Foreclosure FAQs

1. If you can still pay your mortgage, then you should continue to pay it. It is best to try to stay current on your mortgage payments. It is risky to fall behind on mortgage payments. If you cannot stay current on your mortgage payments, then try to minimize the overdue amount by paying what you can, when you can. If you cannot afford to pay your mortgage, you may have options.  
2. To find out what options you have, you should submit a request for mortgage assistance or loss mitigation application to your mortgage servicer. Options for keeping your home usually involve working with your mortgage servicer to find other ways for you to pay the mortgage, such as forbearance, repayment plan, loan modification, or partial claim. Possible options for giving up the home include sale, deed-in-lieu, or short sale, or consent judgment in rem.  
3. You can also talk to a free housing counselor about your options by calling DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

A forbearance is when your current monthly payments are temporarily reduced or suspended. You are still obligated to repay any missed payments, but in many cases, those payments may be repaid over time or when you refinance or sell your home.    

Contact your mortgage servicer (the company that sends you monthly statements) as soon as possible to ask for a forbearance. You can also ask the mortgage servicer to reduce or suspend your payments. It can be helpful to explain the reason for your hardship, such as temporary loss of income, increased expenses, or COVID-19.  

Whether the mortgage servicer will grant your request can depend on several factors, including the type of mortgage you have, how far behind you are on payments, and if you have already recently received a forbearance, payment plan, or loan modification.  

Before you get a forbearance, you should ask your servicer what you will have to do at the end of the forbearance period. If the mortgage servicer grants the request to reduce or suspend your payments, you will still owe the money and need to pay it to the mortgage servicer after the forbearance ends. If you have concerns about what terms your mortgage company is requiring for repayment, contact a lawyer or housing counselor.  

Borrowers with “federally-backed” mortgages have certain additional rights and protections. Whether your mortgage is “federally-backed” may also impact the terms of any forbearance you receive.    

To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

This may depend on what kind of loan you have. In general, your mortgage company might require you to:  

• Make up all of the deferred payments at the end of the forbearance period, or at some other specified time (for example three years after the end of the forbearance period);    
• Make higher monthly payments until the deferred payments are repaid;    
• Add the deferred payments to the end of your mortgage, to be repaid in a lump sum when you sell or refinance or when your mortgage reaches the end of its term; and/or  
• Apply for a loan modification, in which the deferred payments would be added to your total mortgage balance and the terms of your mortgage (such as the interest rate and/or length of the mortgage) may be changed to create new, modified monthly payments.  

Before you get a forbearance, you should ask your servicer what you will have to do at the end of the forbearance period. If you have concerns about what terms your mortgage company is requiring for repayment, contact a lawyer or housing counselor.  

To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

If you have an FHA insured loan, or a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan, or a Veterans Affairs loan, then you have certain additional rights and protections under federal law.  

More information can be found here.

Mortgage servicers cannot start the foreclosure process until your loan is more than 120 days past due. To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

The DC blanket prohibition on foreclosures of owner-occupied and heir-occupied homes expired on June 30, 2022. Foreclosures are now allowed to resume or take place. 

Homeowners have additional protections from foreclosure if they:

• submitted a DC Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) application by September 30, 2022,
• provided written proof of the application to the other side, and    
• whose applications are under review, pending approval, pending payment, or under appeal as of September 30, 2022

If you meet the above criteria, then the foreclosure moratorium is temporarily extended, and you will temporarily be protected from foreclosure activity until either the HAF payment can be made or the HAF application is denied after appeal. 

To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

Foreclosure case hearings are taking place remotely (by phone or video). If the court decides to hold a remote hearing in your case, it will provide you with instructions on how to join the hearing. You can also attend your hearing in person at the DC Superior Court.   

If you have a pending foreclosure case and are unsure whether you have an upcoming remote hearing or other court event, you can check the status of your case online or by calling the Civil Division Clerk’s Office (202-879-1133).  

This manual prepared by the D.C. Superior Court Civil Division may also have helpful information. 

To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

To e-file something in your court case, create an account and e-file your document here: efiledcsuperiorcourt.gov/

This manual prepared by the D.C. Superior Court Civil Division may also have helpful information. 

The Civil Division Clerk’s Office is open for in-person assistance too.

To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

You cannot be immediately evicted just because a foreclosure auction sale has happened. If you are being evicted as a foreclosed homeowner, you should talk with a lawyer. To evict you from your home, the new owner of the property must be named on the recorded deed. In addition, the new owner must send you a 30 Day Notice and file an eviction action against you after the 30 days has expired.

To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255. 

If you are behind on your condominium dues, it is especially important to keep a close eye on your mail in case your condominium association mails you a Notice of Foreclosure. An auction sale can usually happen as soon as 32 days after such a notice. If your condo association tries to foreclose on your home, you should contact a lawyer right away.    

1. If you can afford to pay your monthly condominium dues plus a little more each month, contact your condominium association to try to work out a repayment plan.
2. If you cannot reach an agreement with your condominium association, you may want to tell your mortgage servicer about the status of your late condominium dues. It is possible your mortgage servicer may pay past dues and add the amount to your mortgage balance. You would then owe the money to your mortgage company rather than your condo association. It is a good idea to talk to a lawyer before asking your mortgage company to pay off your condominium dues on your behalf. 
3. To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.  

In general, if you remain behind on your property taxes, your home may eventually be auctioned at a tax foreclosure. If you are facing tax foreclosure, you should contact a lawyer right away.  

1. If you live in your home, contact the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) to make sure your property taxes are as low as possible going forward. You may be eligible to receive a property tax reduction through the Homestead or the Senior Citizen or Disabled Property Owner Tax Deduction. 
2. Homeowners have additional protections from foreclosure if they:
   1. submitted a DC Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) application by September 30, 2022,
   2. provided written proof of the application to the other side, and 
   3. whose applications are under review, pending approval, pending payment, or     under appeal as of September 30, 2022:    

If you meet these criteria, then the foreclosure moratorium is temporarily extended, and you are temporarily protected from foreclosure activity until either the HAF payment can be made or the HAF application is denied after appeal.

3. If you are responsible for paying your property taxes directly (either because you don’t have a mortgage or your mortgage servicer doesn’t pay them through an escrow account), and you are behind on your taxes, you should contact OTR to try to work out a repayment plan. In general, if you remain behind on your property taxes, your home may eventually be auctioned at a tax foreclosure.    
4. To see if you are eligible for free housing counseling or free legal services, call DC’s Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at (202) 265-2255.