Foreclosure Defense & Mortgage Workout in Pennsylvania

If you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage, you have more time and more options than you probably think. Pennsylvania has some of the strongest foreclosure protections in the country, and Bucks County’s foreclosure diversion program gives homeowners a meaningful opportunity to negotiate with their lender before any sheriff’s sale. But those protections only work if you respond; ignoring the process is how people lose their homes.

The Foreclosure Process in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state, meaning the lender must file a lawsuit and get a court order before selling your home. This process takes months (often more than a year), giving you time to explore alternatives.

Act 91 Notice (Act 91 of 1983)

Before a lender can file a foreclosure complaint on a residential mortgage, it must send you an Act 91 notice , a formal letter telling you that you’re in default, what you owe, and that you have 30 days to cure the default or apply for assistance. The notice must also tell you about free housing counseling services.

If the lender didn’t send a proper Act 91 notice, or didn’t wait the required time before filing, the foreclosure complaint can be challenged with preliminary objections .

Foreclosure Complaint

After the Act 91 notice period expires, the lender files a complaint in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. You have 20 days to respond ( Pa.R.C.P. 1026 ). If you don’t respond, the lender can take a default judgment and proceed to sheriff’s sale.

Conciliation / Diversion Program

Bucks County participates in a residential mortgage foreclosure diversion program. Once a foreclosure is filed on an owner-occupied residential property, the case may be referred to the diversion program, where a court-supervised conciliation conference brings the homeowner, the lender, and a housing counselor together to explore alternatives to foreclosure.

Sheriff’s Sale

If no resolution is reached, the lender obtains a judgment and schedules the property for sheriff’s sale . Even after the sale is scheduled, you can stop it by paying the full amount owed (including costs) or by filing for bankruptcy. After the sale, the buyer must petition the court to confirm the sale, and the homeowner has limited rights to challenge it.

Your Options

• Loan modification: Restructuring the mortgage to reduce payments, extend the term, or reduce the interest rate
• Forbearance agreement: A temporary reduction or pause in payments while you recover financially
• Repayment plan: Catching up on missed payments over time while maintaining current payments
• Short sale: Selling the property for less than you owe (requires lender approval)
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure: Transferring the property back to the lender to avoid the foreclosure on your record
• Bankruptcy: Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop a foreclosure and create a plan to catch up on arrears over 3 to 5 years

Vacant and Abandoned Property (68 Pa.C.S. Ch. 23)

Pennsylvania’s Vacant and Abandoned Real Estate Foreclosure Act provides an expedited foreclosure process for properties that have been certified as vacant and abandoned. This protects communities from blighted properties but also means that if you’ve left the property, the foreclosure can move much faster. If you’re still living in the home, this act does not apply.

Statutory content on this page was last verified against Pennsylvania statutes (42 Pa.C.S.) and Rules of Civil Procedure: February 2026 . If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.