Who should you call first when foreclosure starts?

Who do you call first, and in what order?

Call your mortgage servicer first. Not because they are on your side, but because federal servicing rules require them to tell you in writing about your options within 45 days of a missed payment, and the loss mitigation process only starts when you ask. Explain what happened and ask for a loss mitigation application. Write down the name of the single point of contact they are required to assign you.

Call a HUD approved housing counselor second, the same week. It is free, the counselor knows exactly what your servicer is required to offer, and they will build the application with you so it is complete the first time. An incomplete application is the most common reason a modification stalls.

Call a foreclosure attorney third, and only when one of three things happens. You are served with a court summons, a sale date is set, or the servicer breaks a rule such as filing before you were 120 days behind. Before that point a lawyer is mostly doing what the counselor does for free.

How much time do you actually have?

More than the letters make it feel like, and less than you think once the clock starts. Under CFPB mortgage servicing rules, a servicer cannot make the first foreclosure filing until you are more than 120 days delinquent. That is roughly four months where the only things that can happen are letters, calls, and a loss mitigation review. Use them.

After the filing, state law takes over. In a judicial state the lender sues and a judge is involved at every step, which takes longer. In a nonjudicial state the lender can sell the house under a power of sale clause without a courtroom, sometimes in a few months. ATTOM's mid year 2026 report put the average completed foreclosure at 563 days from first notice to the end, the shortest since 2013, and the spread between states is enormous.

What can a free HUD counselor actually do?

A HUD approved counselor is trained and certified by the federal government and paid through HUD grants, which is why foreclosure prevention counseling is free to you. They are not a charity that pats you on the back. They know the exact order an FHA servicer has to review options in, what a conventional servicer is required to disclose, and what a complete application looks like.

Expect the first call to be mostly questions. They will want your last mortgage statement, your pay stubs or income proof, tax returns, recent bank statements, and your monthly bills. That is not nosiness, it is the same package the servicer will demand, and getting it right the first time is the whole game.

Here is what a counselor does that most people assume takes a lawyer.

When do you need a foreclosure lawyer?

The moment you are served. In a judicial state the summons gives you a fixed number of days to file an answer, often 20 to 30, and if you miss it the lender gets a default judgment and your defenses are gone. A counselor cannot file that answer. A lawyer can, and can raise things like a servicer that never reviewed your application, dual tracking, or a note the lender cannot produce.

You also need one when a sale date is set and no deal is close. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing triggers an automatic stay that stops the sale that day and lets you repay the arrears over three to five years. That is a lawyer's tool, not a counselor's, and it runs $2,500 to $3,500 in attorney fees in most districts.

Fees for straight foreclosure defense run $1,500 to $4,000 flat, or a $2,000 to $3,500 retainer plus $300 to $750 a month in the long judicial states. Our foreclosure attorney cost page breaks down every structure. Legal aid offices take foreclosure cases for free if your income qualifies, and a HUD counselor will know which ones do in your county.

Who should you never call?

Anyone who contacts you first, promises to stop the foreclosure, and wants money up front. HUD's own guidance is blunt about it. Foreclosure prevention companies charge the equivalent of two or three mortgage payments for help a counselor gives away, and the worst of them have you sign documents that transfer the title to your house and make you a tenant in it.

The tell is simple. Every legitimate resource in this process, the servicer's loss mitigation department, the HUD counselor, the HOPE hotline, and the CFPB, is free. The only person who should ever charge you is a licensed attorney you chose, with a written fee agreement, after you were served.

We earn the same whoever answers the phone on our end, so we have no reason to steer you toward the paid option. Most people who call the free numbers first never need the paid one.

When you don't need to call anyone but your servicer

If you missed one payment because of a short, fixable problem, a late bonus, a medical bill, a gap between jobs that is already closing, you may not need a counselor or a lawyer at all. Call the servicer, say plainly what happened and when you can pay, and ask for a repayment plan or a payment deferral that moves the missed amount to the end of the loan.

Servicers approve those for people who call early and sound like they will follow through. What turns a one month stumble into a foreclosure is silence. HUD's own timeline is that by the third missed payment you receive a demand letter with 30 days to bring the loan current, and by the fourth the file goes to the lender's attorneys and their fees start landing on your balance.

The honest rule is simple. One missed payment with a clear fix, handle it yourself. Two missed payments or a hardship with no end date, add the counselor the same week. Court papers or a sale date, add the lawyer that day.

What to have ready before the first call

Every call goes faster with the same folder in front of you. Your most recent mortgage statement with the loan number, the last two months of pay stubs or proof of income, your most recent tax return, two months of bank statements, and a one page list of monthly bills. Write down the date of your last payment and the total you are behind.

Keep a log. Date, who you spoke with, what they said, and any reference number. Servicers are required to assign a point of contact and respond on a schedule, and the log is what a counselor or lawyer uses to prove they did not.

Frequently asked questions

Where these numbers come from

Ranges on this page were compiled in September 2026 from the sources below plus our own 2026 cost index. They are planning figures, not quotes. Your market and your specific situation can land outside any range shown.

• HUD, avoiding foreclosure, free counseling at (800) 569-4287 and the missed payment timeline
• CFPB, how long before I face foreclosure, the 120 day rule
• CFPB, what is a HUD approved housing counseling agency and how can they help
• HUD Exchange, foreclosure prevention counseling, loss mitigation options and servicer rules
• ATTOM, mid year 2026 U.S. foreclosure market report, average days to complete by state
• Nolo, how long does foreclosure take, judicial versus nonjudicial states

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