1. Reinstatement — pay the arrears, end the case
If you can gather the missed payments plus fees (from savings, family, a 401(k) loan, or an assistance grant), reinstatement kills the foreclosure outright. Ask the servicer for a written reinstatement quote with a good-through date — the number is often less scary than imagination made it.
2. Forbearance — pause while you recover
For temporary hardships, forbearance suspends or reduces payments for months and stops foreclosure activity. It's often approvable in weeks, making it the go-to when a sale date looms. The key is negotiating the exit (deferral or repayment plan) so it doesn't end in a lump-sum demand.
3. Repayment plan — catch up month by month
Income back to normal? Spread the arrears over 3–12 months on top of your regular payment. Simple, fast, and the foreclosure closes when you complete it.
4. Loan modification — make the payment permanently affordable
A modification rewrites the loan — lower rate, longer term, arrears rolled into the balance. It's the strongest keep-the-home tool when the old payment no longer fits your life, and an active complete application generally pauses sale activity while it's reviewed.
5. Assistance funds — money you don't pay back
State Homeowner Assistance Funds and FHA/VA programs can pay arrears directly — often as grants or zero-interest liens. Applications are unforgiving about documentation, but the payout can reset the whole situation.
6. Sell with your equity intact
When keeping the home isn't realistic, selling before the auction converts your equity into cash instead of donating it to the courthouse steps. Listed sale for maximum dollars if time allows; vetted cash closing in as little as two weeks if it doesn't.
7. Chapter 13 — the legal emergency brake
Filed before the sale, Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops the auction immediately by federal law, then lets you cure arrears over 3–5 years. It's serious medicine with real side effects — which is why it's ranked last — but when hours matter, nothing else is as absolute.
The honest takeaway: which of these seven fits isn't a guess, it's math — your equity, income, timeline, and state's process. That's exactly what a free case review calculates.
Where you come in
Your situation has specific numbers. Let's run them.
A free case review maps every option in this article to your loan, your equity, and your state's clock — usually the same day.