Behind on Payments or Facing Foreclosure in Rochester? You Can Still Sell
You can sell right up to the auction, and in New York that date usually arrives much later than people fear. What matters is that your options narrow as it approaches.
Get My Cash Offer Or call (585) 575-1711The short answer
Being behind on payments is not foreclosure, and foreclosure is not losing the house tomorrow. New York is a judicial foreclosure state with a mandatory 90-day warning before a case can even be filed and a court-supervised settlement conference after it is. You keep the right to sell throughout, and any equity above the payoff is yours. What you lose by waiting is options, not usually the house itself.
Where you actually are in the process
Most people who call us are far earlier in this than they think. The New York sequence for a home loan runs roughly like this.
Missed payments and default. Late fees, then collection calls, then a default notice from the servicer. Nothing has been filed in court.
The 90-day notice. Before commencing a foreclosure action on a home loan, the lender must send a specific pre-foreclosure notice under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law section 1304, at least 90 days beforehand. The statute is unusually prescriptive: particular language including a list of approved housing counselling agencies, sent by registered or certified mail and separately by first-class mail, in its own envelope, and to each borrower individually. Strict compliance is a condition precedent — a defective notice gets cases dismissed.
The case is filed. Summons and complaint, served on you. This is where the case begins, not where it ends.
The settlement conference. Under CPLR rule 3408, residential foreclosure actions on a home loan where the defendant lives in the property go to a mandatory, court-supervised settlement conference, scheduled within 60 days of the lender filing proof of service. Both sides must appear and negotiate in good faith, and courts can sanction a lender that does not.
Judgment, referee, and sale. Only after all of that does an auction date exist.
The honest summary is that this takes a long time in New York — commonly well over a year from first missed payment to auction, and often considerably more. That is not a reason to relax. It is a reason to know you have room to make a deliberate decision rather than a panicked one.
You can sell right up to the auction
Until the property is actually sold at auction, you still own it and you can still sell it. A sale pays the mortgage and any other liens from the proceeds, exactly as in any other closing, and the balance is yours. Filing a foreclosure case does not change that.
What changes as the date approaches is practical, not legal. Legal fees and advances keep being added to the payoff, shrinking whatever equity exists, and once a sale date is set, adjourning it requires the lender's cooperation — achievable with a signed contract in hand, but not something to leave to the last fortnight.
Equity sale or short sale — they are very different
Work out which one you are in before doing anything else, because they behave differently.
| Equity sale | Short sale | |
|---|---|---|
| When it applies | The house is worth more than the total owed, including arrears, fees and any other liens. | The total owed exceeds what the house can sell for. |
| Lender involvement | None beyond issuing a payoff letter. It is an ordinary closing. | The lender must approve the price and agree to accept less than the balance. |
| Timeline | Normal — two to four weeks is achievable. | Much longer and much less certain. Lender approval drives everything. |
| What you walk away with | The balance after the payoff. That money is yours. | Usually nothing, though the debt position is generally better than after a completed foreclosure. |
Most Rochester homeowners who contact us early are in the first column and do not realise it, because arrears feel larger than they are next to a house's value. Find out which one you are in. It changes the entire strategy.
Before you talk to any buyer
Two things to do first. Get the exact payoff figure from your servicer, including arrears, fees and advances — not the balance on your last statement. And speak to a HUD-approved housing counsellor. That service is free, it is independent of anyone trying to buy your house, and it can tell you whether a modification, forbearance or repayment plan is realistic before you decide to sell at all. New York also funds free foreclosure-prevention legal help; your court paperwork lists counselling agencies for exactly this reason.
Be wary of anyone offering to "take over payments", to have you deed the house over while staying in it, or to buy it back to you later. Those arrangements are where genuine harm happens in this part of the market. A legitimate purchase is a normal closing with an attorney, a title company and a settlement statement showing every dollar.
How we handle it
- We ask for the payoff figure first and tell you plainly whether you have equity — including when the answer means you should not be selling to us at all.
- We can close before a scheduled sale date where there is enough runway for payoffs and title, and we will tell you honestly if there is not.
- Normal closing, attorney and title company, settlement statement. No deed-over arrangements, no leaseback, no taking over your payments.
Questions
How long do I actually have?
In New York, usually longer than you think — there is a mandatory 90-day notice before a case can even be filed, then a court process with a mandatory settlement conference. Commonly well over a year from first missed payment to auction. Your own timeline depends on your case, so ask the attorney or counsellor handling it.
Will I get any money if I sell?
If the house is worth more than the total payoff, yes — the balance is yours, the same as in any other sale. That is the most common situation for people who act early.
Does selling hurt my credit as much as foreclosure?
A completed sale that pays the mortgage in full resolves the debt rather than leaving a foreclosure judgment. The missed payments already reported stay on your record. For anything specific to your situation, a HUD-approved housing counsellor can advise free of charge.
Can I sell after the case has already been filed?
Yes. You own the property until it is sold at auction. Filing does not remove your right to sell, though it does add legal fees to the payoff and make the calendar tighter.
Find out where you actually stand
A written offer in 24–48 hours, and an honest answer about whether selling is your best option.
Get My Cash Offer Or call (585) 575-1711Related situations
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