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Wisconsin · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Wisconsin

Because Wisconsin foreclosures go through court, you have several chances to stop or delay one: with your servicer, by answering the lawsuit, during the redemption period, and up until the court confirms the sale. Each has a deadline. None of these is guaranteed to work. A housing counselor, Legal Action of Wisconsin or a licensed attorney can help you choose.

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

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

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Wisconsin

  • Apply for help through your servicer and a counselor

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

    Ask your servicer for a loss mitigation application and send everything it asks for. If you have a WHEDA loan, call WHEDA's servicing department. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you apply for free.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(g)

  • Answer the lawsuit

    Within 20 days after personal service (40 days if published)

    File a written answer with the clerk of circuit court and send a copy to the lender's attorney. This lets you raise defenses, get notice of the confirmation hearing, and be heard in court. The Wisconsin State Law Library: Foreclosure lists county answer forms.

    Wis. Stat. §§ 801.09(2), 846.165

  • Ask about mediation or a pause for loss mitigation

    With your answer

    There is no statewide program, and Dane County's program has ended. Ask the clerk of circuit court whether your county offers mediation. Wisconsin Law Help says the court may also pause the case while you seek a modification or forbearance.

  • Pay the past-due installments

    Before judgment to end the case; after judgment to pause it

    When a foreclosure is for missed installments and later installments are not yet due, the case must be dismissed if you pay the past-due principal and interest plus costs into court before judgment. Paying them after judgment stays the case. Ask a lawyer whether this applies once your loan has been accelerated.

    Wis. Stat. § 846.05

  • Ask for more time to sell

    Before judgment

    For a mortgage signed on or after April 27, 2016, if you have listed the home with a licensed broker and are trying in good faith to sell, you can ask the court for an 8-month redemption period, or 5 months with a deficiency waiver.

    Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2)(a)2.b., 846.101(2)(c)2.

  • Redeem by paying the judgment

    Before the court confirms the sale

    You can redeem by paying the judgment, interest, costs and any taxes the lender paid after judgment, to the clerk or the lender. Court decisions read 'sale' here to mean confirmation, but a homeowner who can pay should do so before the confirmation hearing begins.

    Wis. Stat. § 846.13

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sale

    Filing bankruptcy stops the foreclosure case and sale while the stay lasts. Talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid first, because it has serious costs and effects.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

What Wisconsin law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Limited right

If the lender is suing over missed installments and other installments are not yet due, the court must dismiss the case if you pay into court, before judgment, the principal and interest then due plus costs. If you make that payment after judgment, the judgment is put on hold, but the lender can ask the court to enforce it if you miss a later payment. Most mortgages let the lender call the whole loan due, and whether this rule still helps after that has not been confirmed, so ask a lawyer. After judgment, you can also redeem by paying the full judgment amount, interest and costs before the sale.

Wis. Stat. §§ 846.05, 846.13

Foreclosure mediation

No statewide program

Wisconsin has no statewide foreclosure mediation law. Some county circuit courts have run voluntary mediation programs with their own forms, deadlines and fees, and some of those programs have ended. Ask the clerk of circuit court in your county whether mediation is offered, and look for a request form with your summons.

Court case and redemption period before any sale

A lender cannot sell an owner-occupied home of one to four units until it wins a judgment and the redemption period of 3 to 12 months has run.

Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2), 846.101(2)

Stay in the home until confirmation

When the lender waives a deficiency, you may stay in the home and keep any rents until the court confirms the sale, unless you abandon the property.

Wis. Stat. § 846.101(1)

More time if you are trying to sell

For a mortgage signed on or after April 27, 2016, if you ask before judgment and the court finds you have listed the home with a licensed broker and are trying in good faith to sell, the redemption period is 8 months, or 5 months with a deficiency waiver.

Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2)(a)2.b., 846.101(2)(c)2.

Court must confirm the sale

No sale is final until the court confirms it after notice to everyone who appeared in the case.

Wis. Stat. § 846.165

Dismissal for paying the installments due

In a foreclosure over missed installments, paying the past-due principal and interest plus costs into court before judgment gets the case dismissed. Ask a lawyer whether this applies once the lender has called the whole loan due.

Wis. Stat. § 846.05

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Wisconsin

Does Wisconsin have foreclosure mediation?

Not statewide. Some county courts have run voluntary programs through the Wisconsin Foreclosure Mediation Network, but the Dane County court says its program's provider has ended it and mediation through it is no longer available. Ask the clerk of circuit court in your county whether any program is running.

What happens if I do not answer a Wisconsin foreclosure summons?

The lender can ask the court for a default judgment, which can move your case faster toward a sale. You also lose the right to notice of the confirmation hearing, which goes only to parties who appeared (Wis. Stat. § 846.165). Even a short answer filed within 20 days keeps you in the case.

Can I sell my Wisconsin home during the foreclosure?

Yes. Wisconsin Law Help says you keep ownership during the redemption period and can sell, including a short sale with the lender's approval. For newer mortgages you can ask the court before judgment for extra time if you are working with a licensed broker (Wis. Stat. § 846.10(2)(a)2.b.).

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin overview

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Sources for this page

  1. Wis. Stat. § 846.05, Foreclosure for nonpayment of installment
  2. Wis. Stat. § 846.10, Judgment; sale timing
  3. Wis. Stat. § 846.101, Foreclosure with deficiency waiver
  4. Wis. Stat. § 846.102, Abandoned premises
  5. Wis. Stat. § 846.13, Redemption from and satisfaction of judgment (with annotations)
  6. Wis. Stat. § 846.16, Notice of sale; sale; confirmation; transfer
  7. Wis. Stat. § 846.162, Disposition of surplus
  8. Wis. Stat. § 846.165, Notice of confirmation hearing
  9. Wis. Stat. § 815.31, Notice of execution sale of real property
  10. Wis. Stat. § 801.09, Summons; time to answer
  11. Dane County Clerk of Courts: Foreclosure (mediation program ended)
  12. WHEDA: Homeowners (servicing contact)
  13. Legal Action of Wisconsin (services and intake)
  14. Wisconsin Court System: Case search (Wisconsin Circuit Court Access)
  15. Wis. Stat. Chapter 846: Real Estate Foreclosure
  16. Wis. Stat. Chapter 846 (PDF, updated through 2025 Wis. Act 247, published October 1, 2026)
  17. Wisconsin Law Help: Foreclosure Procedure
  18. Wisconsin State Law Library: Foreclosure
  19. Wisconsin Department of Administration: Wisconsin Help for Homeowners