The Pennsylvania Foreclosure Timeline, Step by Step

Stage 1: Missed Payments (Days 1-120)

After one missed payment, your lender will begin calling and sending letters. Under federal mortgage servicing rules, the lender generally cannot even file a foreclosure lawsuit until you are more than 120 days delinquent. This is your widest window: nearly every option — reinstatement, loan modification, forbearance, refinancing, or selling — is still on the table.

• Contact your servicer and ask about loss mitigation options
• Meet with a free HUD-approved housing counselor (1-800-569-4287)
• If you know you can't keep the home, start exploring a sale now — more time means more money in your pocket

Stage 2: Act 6 and Act 91 Notices (30+ Days Before Suit)

Before filing suit on most owner-occupied residential mortgages, Pennsylvania law requires two important notices. The Act 6 notice (Notice of Intention to Foreclose) must give you at least 30 days' warning and state exactly how much you need to pay to cure the default. The Act 91 notice tells you about the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) and gives you 33 days to meet with a consumer credit counseling agency, which can pause the foreclosure while you apply for a HEMAP loan.

These notices are not junk mail — they are the formal start of the foreclosure process and they unlock specific rights. Read our full guide to the Act 91 notice for details.

Stage 3: The Foreclosure Complaint (You Have 20 Days to Respond)

If the default isn't cured, the lender files a mortgage foreclosure complaint with the county Court of Common Pleas. You'll be served with a summons and complaint. You have 20 days to file an answer; if you don't, the lender must send you a 10-day notice before it can take a default judgment against you.

Filing an answer — even a simple one — slows the process and preserves your defenses. Many counties, including Philadelphia, also route owner-occupied cases into a mandatory conciliation or diversion conference at this stage, where you meet with the lender's attorney and a housing counselor to explore alternatives.

Stage 4: Judgment and Writ of Execution

If the court enters judgment for the lender — by default or after litigation — the lender files a writ of execution directing the county sheriff to sell the property. The sale must be advertised publicly (typically in a newspaper of general circulation and a legal journal for three consecutive weeks), and you must receive formal notice of the sale date at least 30 days in advance.

Stage 5: The Sheriff Sale

At the sheriff sale, your home is auctioned to the highest bidder — often the lender itself. Critically, under Pennsylvania's Act 6, most residential homeowners retain the right to cure the default and stop the sale up to one hour before bidding starts (limited to three cures in a calendar year). You can also sell your home at any point before the sale — a sale that pays off the mortgage stops the foreclosure completely.

After the sale, the sheriff's deed transfers ownership to the winning bidder. Pennsylvania has no statutory right of redemption after a mortgage foreclosure sheriff sale — once the sale is confirmed and the deed delivered, the house is gone. (Don't confuse this with Philadelphia tax sales, where a limited redemption right can apply.) If the sale brings more than what you owe, the surplus belongs to you; if it brings less, the lender has six months to pursue a deficiency judgment under the Deficiency Judgment Act.

How to Stop the Clock at Any Stage

The single most important fact about the Pennsylvania foreclosure timeline: it can be stopped at nearly every stage. Reinstatement, HEMAP, loan modification, a court-supervised conciliation agreement, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or a sale of the property all halt the process. The earlier you act, the more options you have and the more equity you keep.

If selling is the right answer for you, we can present up to three options — cash offer, creative finance, or as-is listing — within 24 hours, and close in as little as 7 days, before your sheriff sale date.