Facing Foreclosure in Pennsylvania

Nothing here is legal or financial advice. Timelines, program funding, and eligibility rules all change, and the details that matter most are the ones printed on your own paperwork. Treat this as a map, then confirm every specific with a housing counselor or an attorney.

First, before anything else: free housing counseling

Pennsylvania funds a network of approved housing counseling agencies, and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency keeps the list — start at phfa.org, or find a HUD-approved counselor through HUD's directory. If one sentence here is worth acting on today, it's that one.

Counseling is genuinely free. Counselors know which programs are funded right now, they deal with servicers daily, and — the part that matters — they have no stake in whether you sell. Anyone charging a fee to "rescue" you from foreclosure is at best selling what you can get for nothing, and at worst running a scam.

The Act 91 notice, and the clock it starts

Most Pennsylvania homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure receive an Act 91 notice before a foreclosure action can proceed. It isn't a lawsuit — it explains the default, points you toward assistance, and starts a window.

Meeting with an approved housing counselor inside that window — commonly described as thirty-three days from the notice date — can pause foreclosure activity while an application is prepared for the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), the state program Act 91 created, administered through PHFA. HEMAP is built for people who fell behind through circumstances outside their control and have a realistic path back.

Read the dates on your own notice, not this page. As of this writing the outline above holds, but program availability, funding, and timelines change — confirm with a counselor or PHFA. And if your window has already closed, that's a reason to reach out today, not to give up.

What your options actually are

Roughly in order, from keeping the house to leaving on your own terms:

• Reinstatement — paying the arrears in a lump sum to bring the loan current. Ask your servicer for a written quote.
• Repayment plan — the arrears spread over months on top of your regular payment.
• Loan modification — a permanent change to the loan: rate, term, or arrears folded into the balance. The usual path when you can afford a payment, just not the one you have.
• Forbearance — payments paused or reduced for a set stretch. Get the "what happens after" in writing.
• HEMAP — the state assistance described above, if you qualify.
• Refinance — sometimes possible if credit and equity still allow it; often not, after missed payments.
• Selling with equity — listing or taking a cash offer, paying the loan off at closing and keeping what's left. A real option, not a failure.
• Short sale — if you owe more than the house is worth, the lender may approve a sale for less than the balance. Needs their cooperation.
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure — handing the house back by agreement. Usually only sensible when there's no equity to lose.
• Sheriff's sale — the end of the road, and the worst outcome for your credit and, if you have equity, your wallet.

Equity is the fulcrum

Everything turns on one question: is the house worth meaningfully more than what's owed against it, counting arrears, fees, and any other liens?

If it is, that difference is your money — and letting the house go to sheriff's sale is close to the worst way to handle it. A sale, listed or cash, can capture that equity; a foreclosure often doesn't. If you're underwater the conversation is different, and a counselor or attorney belongs in it before you sign anything.

Finding out which you're in takes two free numbers: a written payoff figure from your servicer, and an honest opinion of value. An agent will give a listing opinion, a cash buyer will give a number. Our cash offer vs. listing guide walks the arithmetic.

The people who will find you, and what they want

Foreclosure filings are public record — that's why the mail starts, why the door-knocks start, and why strangers suddenly know your name. Some are legitimate; some are not. Any one of these means stop:

• An upfront fee to stop foreclosure. Counseling is free, and legitimate buyers don't charge sellers.
• "Sign over the deed, rent it back, buy it later." The classic equity-stripping arrangement. People lose the house and the equity this way, and the promise to sell it back rarely survives.
• Anyone telling you to stop communicating with your lender — or to send your payments somewhere else.
• Pressure to sign the day they show up. A fair number is still fair after you've slept on it and shown it to a counselor.
• Anyone who won't say plainly whether they're the actual buyer, or intend to sell your contract to someone else. Treat a dodge as the answer.
• "It's standard, you don't need to read it." Read it, or have someone read it for you. Every time.

Free legal help exists too

Income-qualifying homeowners in Allegheny County can get free legal assistance — search "Neighborhood Legal Services Allegheny County", or ask your counselor for a referral, since counselors generally know who's taking cases. Some Pennsylvania counties also run court-based mortgage conciliation or diversion programs that put you and the servicer in front of a neutral party before the case moves forward. Ask whether yours has one.

Where a cash sale honestly fits

We buy houses, so read this with that in mind. A cash sale is one exit, and a narrow one: it fits when there's equity worth protecting, the timeline is genuinely short, and condition makes a normal listing impractical. It is not a rescue, and it is not better than keeping your house. If keeping it is possible, keep it.

Want a number to weigh against your other options? We'll give you one free, no obligation — after you've talked to a counselor, not instead of. If listing would net you more, we'll say so. Our guide on how a cash sale actually works covers the process, so you can judge any buyer by it, us included.