Foreclosure: The Basics
If you're in foreclosure, facing foreclosure, or are about to fall behind on mortgage payments, it's crucial that you understand the foreclosure process—its procedures, your defenses, ways to avoid foreclosure, and consequences after foreclosure.
Start here to learn the basics: what foreclosure is, how it generally works, and what your options are for avoiding foreclosure. You will also find links to other topics that are crucial to understanding foreclosure, such as the timeline of the foreclosure process, deficiency judgments after foreclosure, and more.
What is foreclosure? Get an overview of basic foreclosure terms, the steps in a foreclosure, and how to stop a foreclosure.
If a lender starts a foreclosure against you after the statute of limitations has expired, you can raise this issue as a defense.
Usually, a foreclosure won’t start until you’re more than 120 days delinquent.
If you're facing a foreclosure, find out when hiring a lawyer is a good idea—and when it might not be necessary.
When available, the right of redemption allows you to get your home back after a foreclosure.
Many factors caused the 2010 foreclosure crisis: the housing bubble, cheap credit, toxic mortgages, and lax lending regulations.
If market conditions drastically change, the country could go through another foreclosure crisis.
Foreclosure activity has declined significantly since a rise following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Get tips on what to do—and what not do—if you’re facing a foreclosure.
Federal law, state law, and your mortgage contract provide you with protections and rights in a foreclosure.
If you're facing a foreclosure, be on the lookout for scammer rescue companies that claim they can help you save your home.
With a strategic default, you decide to let your home go through a foreclosure because it's a bad financial decision to keep it. Learn the consequences and alternatives.
A foreclosure “trustee” is the party who typically handles a nonjudicial foreclosure.
Mortgage servicing companies handle borrowers' accounts. Find out if you can change your mortgage loan servicer.
Federal laws protect homeowners when facing foreclosure.
If a lender starts a foreclosure against you after the statute of limitations has expired, you can raise this issue as a defense.
Generally, homeowners have to be more than 120 days delinquent before a foreclosure can begin.
Before you lose your home to a foreclosure sale, you'll get some sort of notice.
Read about eviction after a foreclosure.
After the foreclosure sale, when a new deed has been recorded with a new owner’s name on it, you go from homeowner to tenant.
If you are a struggling homeowner in danger of falling behind in your mortgage payments (or if you’ve already fallen behind), you should be proactive when it comes to saving your home from foreclosure.
If you fall behind on your second-mortgage payments, the lender might or might not foreclose, depending on the home's value.
Learn the difference between a second home and investment property, and find out how it can affect the type of loan you can receive.
Learn what happens to liens and second mortgages in a foreclosure.
Divorce and foreclosure often go hand in hand.
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