Facing Foreclosure in Pennsylvania: Timeline, Help and Your Options

By Alex Buys Homes·Published Sep 29, 2026·12 min read

Falling behind on a mortgage is frightening, and every letter from the lender can make it feel like the house is already gone. It isn’t. In Pennsylvania, a lender has to go through the courts before your home can be sold, and state law builds in time for you to get help.

This guide explains how foreclosure works here, the deadlines that matter, where to find free help, and your options, from catching up to selling before a sheriff sale. It reflects the rules as of September 2026.

How does foreclosure work in Pennsylvania?

Here is the usual order of events:

1. Early contact. Most servicers must try to reach you by the 36th day of delinquency and send written information about options by the 45th day.
2. The Act 91 notice. Before suing, the lender mails a notice itemizing what you owe and explaining how to get counseling and apply for HEMAP.
3. The complaint. The lender files a complaint in mortgage foreclosure. You generally have 20 days after it’s served to respond in writing.
4. Judgment. If you don’t respond, the lender can seek a default judgment, but only after mailing you a 10-day notice.
5. Sale notice. You must be served written notice at least 30 days before the sheriff sale, and the property is posted and advertised.
6. The sale. The home is auctioned. The lender can postpone it to a date within 130 days by announcing the new date at the sale, without mailing you a new notice; it must also file notice of the new date with the court at least 15 days ahead.
7. After the sale. The sheriff files a schedule for paying out the sale money within 30 days, objections are due within 10 days after that, and the sheriff’s deed follows 20 to 40 days after the schedule is filed. If the lender bought the home for costs only, no schedule is needed and the deed follows 20 to 40 days after the sale.

What is an Act 91 notice?

The notice is named for Act 91 of 1983, which created the state’s emergency mortgage assistance program. The official notice form puts it plainly: “This meeting is free and is the only way to apply for HEMAP.” The law and PHFA’s rules set the timing:

• Timing. It goes out once you’re at least 60 days behind, and at least 30 days before legal action starts.
• The meeting. Meet with a counseling agency listed in the notice within 33 days, in person or by live video.
• The application. The agency helps you prepare it, and it must be filed or postmarked within 30 days of that meeting.
• The pause. If you meet in time, the lender can’t sue for 30 days after the meeting or while PHFA reviews a timely application. PHFA decides within 60 days.
• Late applications. You can still apply after the deadline. A late application won’t keep the lender from going to court, but if PHFA approves it before the sheriff sale, the foreclosure has to stop.

Keep the envelope. PHFA counts the 33 days from the later of the date printed on the notice and its postmark, not from the day you open it.

How long does foreclosure take in Pennsylvania?

Reviews, postponements and court calendars can add time, but don’t count on delays.

What is HEMAP, and do you qualify?

PHFA’s rules require, among other things, that you:

• are at least 60 days behind and received an Act 91 notice;
• own a one- or two-family Pennsylvania home that is your principal residence;
• face a hardship caused by circumstances beyond your control;
• can reasonably expect to resume full payments within 24 months; and
• have a favorable mortgage payment history for the past five years.

FHA Title II loans, mortgages more than 24 months behind and cases that would need more than $60,000 to bring current aren’t eligible. When PHFA declares a period of high statewide unemployment, the 24-month limits stretch to 36 months. HEMAP loans closed in 2026 carry 5.75% interest. PHFA’s HEMAP line is 1-800-342-2397.

Where can you get free foreclosure help in Pennsylvania?

• HEMAP counseling agencies. PHFA lists them by county, and your Act 91 notice names some.
• HUD-approved counselors. Call (800) 569-4287 or use the CFPB’s counselor search.
• Lehigh County’s conciliation program. For owner-occupied homes with one or two units, the court sets a conference about 45 days after the complaint is filed. Its standard order pauses the case until further order: no answer is due, and no default judgment or sheriff sale can happen. The order points homeowners to a free counselor at Community Action Lehigh Valley (1-800-755-1563). Go to the conference: if you don’t, the court can take the case out of the program.

How can you spot a foreclosure rescue scam?

The biggest red flags are upfront fees, advice to stop talking to your lender, and requests to sign over your deed.

• Upfront fees. Under federal Regulation O, mortgage relief companies generally can’t collect a fee until you’ve signed a written agreement with your lender or servicer. Attorneys have a narrow exception for fees held in a client trust account.
• Cutting off your lender or signing over your deed. The Federal Trade Commission warns about both. Have an attorney review anything before you sign.

What are your options if you can’t catch up?

Two rules affect timing. If you send your servicer a complete loss mitigation application more than 37 days before a sale, most servicers can’t seek a judgment or hold the sale while reviewing it (for a principal residence). And Act 6’s right to cure only covers “residential mortgages”: loans on homes with one or two units whose original principal was no more than the state’s base figure. The Department of Banking and Securities adjusts that figure every year ($329,411 for 2026; earlier years were lower), so ask a counselor or attorney whether your loan qualifies.

Can you sell your house to stop a foreclosure in Pennsylvania?

If you go this route:

1. Get a written payoff statement from your servicer. It shows the exact amount due by a given date, including foreclosure costs. Servicers generally must send one within seven business days of a written request, though a loan in foreclosure can take longer, so ask early.
2. Find out what the house is worth as-is from recent nearby sales or an agent’s opinion.
3. Pick a sale method that fits the calendar. Listing can bring a higher price when you have months and the house shows well; a cash sale trades some price for speed and certainty when the sale is weeks away. Compare them in cash buyer vs. listing with an agent and see how we calculate a cash offer.
4. Tell the lender’s attorney once you have a signed agreement and a settlement date. A lender may postpone a sale for a scheduled payoff, but it doesn’t have to.
5. Close before the sale date. The lender is paid at settlement, and you keep the rest.

Walk away from anyone who asks you to sign over the deed before closing or to send them your mortgage payments; our guide to vetting a cash home buyer lists more warning signs. When you’re ready to compare numbers, request a no-obligation offer.

What happens at a sheriff sale in Lehigh and Northampton counties?

• Lehigh County advertises sales in The Morning Call and the Lehigh Law Journal on three consecutive Fridays, posts handbills on the property at least 30 days ahead, and lists sales online.
• Northampton County holds sales in the Council Chambers of the Government Center, advertises new properties once a week for three weeks, and posts dates and lists online.

Under the court rules, a petition to set aside a sheriff sale has to be filed before the sheriff’s deed is delivered, so call an attorney right away if something went wrong. And if the lender bought the home and the price doesn’t cover your debt, it has six months after the deed is delivered to ask the court to set the home’s fair market value; if it misses that deadline, you can ask the court to mark the judgment satisfied.

Will you owe taxes if your lender forgives part of the debt?

If property taxes are also behind, read how Pennsylvania tax sales work. If the house is a rental, see selling a house with tenants in Pennsylvania. We buy houses across the region, including Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Reading.