How to Respond to a Foreclosure Summons

A foreclosure summons is the notification of a lawsuit and requires your immediate response. Ignoring the summons or failing to respond by the deadline can lead to a default foreclosure, according to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. A judge can grant a default judgment after you fail to appear in court to address the lawsuit. The judgment causes you to lose your home as it is awarded to the mortgage company or lender because you failed to make payments as agreed.

Instructions

1

Schedule a free consultation with a real estate attorney experienced in handling foreclosure summonses and lawsuits. Use the meeting to discuss your legal rights, the foreclosure process and how the attorney can help you. Also ask about attorney fees. Get a referral for an attorney by contacting your local Legal Aid office, and also ask if you qualify for free legal help based on your income and foreclosure situation.

2

Seek free help from a government-certified housing counselor before agreeing to pay an attorney. Contact a counselor approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Visit the HUD website to find a counselor near you.

3

Take all of your foreclosure correspondence to your meeting with the housing counselor, including the summons and other foreclosure notices from the mortgage company. A government-certified housing counselor is an expert in foreclosure avoidance and can recommendations based on the current status of your foreclosure proceedings. The counselor may advise you to immediately hire the attorney to challenge the foreclosure in court. More likely, the counselor will offer to contact your lender directly to request a delay in the foreclosure proceedings while payment arrangements are discussed.

4

Authorize the housing counselor to contact your lender while you participate in a three-way call. Tell the lender why you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments and that you are getting back on track with the help of a government-certified counselor. The counselor can then discuss solutions for stopping the foreclosure and ending the lawsuit. For example, the counselor could ask the lender to give you time to make up the missed payments through a process called forbearance. Or the counselor could request that the lender consider changing the terms of the loan to make it affordable based on your income. During this process, known as loan modification, the missed payments could be waived or tacked onto the end of the mortgage.

5

Request written confirmation from the lender that the foreclosure process is being halted while discussions continue. Remain in close contact with the lender and the housing counselor to reach a final decision.

6

Hire the attorney to represent you if talks with the lender fail.