment plan
• Forbearance
• Payment deferral or partial claim
• Loan modification
• Reinstatement
• Short sale
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy