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Help avoiding foreclosure

The foreclosure moratorium contained in House Bill 2009 expired Dec. 31, 2021.

In the coming months, $90 million will be available to help homeowners affected by COVID-19 through the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), which is administered by the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services (OHCS). Learn more and sign up for updates about the program at the OHCS website.

Help is available for homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments. The Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program helps homeowners avoid foreclosure. Before beginning a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure, most lenders must request a resolution conference with the homeowner.

It is important to respond to the request for a resolution conference from your lender. Participation in the program will help you explore all options to avoid foreclosure. If you agree to participate, your lender will not be able to initiate any foreclosure proceeding until it has met the requirements of the program and attended a resolution conference with you.

If you have not received a request for a resolution conference from your lender, but think it would be helpful, you may be able to request one with your lender.

Visit Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program for more information.

Foreclosure is the legal process a lender takes to force the sale of a mortgaged property when the borrower has not met the terms of the loan agreement. Foreclosures can also be started by other parties who have a lien on a property, such as the county if property taxes are not paid.

There are two types of foreclosure processes in Oregon:

  • Judicial foreclosure: The process of taking the house by filing a lawsuit against the homeowner. If you receive a Notice of Hearing or any notice to appear in court regarding the sale of your house, contact an attorney as soon as possible.
  • Nonjudicial foreclosure: If your Deed of Trust document has a power-of-sale clause, the trustee representing the servicer can begin a nonjudicial foreclosure. This means the trustee conducts a sale of the property outside of the court system. You will receive a Notice of Default and then a Notice of Trustee’s Sale or Trustee’s Notice of Sale at least 120 days before the sale.

Before starting either process, financial institutions must request a face-to-face meeting with the homeowner. This requirement applies to financial institutions that started more than 30 foreclosure actions in 2019. If you do not receive a request for a resolution conference from your lender, contact the Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program to see if you can request it yourself.

Review the foreclosure resource pages in the navigation (on the left for desktops, at the top for mobile devices) for more information or check out Keeping Your Home, a publication from the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation.