Can I sell my house to stop a foreclosure?
Yes, in most cases you can sell your house any time before the foreclosure sale, and the sale pays off your mortgage at closing, which ends the foreclosure and leaves you any money that's left. How much time you have depends on your state and how far along the foreclosure is, so call your loan servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor right away.
By Andy Rong
Published
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws change and every situation is different, so check yours with a professional.
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How much time do I have before a foreclosure sale?
Federal rules give you time first. For a loan on the home you live in, your servicer generally can't make the first notice or filing for foreclosure until the loan is more than 120 days behind, under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation X. The CFPB's foreclosure timeline explains what happens after that.
After that, it depends on your state. In a judicial state, the lender files a lawsuit and the court orders the sale, which takes longer. In a non-judicial state, the lender follows the notice steps in your loan papers and the state's law, and a trustee sells the house at auction, which can happen within weeks of the notice of sale. Your notices give your dates, and each state's usual steps are below.
How does selling stop a foreclosure?
When you sell, the title company or closing attorney asks your servicer for a payoff statement: what it takes to pay the loan in full that day, including missed payments, late fees and foreclosure costs. At closing, that amount goes to the lender, the lender releases its lien, and the foreclosure ends. Whatever is left after the payoff and your other costs is yours.
Tell your servicer as soon as you have a signed contract. The Federal Trade Commission notes that a sale contract or a listing may lead a servicer to postpone a foreclosure, but it doesn't have to, so plan for the closing to happen before the date on your notice.
What if I owe more than the house is worth?
Then a sale won't cover the loan, and the lender has to agree to take less than it's owed. That's a short sale, and it needs the lender's approval before closing. The CFPB describes it as an alternative to foreclosure.
What other options do I have?
Selling isn't the only way out. The CFPB lists these options to ask your servicer about:
- A repayment plan, to catch up on missed payments over time.
- Forbearance, which pauses or lowers your payments for a while.
- A loan modification, which changes the loan's terms to make the payment affordable.
- Refinancing into a new loan, if you qualify.
- A short sale, selling for less than you owe with the lender's approval.
- A deed in lieu of foreclosure, giving the house back to the lender.
A HUD-approved housing counselor can go through these options with you for free or at very low cost. Find one with HUD's counselor search or call HUD at (800) 569-4287 (HUD).
How does foreclosure work in my state?
A short summary of each state's usual steps for a home loan, with the law behind it. Your loan papers and notices control your dates, and laws change, so confirm yours with a housing counselor or a real estate attorney.
Texas
Most Texas foreclosures don't go through a court; a trustee sells the house at auction, as the Texas State Law Library explains. The lender has to send a notice giving you at least 20 days to catch up, then a notice of sale at least 21 days before the sale, and sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002). A home equity loan can be foreclosed only by court order (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 50).
Covent buys in Texas: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio.
Georgia
Georgia foreclosures don't go through a court. The lender has to send you notice of the sale at least 30 days before it, the sale is advertised in the county's legal newspaper once a week for four weeks, and sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month, as the Georgia Attorney General explains.
Covent buys in Georgia: Atlanta.
Tennessee
Since July 1, 2025, a Tennessee foreclosure sale has to be advertised at least twice in a local newspaper and posted online for at least 20 days in a row before it happens (Tenn. Code § 35-5-101, as summarized by Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel). The Tennessee Housing Development Agency offers free foreclosure prevention counseling.
Florida
Florida foreclosures go through the courts. The lender files a lawsuit, and you have 20 days after you're served to file an answer (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140). You can stop the sale by paying what's owed until the clerk files the certificate of sale, or a later time the judgment sets; after that, Florida law gives no right of redemption (Fla. Stat. § 45.0315).
Covent buys in Florida: Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville.
Indiana
Indiana foreclosures go through the courts. At least 30 days before filing, the lender has to mail you a notice that urges you to see a foreclosure counselor, and once the case is filed you can ask the court for a settlement conference with the lender (Ind. Code § 32-30-10.5-8, Indiana Judicial Branch). The house is sold at a sheriff's sale.
Covent buys in Indiana: Indianapolis.
Missouri
Missouri foreclosures usually don't go through a court. A trustee sells the house after at least 20 days' notice of the sale, published in a local newspaper and mailed to the owner (RSMo § 443.310, § 443.325). If the lender buys the house at the sale, the owner may have a year to redeem it, but only after giving written notice at the sale or within the ten days before it (RSMo § 443.410).
Covent buys in Missouri: Kansas City, St. Louis.
Kansas
Kansas foreclosures go through the courts and end in a sheriff's sale (Kansas Legal Services). After the sale, the owner can usually redeem the house within 12 months, or within 3 months in some cases where less than a third of the original loan had been paid (K.S.A. 60-2414).
Covent buys in Kansas: Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Leawood, Prairie Village.
North Carolina
North Carolina foreclosures use a power of sale with a hearing: the clerk of superior court decides whether the sale can go ahead (N.C.G.S. § 45-21.16). For a home loan on your main home, the lender has to mail you a notice at least 45 days before filing for that hearing (§ 45-102), and after the sale anyone can raise the bid within 10 days (§ 45-21.27). The NC Housing Finance Agency offers free counseling at any stage.
How do I spot a foreclosure rescue scam?
People facing foreclosure are targets for scams, and the Federal Trade Commission lists the warning signs:
- A company wants a fee before it gets you a written offer from your lender. Under the federal Mortgage Assistance Relief Services rule, that's illegal.
- It tells you to stop talking to your lender, or to make your payments to it instead.
- It wants payment by wire, cashier's check or a payment app.
- It asks you to sign over your deed. Once you do, you're not likely to get it back, and you still owe the mortgage.
- It offers to let you stay as a renter and buy the house back later, or offers to buy it for far less than similar homes sell for.
A real sale closes through a title company or closing attorney, and you never sign the deed over before that closing. How to tell if a cash home buyer is legit has the full checklist.
Selling to Covent Homes
If you decide to sell, the closing has to happen before the sale date on your notice, so tell any buyer your dates first. Here's what every Covent Homes offer includes.
No repairs or cleaning. You don't repair, paint or clean up for us. We buy the house in the condition it's in.
No showings before you sign. Nobody walks through your house before we have a signed contract, so there are no strangers in your home while you decide.
You pick the day. Choose a closing day 14 to 60 days out, and you get paid at closing.
Closing costs paid. Covent pays the closing costs, including title and escrow fees. You pay off your own mortgage or liens.
Stay 10 days free. After closing, you can stay in the house up to 10 days at no cost, so there's no rush to move.
Cash, no financing. We pay cash, with no lender and no financing contingency, so a buyer's loan can't fall through.
Questions homeowners ask
Do I have to tell my lender I'm selling?
You don't need the lender's permission to sell if the sale pays the loan in full, but you'll need its payoff statement, and telling the servicer early gives it the chance to postpone the sale. If the sale won't cover what you owe, you need the lender's approval for a short sale.
Can I sell my house after the foreclosure sale?
Usually not, because the house belongs to the buyer at the sale. A few states give the former owner a period to buy it back, called a right of redemption; Kansas is one, as the state section above explains. Talk to a real estate attorney right away if your sale date has passed.
How fast can I sell my house to Covent?
As soon as 14 days. You pick the closing day, 14 to 60 days after you and Covent sign the contract, and you get paid at closing. Need more time to move? You can stay in the house up to 10 days after closing, free.
Am I obligated to accept the offer?
No. Covent's offer is free, and your estimated and final offers are only offers. Nothing is binding until a written purchase contract is signed by you and Covent.
Read more about your situation
Sources
The public pages this guide's facts and figures come from.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.41: Loss mitigation procedures
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: How long will it take before I'll face foreclosure if I can't make my mortgage payments?
- Federal Trade Commission: Trouble Paying Your Mortgage or Facing Foreclosure?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What is a short sale?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: If I can't pay my mortgage loan, what are my options?
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Find a housing counselor
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Avoiding Foreclosure
- Texas State Law Library: Foreclosure
- Texas Legislature: Texas Property Code, Chapter 51
- Texas Legislature: Texas Constitution, Article 16
- Georgia Attorney General: Mortgage and Foreclosure Information
- Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel: Tennessee Foreclosure Bill to Update Advertising Requirements
- Tennessee Housing Development Agency: Foreclosure Prevention
- The Florida Bar: Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
- Florida Legislature: Florida Statutes § 45.0315: Right of redemption
- Indiana General Assembly: Indiana Code, Title 32
- Indiana Judicial Branch: Mortgage foreclosure
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes: Missouri Revised Statutes § 443.310
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes: Missouri Revised Statutes § 443.325
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes: Missouri Revised Statutes § 443.410
- Kansas Legal Services: Foreclosure Prevention: KLS Can Help
- Kansas Revisor of Statutes: Kansas Statutes 60-2414: Redemption of real property
- North Carolina General Assembly: North Carolina General Statutes § 45-21.16
- North Carolina General Assembly: North Carolina General Statutes § 45-102
- North Carolina General Assembly: North Carolina General Statutes § 45-21.27
- North Carolina Housing Finance Agency: Are you struggling to pay your mortgage?
- Federal Trade Commission: Mortgage Relief Scams
About the author
Andy Rong leads Covent Homes, which buys houses for cash, as-is, from homeowners in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and North Carolina.
Andy writes these guides to answer the questions homeowners ask before they sell, in plain words, with a public source for every fact and number.
Andy isn't a lawyer, an accountant or a financial adviser. The guides give general information, and each one says when it's time to talk to one.