Yes, in many cases. Under Pennsylvania's Act 6, a homeowner with a covered residential mortgage can stop the sale by paying the missed payments, fees and costs up to one hour before the bidding starts, up to three times in a calendar year (Act 6, section 404). Other routes include a postponement agreed with the lender, a sale of the house before the sale date, and, for some people, bankruptcy.
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If you have a sale date, it can feel like the decision has already been made. It hasn't. Pennsylvania gives homeowners more ways to stop a sale than most people realize, and several of them work right up to the day of the sale.
Everything depends on the date. In Pennsylvania the sheriff posts a notice, called a handbill, at the sheriff's office and on the property at least thirty days before the sale (Rule 3129.2). The lender also has to serve you a written notice of the sale at least thirty days before the sale, and the sale is advertised in a newspaper once a week for three weeks, with the first ad running not less than twenty-one days before the sale. If you are not sure of the date, call the sheriff's office in your county using the number on the county's official website.
Pennsylvania's Act 6 (the Loan Interest and Protection Law) gives homeowners a right to cure a default. You can pay what you are behind, plus reasonable late charges, attorney fees and foreclosure costs the lender has actually spent, at any time up to one hour before the bidding starts at the sheriff sale. You can do this up to three times in any calendar year. Curing puts you back in the same position as if the default had not happened.
A few things to know:
Lenders often postpone sales, often while they review a loan modification, a repayment plan or a pending sale of the house. Under Rule 3129.3, a sale can be moved to a new date within 130 days of the scheduled sale by announcing the new date at the sale, without starting the notice process over. When that happens the lender has to file a notice of the new date with the court at least fifteen days before it; if it does not, the sheriff moves the sale to the next available date.
Postponement is the lender's choice, not yours. The strongest request usually comes with something concrete: a complete loss mitigation application, a signed agreement to sell the house, or a HEMAP approval.
Federal mortgage rules give you extra protection if you send the company that services your loan a complete application for help, such as a loan modification, early enough. If a complete application arrives more than 37 days before a foreclosure sale, the servicer generally cannot conduct the sale until it has decided the application and any appeal (12 CFR 1024.41(g)). This protection usually applies only to your first complete application, and some small servicers are not bound by it. "Complete" means every document they asked for, so send it in writing and keep copies.
The Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), run by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), can lend money to bring a mortgage current for people who fell behind through no fault of their own. You usually apply through a counseling agency after getting an Act 91 notice. Even a late application can help: the law says a late application does not stop the foreclosure by itself, but if PHFA approves it, the foreclosure is put on hold. See our guide to the Act 91 notice.
You still own the house until the sale happens and the deed is delivered, so you can sell it. If the price covers what you owe, the loan is paid off from the money at closing and anything left after the loan, liens and closing costs is yours. If it does not, the lender has to approve the sale (a short sale). Either way, tell the lender's attorney as soon as you have a signed agreement and ask them to postpone the sale so the closing can happen. Read selling a house before foreclosure in Pennsylvania and how to check a "we buy houses" company.
Filing a bankruptcy case generally creates an "automatic stay" that pauses a sheriff sale while the case is open. Chapter 13 can let some people catch up on a mortgage over time. Bankruptcy has serious long-term effects and real rules about who can file and when, so talk to a bankruptcy attorney before deciding. Many offer a free first consultation.
Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas runs the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program for owner-occupied homes. When a lender files a foreclosure on an owner-occupied home, the court schedules a conciliation conference where you meet the lender's attorney face to face, and the lender cannot take a judgment until the conferences are over. If your case was not put in the program and you think it should have been, you can file a certification asking for a conference. Call the Save Your Home Philly Hotline at 215-334-4663 first; it connects you with a free housing counselor. The court's program page was live and describing the program when we checked it.
Not in every case. The sheriff files a schedule of distribution no later than thirty days after the sale, and then signs the deed and sends it to be recorded twenty to forty days after that schedule is filed, unless someone has filed a petition to set the sale aside (Rule 3135). Under Rule 3132, any party with an interest can ask the court to set the sale aside before the sheriff's deed is delivered, but only for "proper cause," such as a real defect in notice. This is a court petition, so talk to a lawyer quickly. If the sale brought in more than was owed, you may be able to claim the extra money: see what happens to the extra money after a sheriff sale.
If your loan is covered by Act 6, you can cure the default up to one hour before the bidding starts, up to three times in a calendar year (Act 6, section 404). Ask the lender's attorney for a written reinstatement figure first.
Yes. Under Rule 3129.3 a sale can be moved to a new date within 130 days by announcing it at the sale, without new notice, as long as the lender files a notice of the new date at least fifteen days before it. Whether to postpone is the lender's decision, so ask early and in writing.
It can. Under federal rules, if the servicer gets a complete application more than 37 days before the sale, it generally cannot hold the sale until it has decided the application (12 CFR 1024.41(g)).
Sometimes. Under Rule 3132 a party can ask the court to set the sale aside before the sheriff's deed is delivered, but only for proper cause. Talk to a lawyer right away.
In most cases, yes. If the price covers what you owe, the loan is paid off at closing. If not, the lender has to approve a short sale. Tell the lender's attorney when you have a signed agreement.
A HUD-approved housing counselor at 1-800-569-4287, a HEMAP counseling agency from PHFA's list, and your local legal aid office. In Philadelphia, call the Save Your Home Philly Hotline at 215-334-4663.
No. Orrindale is free to homeowners and we are not a buyer. If we have local buyers working in your county we will introduce you, you choose who to talk to, and you are never under any obligation. If we do not, we will still point you to free help.
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This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state or the relevant agency. Orrindale is a matching service, not a law firm, lender, or government program.