What does pre-foreclosure mean?
Pre-foreclosure is the stretch of time after you've fallen behind on your mortgage and before a foreclosure sale. You still own the home, and nothing has been sold yet. It's a description of that period, not one legal step with a set deadline.
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Where you’ll see the phrase
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A property listing
Sites put the label on a home after a public filing, such as a notice of default.
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A letter from your mortgage company
The notice that names the legal step the company has taken and the date you have to act by, under your state's law.
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A housing counselor's checklist
A counselor approved by HUD uses the word for the window when you can still apply to your mortgage company for help.
Related words with different meanings
What pre-foreclosure means for you
It means there's still time. Federal mortgage servicing rules set a pre-foreclosure review period before the first filing for many covered loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says your mortgage company can't make the first foreclosure notice or filing until you're more than 120 days behind on your payments.
A complete loss mitigation application, sent early enough, keeps the company from starting foreclosure while it reviews you, the CFPB says.
What happens next, and when, depends on where you live: foreclosure notices and sale steps vary by state. Our foreclosure timeline walks through them in order.
Questions about pre-foreclosure
Can I sell my home during pre-foreclosure?
Yes, until the sale. You own the home until a foreclosure sale transfers it, so you can list it. A sale for less than you owe needs the lender's approval and is called a short sale.
Which document starts a foreclosure?
The first notice or filing your state's law requires. In a state that forecloses through a court, that's the earliest document required to be filed with the court to start the proceeding, such as a complaint, petition, order to docket, or notice of hearing. In a state that forecloses without one, it's a written notice under the power-of-sale clause in your mortgage or deed of trust.
What is loss mitigation?
The CFPB's phrase for the ways your mortgage company can work with you to avoid foreclosure. Our guides cover the main ones: a repayment plan, forbearance, a loan modification and a short sale.
Free help understanding your options
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
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Legal aid
Nonprofit law offices give free civil legal help to people with low incomes. Our help directory lists the 120 offices the Legal Services Corporation funds.
Our pages that use it
- Foreclosure timeline →The notices and sale steps explained in order.
- Short sale guide →Selling for less than you owe, with the lender's OK.
Related terms
- Notice of DefaultA formal notice stating that the borrower is in default under a mortgage.
- Foreclosure SaleThe public auction where a home is sold at the end of a foreclosure. The highest bidder, which can be the lender, gets the home.
- Non-Judicial ForeclosureA foreclosure done without a court case, by the written notices required under a power-of-sale clause, ending in an auction.
- Short SaleA sale of a home for less than the mortgage balance, with the lender’s approval.
Sources and method
This page uses none of our own data. Its facts come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's foreclosure pages and the federal mortgage servicing rule, each opened on Oct 22, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · How does foreclosure work? at consumerfinance.gov
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · Regulation X loss mitigation procedures, at consumerfinance.gov
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Housing Counselor Training Module 5.3, at hudhousingcounselors.hud.gov
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · How to avoid foreclosure, at consumerfinance.gov
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.