Foreclosure Timeline: What Happens After You Miss Your First Mortgage Payment

If you're behind on your mortgage payments and worried about foreclosure, understanding the foreclosure timeline is important for protecting your home. In most cases, federal law gives you a 120-day preforeclosure period before a mortgage lender or servicer can officially start a foreclosure, which creates a window to explore loss mitigation options, such as a loan modification, repayment plan, or forbearance.

By acting early, staying in contact with your mortgage servicer, and applying for foreclosure prevention programs, you might be able to stop foreclosure, lower your monthly mortgage payment, or negotiate a more affordable way to keep your home.

What Happens When You Miss a Mortgage Payment? (Days 1-30)

After you miss a payment and the grace period expires, the servicer can charge a late fee to your account. Usually, the grace period is between ten and fifteen days. The late charge will typically be between four and six percent of your payment amount.

To find out the exact amount of the late charge the servicer can charge you after each missed payment, review the promissory note that you signed when you took out the loan or look at your monthly mortgage payment statement. Some states have a law that limits the amount for late charges. If the state limit is lower than what the promissory note allows, state law generally overrides the note.

Second Missed Payment: Servicer Contact and Loss Mitigation Options (Days 31-60)

Under federal law, in most cases, servicers are supposed to work with borrowers who are having trouble making their monthly payments by contacting them in person and in writing.

Live Contact Requirement

Federal law requires the servicer to make "live contact" with you, or make reasonable efforts to contact you, by phone or in person no later than the 36th day of the delinquency to talk about loss mitigation options. The servicer will likely try to contact you by phone shortly after you miss your second payment.

But if you initiate a call to the servicer before it calls you, that contact will satisfy the federal requirement. The servicer also has to contact you again within 36 days after each payment due date for as long as you're delinquent on the loan, even if the servicer previously talked to you. However, if you're in bankruptcy or have asked the servicer to stop communicating with you under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the servicer is subject to that law, the servicer doesn't have to try to make live contact with you.

Loss Mitigation Notice

Also under federal law, the servicer has to send you a letter with information about potentially available loss mitigation options no later than the 45th day of the delinquency, and again no later than 45 days after each payment due date as long as you're delinquent. But the servicer doesn't have to send this kind of letter more than once during any 180-day period.

However, if you've filed bankruptcy, the servicer must generally send a modified letter that doesn't request payment. But if no loss mitigation options are available, then the servicer doesn't have to send the letter. Also, the 180-day rule doesn't apply, which means the notice doesn't have to be sent more than once in a bankruptcy. Furthermore, if you're represented by an attorney, the servicer may send the notice to your attorney rather than to you.

If you've asked that the servicer cease communication with you based on your rights under the FDCPA, then it doesn't have to send the letter if no loss mitigation option is available or if you're in bankruptcy. Otherwise, it must send you a modified letter that includes a statement that the servicer may or intends to invoke its specified remedy of foreclosure, but can't contain a request for payment.

Third and Fourth Missed Payments: The Breach Letter and 120-Day Mark (Days 61-120)

Once you're about 90 days behind on the loan, the servicer will likely send you a breach letter. Most mortgages and deeds of trust require the lender to send this type of letter before "accelerating" the loan (calling the entire balance due). The breach letter typically gives 30 days to reinstate the loan (cure the default) and avoid a foreclosure.

Contents of a Breach Letter

Typically, the breach letter will also provide the following information:

• the nature of the default (for example, you didn't make payments)
• the action required to cure the default (like you have to get current on the loan)
• a date by which you must cure the default, again, usually not less than 30 days from the date the notice is given, and
• that if you fail to cure the default on or before the date specified in the notice, this may result in acceleration of the debt and sale of the property.

After you've missed the deadline to reinstate that's given in the breach letter, and you're more than 120 days behind on your mortgage payments, the servicer will usually refer the loan to an attorney or trustee. Then, the foreclosure process will begin. If you've applied for loss mitigation, however, and that application is still pending, federal law, and in some cases, state law, prevents the foreclosure from starting until the servicer reviews your application.

How to Apply for Loss Mitigation During the 120-Day Period

If you turn in a complete loss mitigation application during the 120-day period, the servicer must evaluate the submission and inform you of the results before it can start to foreclose. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 (2025).) However, once the 120-day period expires, if you haven't brought the loan current or applied for (or received) a foreclosure alternative, the servicer will probably start a foreclosure.

Can You Apply for Loss Mitigation After Foreclosure Starts? (Day 120+)

You can still apply for loss mitigation options even after foreclosure has officially begun. However, the most important deadline is the 37-day cutoff.

37-Day Deadline

Under federal law, so long as you submit your complete application more than 37 days before the foreclosure sale, the servicer can't ask for a judgment or order of sale, or conduct a foreclosure sale unless:

• the servicer denies your request (and any appeal period expires)
• you decline the loss mitigation option offered, or
• you fail to abide by a loss mitigation agreement.

So, even after foreclosure proceedings have started, you still have a window of opportunity to avoid a foreclosure sale. But the servicer generally doesn't have to review multiple applications from you, however, unless you bring the loan current after submitting an application.(12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 (2025).)

Still, it's usually best to get the process rolling during the 120-day preforeclosure period, before you get even further behind in payments and foreclosure costs start to add up.

What If You Submit an Application Fewer than 37 Days Before a Sale?

If you submit your complete application 37 days or fewer before a foreclosure sale, the servicer has much less of an obligation to help you. The servicer doesn't have to review the application or stop the sale under the federal requirements. But it must review the application in accordance with any requirements established by the owner or assignee of your mortgage loan. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41, see official interpretation (4), 12 C.F.R. § 1024.38(b)(2)(v) (2025).)

Why Should I Apply for Loss Mitigation?

Before losing your home to a foreclosure, you might want to find out whether you qualify for a mortgage modification, like a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Flex Modification, or some other mortgage workout option, like a repayment plan or forbearance. Whether you ultimately plan to leave your home, there's no harm in seeing what you can get.

Even if the servicer rejects your application for a foreclosure alternative, simply engaging in the process can buy you some time in payment-free shelter.

Where to Get Help With Foreclosure

Call your mortgage servicer to find out how to apply for a loss mitigation option. If you need more information about different ways to avoid foreclosure, consider contacting a foreclosure attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor.