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Vermont · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Vermont

You have real tools to stop or slow a Vermont foreclosure because the lender has to win in court and then wait out your redemption period. The best ones are answering the complaint, asking for mediation, and working out a modification. The firm cutoff is the public sale, or in a strict foreclosure, the end of the redemption period. Nothing here is a promise of a result.

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

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Vermont

  • Catch up before the lawsuit

    By the cure date in your notice of default

    VTLawHelp says that if you pay what you owe by the cure date in the notice of default, you avoid foreclosure. Ask your servicer for the exact figure in writing.

  • File a verified answer with your defenses

    Within 21 days after you are served

    Use the court's Verified Answer, Foreclosure Case form that came with your papers. VTLawHelp warns that you must write your defenses in the answer, or the court can still enter a default judgment. A lawyer can help you spot defenses.

    V.R.C.P. 80.1(b)(3)

  • Ask for mediation

    As early as possible; no later than 4 months after judgment and before redemption ends

    The court must refer your case if you ask in time, unless it finds good cause or a delay tactic after judgment. The lender must consider reinstatement, modification, forbearance and short sale, and explain any denial. If it does not take part in good faith, the court can stop interest and fees, fine it, dismiss the case or bar the sale.

    12 V.S.A. §§ 4632(a), 4633(a), 4635(b)

  • Ask for a sale instead of strict foreclosure

    Before the decree

    If your home is worth more than what you owe, you can ask in writing for a public sale. This protects your equity, because any money left after the sale goes to you.

    12 V.S.A. §§ 4941(b), (c), 4954(c)

  • Redeem by paying the judgment

    Any time before the public sale

    Pay the full amount in the judgment plus later costs the court allows. If the lender agrees, you can redeem for less with court approval. Selling the home and paying off the loan works the same way.

    12 V.S.A. § 4949

  • Reinstate, modify or vacate by agreement

    After redemption ends but before the sale

    If the lender agrees, you can reinstate or modify the loan, and the lender records a waiver of foreclosure that ends the case once a judge approves it. Both sides can also ask the court to vacate the judgment.

    12 V.S.A. §§ 4948, 4951

  • File bankruptcy

    Before the sale

    A bankruptcy filing triggers a federal stay, and Vermont law says the six-month deadline to hold the sale is paused by it. Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer first, because it affects all your debts.

    12 V.S.A. § 4946(a); 11 U.S.C. § 362

What Vermont law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Limited right

Vermont law does not give you a one-sided right to reinstate by paying only the missed payments once the case is filed. After the redemption period ends and before the sale, you may reinstate or modify the loan only if the lender agrees. If it does, the lender signs a waiver of foreclosure that ends the case once the court approves it and it is recorded.

12 V.S.A. § 4948

Foreclosure mediation

Program available

Vermont has a statewide court foreclosure mediation program for owner-occupied homes of four units or fewer. The lender must serve a mediation notice and request form with the complaint. Fill out the form and file it with the court as early as you can. The mediator is a neutral Vermont lawyer, and the parties must go over the foreclosure prevention tools that apply to your loan. The lender pays the mediation costs up front, but you pay your own lawyer and travel. If the home is sold and there is money left over, the lender can take the full mediation cost out of that surplus. Otherwise it can charge you up to half of the mediator's fee (12 V.S.A. § 4637). Mediation does not pause the redemption period.

No foreclosure without a court case

Nonjudicial foreclosure cannot be used on a dwelling house owned by a natural person or on farmland. The lender must go to court.

12 V.S.A. § 4961

Strict foreclosure only when there is no real equity

The court cannot give the lender title without a sale unless it finds there is no substantial value in the property beyond the mortgage debt, other liens and unpaid property taxes. Any party can ask for a sale instead.

12 V.S.A. § 4941(b), (c)

Seven-month floor before a sale

A home you live in as your main residence cannot be sold within seven months of service of the complaint, unless the court shortens the redemption period or you and the lender agree.

12 V.S.A. § 4946(b)

Right to mediation

In covered cases the court must refer the case to mediation when you ask in time, and the lender must consider the foreclosure prevention tools that apply.

12 V.S.A. §§ 4631 to 4637

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Vermont

Is Vermont foreclosure mediation free?

Mostly. Under 12 V.S.A. section 4637, the lender pays the required mediation costs, and you pay your own lawyer and travel. If there is no surplus from a sale, the lender can still pass up to half of the mediator's cost on to you. If the sale leaves a surplus, it can take the full mediation cost out of that surplus.

Who qualifies for foreclosure mediation in Vermont?

Homeowners with a home of four or fewer units that they live in as their main home. The program does not apply to commercial loans, or to some loans not covered by a government loss mitigation program where the lender tried to meet you in person in Vermont first and certified that to the court.

Who are the mediators in Vermont foreclosure cases?

They are Vermont-licensed lawyers trained in foreclosure prevention. VTLawHelp says the court's letter lists three mediators, and you and the lender have seven days to agree on one, or the court picks. The mediator does not work for the bank.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Vermont

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 Vermont overview

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Sources for this page

  1. 12 V.S.A. § 4854, Judgment for plaintiff; writ of possession
  2. Vermont Supreme Court, Order amending V.R.C.P. 80.1(b)(3), effective January 1, 2025
  3. VTLawHelp: Foreclosure in Vermont
  4. VTLawHelp: More Foreclosure Help
  5. 12 V.S.A. Chapter 172: Foreclosure of Mortgages
  6. 12 V.S.A. Chapter 163 (includes §§ 4631 to 4637, foreclosure mediation)
  7. VTLawHelp: Foreclosure Process in Vermont
  8. VTLawHelp: Foreclosure Mediation
  9. Vermont Attorney General: Foreclosures
  10. Vermont Housing Finance Agency: COVID Homeowner Assistance Program
  11. Vermont Judiciary: Eviction and Foreclosure