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 West Virginia
Most West Virginia home loans use a deed of trust, which names a trustee who can sell the property after a default and the required notices, without a court case. Notice of the trustee's sale is published and mailed before the sale, and it names the trustee and the sale date. If you receive one, contact your servicer and a counselor right away; don't wait for the sale date to get closer.
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 other liens at closing, or the lender has to approve a short sale, and it has to close before the trustee's 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 to us or to a buyer in our network fits, it closes through a title company or attorney and the payoff goes to your lender. Owners around Charleston, Cross Lanes and Teays Valley 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 Pennsylvania 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.