Start with free help
- Call your loan servicer and ask about repayment plans, forbearance, a loan modification, or a short sale if you owe more than the house is worth.
- Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor. Counseling is free or low-cost, and a counselor can read your letters with you.
- Know the federal timing rule. For most mortgages on a home you live in, federal rules generally keep a servicer from starting foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind.
- Watch for scams. Never pay an upfront fee to someone promising to save your house, and never sign your deed over to anyone who says you can stay and buy it back later.
How foreclosure works in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania foreclosure goes through the courts. For many home loans, the lender must first send an Act 91 notice, which explains how to meet with a consumer credit counseling agency and how to apply for the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), run by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. If the default isn't resolved, the lender files a complaint in the county Court of Common Pleas. After a judgment, the house can be listed for sheriff sale. Some Pennsylvania counties also run foreclosure diversion or conciliation programs, so ask the court or a counselor whether yours does.
When selling may make sense
Selling can be worth comparing if you can't afford the house even with help, if it needs repairs you can't fund, or if you want to protect equity. A sale has to pay off the loan and liens at closing, or the lender has to approve a short sale, and it must close before the sheriff sale. Many cash buyers don't need a lender's approval, which removes one common source of delay.
What we can and can't do
UglyDuck is not a foreclosure rescue service and doesn't negotiate with lenders. If a sale fits, it closes through a title company and the payoff goes to your lender. Owners in Harrisburg, York, Lancaster and across the region can read our guide to selling a House When You're Facing Foreclosure for the bigger picture.
For a broader explainer that covers Alabama, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, read selling a House When You're Facing Foreclosure.
Selling in another state? See the Alabama and West Virginia versions of this page.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and procedures change, so check with a licensed attorney, tax professional or HUD-approved housing counselor about your situation. UglyDuck is a home-buying and lead-generation service: we may buy your house ourselves or share your request with a trusted local buyer.