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West Virginia · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in West Virginia

West Virginia gives you few built-in brakes: no court hearing, no statewide mediation and no right to buy the home back after the sale. Your strongest tools are the right-to-cure notice, a complete loss mitigation application and fast legal help. None of these is guaranteed to work in your case. Start as soon as you fall behind.

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

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

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in West Virginia

  • Cure the default after the right-to-cure notice

    By the date in the notice, at least 10 days after it is given

    Pay all unpaid sums due, plus any unpaid late or deferral charges, and the default is cured as if it never happened. You lose this right if you have been in default and received notice 3 or more times on the same loan.

    W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106

  • Apply for loss mitigation with your servicer

    As early as possible; more than 37 days before the sale for federal review protection

    Ask for a modification, forbearance, repayment plan, short sale or deed in lieu, and send every document requested. If your loan is held by the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, apply for its mortgage assistance. A HUD-approved counselor can help for free.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(g)

  • Reinstate after the cure period

    Before the sale, if your deed of trust or servicer allows it

    Once the cure period ends, any right to catch up and stop the sale comes from your deed of trust and your servicer. Ask in writing for a reinstatement figure and deadline.

  • Check the notices

    As soon as they arrive

    The right-to-cure notice must state the amount and deadline. The notice of sale must be published in your county for 2 weeks and mailed to you by certified mail, and must show the time, place and terms of sale. Show any problem to a lawyer right away.

    W. Va. Code §§ 38-1-4, 46A-2-106

  • Get legal help with a lawsuit

    Before the sale if possible; no later than 1 year after it for notice defects

    If your servicer ignored a pending modification request, charged improper amounts or skipped a notice, a lawyer may be able to sue. Mountain State Justice represents some homeowners against abusive lenders and servicers, and once helped undo a foreclosure sale.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a

  • Ask for a postponement

    Before the sale

    Ask your servicer to tell the trustee about your complete application or a pending sale or refinance, and ask the trustee directly. Get any agreement in writing.

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sale

    Filing bankruptcy triggers the federal automatic stay, which stops the sale for the time being. Talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid before filing.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

What West Virginia law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Limited right

For a consumer loan you have a right to cure the default by paying the unpaid sums due, without the loan being accelerated, until the cure period in the notice ends. That period is at least 10 days after the notice is given. You lose this right if you have been in default and given notice 3 or more times on the same obligation. After that, any right to catch up and stop the sale depends on your deed of trust and your servicer.

W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106

Foreclosure mediation

No statewide program

West Virginia has no statewide foreclosure mediation program that we could find. Because most foreclosures do not go through a court, there is no settlement conference. Legal Aid of West Virginia can tell you whether you have defenses worth raising in court.

Written right-to-cure notice

On a consumer loan, the lender must send a written notice stating the amount needed to cure and the deadline, and must wait 10 days after giving it before accelerating the loan or taking the collateral. A copy must also be sent to any co-signer, and a waiver buried in the loan agreement does not count.

W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106

Published and mailed notice cannot be waived

A deed of trust cannot waive the newspaper notice, and a copy of the notice must be sent to you by certified mail in every case. The notice must state the time, place and terms of sale.

W. Va. Code § 38-1-4

One year to challenge a defective sale

If the required notice was given, a lawsuit to set aside the sale for a notice or procedure failure must be filed within one year of the sale.

W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a

Notice to tenants after a trustee's sale

If you rent a home sold at a trustee's sale, the buyer can end an unexpired written lease with 90 days' written notice, or 30 days before the lease ends if that is sooner. A month-to-month tenancy can be ended with 30 days' written notice.

W. Va. Code § 38-1-16

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in West Virginia

Can I lose my West Virginia right to cure?

Yes. If you have been in default 3 or more times on the same loan and were given notice 3 or more times, you no longer have the right to cure under W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106, even if you cured the earlier defaults. Your servicer may still agree to a repayment plan.

Does West Virginia have foreclosure mediation?

We could not find a statewide foreclosure mediation program in West Virginia. Because the trustee sells without a court case, there is no settlement conference. Your options are working directly with the servicer, with a HUD-approved counselor's help, and getting legal advice from Legal Aid of West Virginia.

Does my co-signer get the West Virginia right-to-cure notice too?

Yes, unless the co-signer waived it in writing in a separate way the law accepts. The lender must deliver or mail a copy to the co-signer's last known address, and a waiver buried in the loan agreement does not count (W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106).

Step by step

More on foreclosure in West Virginia

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 West Virginia overview

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Sources for this page

  1. W. Va. Code § 38-1-5 (terms of sale)
  2. W. Va. Code § 38-1-13 (substitution of trustees)
  3. West Virginia Housing Development Fund: Help for Homeowners
  4. Mountain State Justice
  5. W. Va. Code § 38-1-3 (sales under trust deeds)
  6. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4 (notice of sale)
  7. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a (statute of limitations for sales by trustees)
  8. W. Va. Code § 38-1-7 (application of proceeds; action to recover a deficiency)
  9. W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106 (notice of consumer's right to cure default)
  10. W. Va. Code § 59-3-2 (legal advertisements; frequency of publication)
  11. WVHDF news release: WV Homeowners Rescue Program closed to new applications
  12. Legal Aid of West Virginia: Foreclosure podcast
  13. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8 (return of account of sale)
  14. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8a (trustee's report of sale disclosure form)
  15. W. Va. Code § 38-1-16 (sale under deed of trust; preexisting tenancy)
  16. W. Va. Code § 46A-1-102 (definitions; consumer loan)
  17. W. Va. Code § 55-3-1 (unlawful entry and detainer)
  18. W. Va. Code § 55-3-3 (return day and service of summons)