Start here. You are not alone.
If you are facing foreclosure
This page is for veterans and caregivers who are behind, in foreclosure, or already displaced. It is calm, practical, and free. Take it one step at a time, preserve your documents, reach vetted help, and ask your servicer the right questions.
If you are facing this, the four answers, fast.
After COVID, many veterans were told to pause mortgage payments under a federal program, then the program that let them catch up was taken away, and the replacement is not working at most servicers yet.
What is happening →This is not your fault and you are not alone: a government program changed under you. Free specialists handle exactly this situation.
Step 1 · call for help today →Do not sign anything, gather your paperwork, and call a specialist before any sale date.
Steps 2–3 →Start with the vetted help below, by your stage. If you have a sale date or eviction notice, act today.
Start at Step 1 →If you have a sale date or an eviction notice.
Act now. Call a legal-aid line below today and do not sign anything, including a “cash for keys” offer, before you speak with someone. A pending sale can sometimes be paused, but timing matters.
↓ Print the “First 72 Hours” checklistIdentify the document
Six envelopes, and what each one actually means
Most of what arrives is not a deadline. Two of these are. Find yours in the left column.
| What arrived | What it means | How fast |
|---|---|---|
| VRM “Notice to Occupants” | The property manager identifying itself. Informal. It is not a legal notice to vacate and it does not start a clock. | Informational |
| PTFA notice | Asks whether you are a tenant or subtenant. A standard checklist step before an eviction is filed. It does not apply to a former owner. Save it. Do not send lease documents you do not have. | Informational |
| Cash for keys offer | A voluntary agreement: money in exchange for leaving and signing a release. It has a deadline and the release is usually broad. Read what the release gives up before the deadline, and do not sign under pressure. | Time-limited |
| Post-sale notice citing a statute | A formal notice after the sale, naming your state’s statute and stating a possession date. This is the step that comes before an eviction is filed. | Act now |
| Eviction filed in court | Court papers, often called an unlawful detainer or a summons and complaint. The lawsuit has been filed and you are the defendant. Your state sets how long you have to respond, and in some states it is very short. Missing it is how most people lose by default rather than on the merits. | Emergency |
| Writ of restitution or possession | The court has ordered the eviction and the sheriff will enforce it. Call a lawyer today. | Emergency |
True everywhere
Three things that do not change when you cross a state line
Most families have never been told any of this.
You cannot be removed from a home without a court order. Not by a servicer, not by a property manager, not by a letter. A foreclosure sale does not mean you have to be out that day. Every state puts some process between the sale and removal. What varies is how much.
If you are a tenant in a foreclosed property, federal law protects you. The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act requires 90 days’ written notice before eviction, and a bona fide lease generally runs to the end of its term unless the buyer will live there, in which case the same 90 days applies. It was permanently restored on 23 June 2018 with no expiration date. This is the one protection that does not change at a state line. It protects tenants, not former owners.
Losing the house does not permanently end your VA loan entitlement and does not make you ineligible for help. Those are separate questions from whether the house is gone.
Changes by state
Four questions decide your timeline, and all four are state law
Find your state’s answer to each before relying on any date you read anywhere, including here.
- Is your state judicial or non-judicial? A judicial foreclosure runs through a court, takes longer, and gives you a place to be heard. A non-judicial one happens outside court.
- How much notice comes before the sale? This ranges from a few weeks to several months.
- Can you buy the home back after the sale? Some states give a redemption period, often with the right to stay during it. Many give none.
- How long do you have to answer an eviction once it is filed? This is the shortest and most dangerous clock in the process.
Two worked examples, from states where we have cohort families and can document the answer. They are examples, not the rule.
Washington. Non-judicial. The purchaser is entitled to possession on the twentieth day after the sale, and the response window once an eviction is filed is 20 days from service. There is no redemption period. A tenant in a foreclosed property there gets sixty days’ written notice, and that section says in terms that it does not apply if the borrower stays on the property. Washington’s appointed-counsel statute is written for an indigent tenant and is subject to available funding, so a former owner should not count on it.
Wyoming. A three-month statutory redemption period, with the right to remain in the home during it.
Those two are worth sitting next to each other. The state with far stronger tenant protection gives a foreclosed homeowner far less time. Whatever you assume your state does, check it.
If you are outside these two states, ask a local legal-aid line which statute and which clock apply to you. Do not carry a number from this page into another state.
If you got a letter like this
“Chose not to accept”? “Not resolved”? Here’s what those lines leave out
If a VA or servicer letter uses one of these lines, you are not alone. It is a documented pattern. See the plain-language rebuttal and exactly what to ask for, in writing.
See the Rebuttal Index →You may have heard: “they were offered help and refused it” →
The short checklist
Six steps, in order
If you do nothing else today, do these. Each is free, and each links to the national resource that handles it. Work down the list. You do not have to do it all at once.
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1
Call for help today
Reach a person who can triage your case today. Every vetted number, veteran, legal, and local, is in Where to turn below, grouped by your stage.
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2
Do not sign anything
Especially a “cash for keys” offer: it asks you to give up the home, and sometimes your legal claims, for a payment. Talk to legal aid or a housing counselor before you sign anything, no matter how short the deadline sounds.
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3
Gather your documents
Save every letter, email, and voicemail, and write down every call: date, name, what was said. The full list is in gather these documents below.
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4
Get free legal + counseling
A HUD-approved housing counselor is the strongest first call for a home you are trying to keep; an attorney finder and state legal aid come next. All three, with their numbers, are in Where to turn below.
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5
File to build the record
CFPB, VA OIG, your State Attorney General, and Congress (202-224-3121). Every filing is evidence for the whole cohort.
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6
You are not alone
Other families have been exactly here and triage new arrivals every week, find the family support group in Where to turnStage 3.
Eviction help
Where to call for eviction defense after a foreclosure sale, nationally and in Washington State.
- National: Call 211, connects to local legal aid in every state.
- HUD Housing Counseling: 1-800-569-4287, free foreclosure prevention counseling.
- Veterans Consortium Pro Bono: vetsprobono.org
- Washington, as an example of what to look for in your state. WA State CLEAR Hotline, 1-888-201-1014, statewide legal aid intake. Spokane Housing Justice Project, 1-855-657-8387, post-sale eviction defense (confirmed by a cohort family per OMVLA referral, May 8 2026). Most states have both: a statewide legal-aid intake line and a local eviction-defense project. Calling 211 is the fastest way to find yours.
Legal aid will often say no, and that is not a judgment on your case
Most legal aid offices cannot take wrongful foreclosure cases. Knowing that before you start calling saves you days you may not have.
The legal-aid pipeline is not staffed for this. Most veteran-family wrongful-foreclosure cases turn on RESPA and mortgage-servicing claims, which legal aid programs are generally not resourced to litigate. State-level pro-bono referral programs in several states have been closing referrals on these matters as outside their pool. If you are told no, it is usually a scope and capacity answer, not an answer about the strength of your case.
What to do anyway, in this order:
- Call the eviction and counseling numbers above first. They are staffed for the deadline you are actually facing.
- Ask any office that turns you down for two things before you hang up: a referral to a private RESPA or mortgage-servicing attorney in your state, and whether they know of anyone taking these cases on a fee-shifting basis. Fee-shifting means the case can be paid work rather than pro bono, which changes who can say yes.
- File the complaints while you look for counsel. They build the record whether or not you find a lawyer. Build Your Case has the filing routes and the legal grounds in full.
- Attorneys and families who want to coordinate across the cohort: veteransforeclosurecrisis@gmail.com.
During foreclosure
Know your state’s process
Federal, and the same in every state
Two things do not change wherever you live. No one can remove you without a court order, and the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act applies nationally. Almost everything else on this page is state law: how foreclosure runs, how long you have to answer an eviction, whether there is a redemption period, and which court hears it. Where we show a Washington rule, it is marked as an example. Check the same rule in your own state before you rely on a date.
Non-judicial
Deed-of-trust states, like Washington: the trustee can sell without a court hearing. Timelines are short, act fast.
Judicial
Court-ordered: you are served and can respond in court. Find out which type your state uses first.
Foreclosure runs one of two ways. Find out which your state uses first. Never sign a Cash for Keys agreement first. See Step 2.
State example, Washington
Washington’s Foreclosure Fairness Program provides mediation after a Notice of Default, but only if a housing counselor or attorney refers the case at least 90 days before the sale date (25 days before an amended date).
Vetted help, by where you are
Where to turn
Find the group that matches your situation right now. Everything here is vetted and free, and national unless marked. State and local lines sit in the dashed box under each group, we add them as families confirm them.
Key finding · read this before you call “legal aid”
PROJECT ANALYSISGeneral legal-aid lines are often grant-funded for specific problems. In some states that means landlord/tenant eviction only, not mortgage foreclosure (this is the case in Washington), and a referral to a private attorney may not work out. Ask any legal-aid line directly: “Do you handle mortgage foreclosure?” before you rely on it.
For a home you still own and are trying to keep, your strongest first call is a specialist: a HUD-approved housing counselor (1-800-569-4287) or your state’s foreclosure-prevention / mediation program. These counselors are free and specialize in mortgage and VA foreclosure. Dial 211 and ask for your state foreclosure-prevention center.
Stage 1
Still in your home, in foreclosure, not sold yet
The house has not been sold. The priority is pausing the sale and getting a workout on the record.
HUD-approved housing counseling
1-800-569-4287 · answers.hud.gov
Free counseling on your options. Ask them to point you to legal aid too.
NACA attorney finder
Find a consumer or foreclosure attorney in your state through the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
State / county legal aid
Dial 211 · LawHelp.org
Free civil legal aid near you, grant-limited, so read the caveat above before you rely on it.
CFPB Help for Homeowners
Federal plain-language guide to foreclosure options and your rights.
SSVF (prevention)
Homelessness-prevention help for veteran families. Ask about case management.
In your state / region
Washington: CLEAR legal aid, 1-888-201-1014. Outside WA, dial 211 and ask for your state’s foreclosure legal-aid line.
Stage 2
Post-foreclosure, facing eviction
The sale has happened and you may have received notices. The priority is eviction defense, your timeline, and not signing away rights.
Local legal aid
Dial 211
Connects you to local eviction-defense help, grant-limited, so read the caveat above before you rely on it.
File a CFPB complaint
Files a federal record on the servicer. Creates a paper trail even after a sale.
In your state / region
Washington: CLEAR, 1-888-201-1014 · Spokane Housing Justice Project, 1-855-657-8387 (post-eviction defense). Outside WA, ask 211 for your county’s eviction-defense line
Stage 3
Rebuilding, displaced or homeless
You have left the home. The priority is safe housing now, income and credit repair, and staying connected to people who have done this.
SSVF rapid re-housing
Move-in costs, rapid re-housing, and case management for veteran families. You do not have to sign away rights to get help.
Local resource line
Dial 211
Emergency shelter, rent, utility, and food help in your area.
Housing megalist & consumer help
shelterforce.org · nclc.org · self-help.org
A vetted national list of housing help, NCLC’s consumer resources for credit and debt, and Self-Help Federal Credit Union’s affordable-credit counseling for rebuilding.
Veteran-family support orgs
Operation Homefront · Semper Fi & America’s Fund
Emergency financial aid and case coordination. Caregivers: Elizabeth Dole Foundation; case navigation: Code of Support.
The family support group
On Facebook, via the Linktree
Other families who have been through this, triaging new arrivals and sharing what worked.
In your state / region
Ask 211 for local rapid-re-housing and veteran-specific shelter programs in your area. Add your state’s programs by writing veteransforeclosurecrisis@gmail.com.
Background, not an intake line: NPR’s multi-year investigation (Arnold / Lawrence), most recently April 2, 2026 ↗
Before you call anyone
Gather these documents
- □Your COVID forbearance approval letter (check whether a lump-sum balloon was disclosed)
- □Every loan modification offer, with its interest rate and new payment
- □All servicer letters, emails, and denial notices
- □A written log of every phone call: date, who you spoke with, what they said
- □Your original monthly payment amount and interest rate
- □Any foreclosure or sale-date notice, and any eviction paperwork
Want to add your experience to the record, safely and on your own terms? See how to share your story safely. It is entirely optional, and nothing is published without your consent.