How long do I have before I lose my house?
The answer is not the same in two states. The identical missed payment reaches auction in about 184 days in Georgia and takes roughly 1,016 in New York. Pick your state and get every deadline between today and the day you would have to leave, with the statute behind each one.
- 51states and DC, each built on its own law
- Freeno account, nothing to buy
- Citeda statute behind every deadline
Watch how it works, in about a minute. Sound on or off: the captions are built in.
Read the video transcript
If you have fallen behind on your mortgage, the clock is already running. And nobody tells you how long you really have. Foreclosure By State shows you your deadlines, in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Pick your state, enter the date you first missed a payment, and see every date worked out for you. In this Texas example, the sale could come as soon as 184 days later. Every step sits on one road: the notice of default, your chance to catch up, the notice of sale, the auction, and what comes after. Red signs are hard deadlines. Green signs are your chances to stop it, or fix it. Do not know a word? Tap it, and we explain it in plain English. Email yourself the timeline, and we will remind you before each deadline. No account needed, and every date cites the law behind it. This is general information, not legal advice. For free help, call a HUD-approved housing counselor at 1-800-569-4287. ForeclosureByState.com
See how far apart the states are
Tap a state to open its timeline. Colour shows how many days pass between the first missed payment and the auction.
Red states reach auction fastest, amber states are in the middle, pale gold states take longest. Timelines assume an uncontested mortgage foreclosure with no bankruptcy or military service.
Wherever you live, five things are already on your side
The map shows what you are working against. These are federal, they do not care which state you are in, and they only help if you use them in time.
Nobody can file for the first 120 days
A servicer may not make the first notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent, with two narrow exceptions: a due-on-sale violation, or joining another lienholder’s foreclosure. It applies in every state, judicial or not, and it is the reason almost no real timeline starts on the day you miss a payment.
What to do: Count 120 days from your first missed payment. Anything that arrives before that is a servicer letter, not a foreclosure.
12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1)A complete application can stop a scheduled sale
If a complete loss-mitigation application lands more than 37 days before the sale, most servicers may not move for judgment or hold that sale until they have decided the application and let the appeal period run. It protects your main home, generally once per delinquency, and small servicers are exempt. Complete is the word that matters: a partial packet does not trigger this protection.
What to do: Ask the servicer in writing for the exact list of what makes the file complete, then send everything at once and keep proof of the date.
12 CFR 1024.41(g)Active military service voids a sale done without a judge
A foreclosure on a debt taken on before service, carried out during service or in the year after it ends, is invalid unless a court ordered it or the servicemember waived the protection in writing.
What to do: Tell the servicer and the court in writing that a servicemember is on the loan. The protection is not automatic if nobody knows to apply it.
50 U.S.C. § 3953(c)A bankruptcy filing stops the sale the moment it is filed
The automatic stay halts a foreclosure nationwide on filing, before any hearing. It is not permanent and it is weaker if you have filed before. With one case dismissed in the past year the stay ends on day 30 unless a court extends it after a motion and hearing, and with two or more there is no automatic stay at all.
What to do: This is a real tool and a serious step. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney before the sale date, not after it.
11 U.S.C. § 362(a), (c)(3), (c)(4)Money left over after a sale may be yours
In Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023) the Supreme Court held that a county cannot keep the surplus from a tax sale above the debt. After a mortgage sale, money left over after the debt and any junior liens generally goes to the former owner, though you usually have to claim it. It can go unclaimed if the former owner does not know to ask.
What to do: If the property sold for more than you owed, ask the clerk of court how to claim the surplus, and do it before the deadline in your state.
Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023)Foreclosures by state: August 2026
Every state ranked by foreclosure rate, with the counties hit hardest.See the report
Find your state, enter what you know, and use every day you have.
Pick your stateTalk to someone before you decide anything
HUD-approved housing counsellors are free in every state and can negotiate with a servicer for you: 1-800-569-4287, or the free 995HOPE line at 888-995-HOPE (4673).
Be wary of anyone who contacts you first offering to save your home. Federal rules bar a mortgage relief company from taking any fee until you have signed an agreement with your lender that includes an offer the company obtained (12 CFR 1015.5). Never sign a deed to someone promising to save your home.
Foreclosure questions, answered
How long does foreclosure take?
It depends on the state. The same missed payment reaches auction in about 184 days in Georgia and roughly 1,016 days in New York. Pick your state to see every deadline from your own dates, with the statute behind each one.
Can a foreclosure start right after one missed payment?
No. In every state, with two narrow exceptions (a due-on-sale violation, or joining another lienholder's foreclosure), a servicer may not make the first notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent (12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1)). Anything that arrives before that is a servicer letter, not a foreclosure.
Can applying for help stop a foreclosure sale?
If a complete loss-mitigation application reaches the servicer more than 37 days before the sale, most servicers may not move for judgment or hold that sale until they have decided the application and let the appeal period run (12 CFR 1024.41(g)). This protects your main home, generally once per delinquency, and small servicers are exempt. A partial packet does not count, so ask in writing for the exact list of what makes the file complete.
Does filing bankruptcy stop a foreclosure?
The automatic stay halts a foreclosure the moment the case is filed (11 U.S.C. 362(a)). It is not permanent, and it is weaker if you have filed before: after one dismissed case in the past year it ends on day 30 unless a court extends it, and after two there is no automatic stay at all (362(c)(3) and (c)(4)). Talk to a bankruptcy attorney before the sale date, not after it.
Who gets the money if the house sells for more than I owed?
Money left over after the debt and any junior liens are paid generally goes to the former owner, but you usually have to claim it. In Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023) the Supreme Court held that a county cannot keep the surplus from a tax sale above the debt. Ask the clerk of court how to claim it before your state's deadline.
Where can I get free help?
HUD-approved housing counselors are free in every state and can negotiate with a servicer for you: 1-800-569-4287, or the free 995HOPE line at 888-995-HOPE (4673). Under federal rules a mortgage relief company may not take a fee until you have signed an agreement with your lender (12 CFR 1015.5), and you should never sign the deed over to someone promising to save your home.
Every check is logged with its date. Each state page is checked against primary statute text, and each check is recorded in a claim register rather than assumed. Verification is not a finish line: statutes change, dollar figures are indexed, and programmes open and close. Where something is uncertain the page says so instead of guessing.
Last verified: October 18, 2026. Every state timeline on this site was checked against that state's law and the federal rules it cites. Laws change during the year, so if something here looks out of date or wrong, tell us and we will check it against the law.