Virginia foreclosure help
How to avoid foreclosure in Virginia
Most Virginia home loans use a deed of trust, and foreclosure happens without a court case. A trustee named in the deed of trust, or a substitute trustee, mails you a notice, advertises the sale in a newspaper and sells the home at a public auction. A court gets involved only if someone files a lawsuit to challenge the sale or, after the sale, to evict.
Reviewed against Virginia law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
- Virginia at a glance
- Type of foreclosure
- Nonjudicial (no court case)
- Catch up to stop the sale
- Limited
- Buy back after the sale
- No
- Owe money after the sale
- Possible
- Foreclosure mediation
- No statewide program
How foreclosure works in Virginia, step by step
How long it takes: At a minimum, about six months from your first missed payment: federal rules generally block foreclosure for the first 120 days, and for a home you live in the trustee must mail you notice of the sale at least 60 days before it happens. This is the legal minimum, not a prediction.
Missed payments
Federal rules generally stop your servicer from starting foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Your deed of trust usually requires a default letter first. Call your servicer and a housing counselor as early as you can.
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)
Notice of the sale
For an owner-occupied home, the trustee or lender must send you written notice of the time, date and place of the sale by certified or registered mail at least 60 days before the sale. The sale cannot go forward unless the trustee has proof the notice was sent.
Va. Code § 55.1-321(A)
Newspaper advertisement
The trustee advertises the sale in a local newspaper as many times as your deed of trust says. If the deed of trust is silent, it runs once a week for four weeks, or on five different days in a city or a county next to a city.
Va. Code § 55.1-322
Foreclosure sale
The trustee sells the home at public auction. The sale must be held no earlier than eight days after the first advertisement and no more than 30 days after the last one. The trustee can postpone the sale; a postponed sale must be advertised again the same way, but no new mailed notice is needed.
Va. Code §§ 55.1-321(D), 55.1-322, 55.1-320(7)
After the sale
The trustee pays out the sale money and files an accounting with the local commissioner of accounts. Virginia statutes do not give you a right to buy the home back. If you stay, you become a tenant at sufferance: the buyer must give you at least 3 days' written notice and then win an unlawful detainer case in general district court before the sheriff can remove you, and you can owe fair market rent from the sale date.
Va. Code §§ 55.1-324, 8.01-126(F)(4)
Virginia foreclosure deadlines to know
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Mailed notice of sale, owner-occupied homeVa. Code § 55.1-321(A) | At least 60 days before the sale |
| Notice when the lender says the note is lostVa. Code § 55.1-321(B) | 60 days from mailing before the lender can ask the trustee to sell |
| Sale date after newspaper advertisingVa. Code § 55.1-322(A) | At least 8 days after the first ad, no more than 30 days after the last |
| Notice before a second-mortgage (subordinate lien) holder can ask for a saleVa. Code § 55.1-321(A1) | 60 days from mailing of the required affidavit and notice |
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 Virginia
Can I stop a foreclosure in Virginia by catching up on what I owe?
Limited rightWe did not find a Virginia statute that gives you a right to catch up and stop the sale. Any right to reinstate comes from your deed of trust and your servicer's rules. Many standard deeds of trust do allow it. The notice of sale must tell you the total amount due in arrears, so ask the servicer in writing for a reinstatement figure and deadline as soon as you get the notice.
Va. Code § 55.1-321(F)
Can I get my home back after a foreclosure sale in Virginia?
No redemption after saleVirginia's deed of trust statutes do not provide a right to buy the home back after the trustee's sale. Once the sale is held, your options are very limited, so act before the sale date.
Can the lender come after me for the remaining balance in Virginia?
Deficiency judgments allowedWe did not find a Virginia statute that bars a lender from suing you for the shortfall if the sale brings less than you owe. Ask a lawyer or legal aid office about your exposure before the sale, and ask your servicer whether it will waive any deficiency as part of a short sale or deed in lieu.
Is there foreclosure mediation in Virginia?
No statewide programVirginia has no statewide foreclosure mediation program that we could find. Because most foreclosures do not go through a court, there is no settlement conference. The required notice of sale must give you the state legal aid contact and a list of HUD-approved housing counselors.
Other Virginia protections
60-day notice with help information
For an owner-occupied home, the notice must be mailed at least 60 days before the sale. It must include the HUD housing counseling website, the statewide legal aid website and phone number, and a statement that it is not a notice to vacate.
Va. Code § 55.1-321(A), (E)
Arrears must be spelled out
The notice must state the date and amount of the last payment received, the total principal, interest, costs and fees in arrears, and the remaining principal balance.
Va. Code § 55.1-321(F)
Limits on old second mortgages
Under a 2024 change, certain holders of a subordinate mortgage must give the trustee an affidavit on whether monthly statements were sent, and cannot charge interest or fees for periods when required statements were not sent. You can ask the circuit court for an accounting before the sale, and recover attorney fees if charges were wrong. Original creditors, their servicers, banks and credit unions are exempt.
Va. Code § 55.1-321(A1)
Buyer must pay off senior liens
A buyer at a foreclosure sale must certify that it will pay off any priority mortgage within 90 days after the trustee's deed is recorded. If you keep paying that senior loan after the sale, you can ask the circuit court to make the buyer repay you.
Va. Code § 55.1-321(A2)
Virginia mortgage assistance programs
Virginia Mortgage Relief Program (VMRP)
Closed to new applicationsThe Virginia Mortgage Relief Program is closed. Its website now redirects to the Virginia Housing home page. A City of Alexandria notice says the program stopped taking new applications after May 3, 2024. We did not find another statewide mortgage payment program that is open. Virginia Housing offers loss mitigation help to borrowers whose loans it services.
If the home is sold for more than you owe
The trustee must apply the sale money in this order: sale costs and the trustee's commission, then taxes that have priority, then the foreclosed loan and any junior liens of record, and then pay whatever is left to you or your assigns. The trustee must file an accounting with the commissioner of accounts for the city or county. If you think there is a surplus, contact the trustee and the commissioner of accounts.
Va. Code § 55.1-324(A)(3)
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 Virginia as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.
Step by step
Virginia 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.
Ask a question
Need help avoiding foreclosure in Virginia?
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 Virginia.
- 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.
Sources for this page
Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Laws and programs change. If you find something out of date, tell us.
- Va. Code § 55.1-320 (how deed of trust construed; duties of parties)
- Va. Code § 55.1-321 (notices required before sale by trustee)
- Va. Code § 55.1-322 (advertisement required before sale by trustee)
- Va. Code § 55.1-324 (powers and duties of trustee in event of sale)
- Va. Code § 59.1-200.1 (prohibited practices; foreclosure rescue)
- Virginia Housing: Foreclosure Prevention Options
- City of Alexandria (archived notice): Virginia Mortgage Relief Program
- Virginia SCC: File a Complaint
- Va. Code § 8.01-126 (unlawful detainer; former owner after foreclosure)
- Virginia Law Help: Housing (866-LEGLAID)