Frequently Asked Questions
Honest answers to the questions we hear most often — about our process, about foreclosure options, and about what to expect when you reach out.
The Homeowner Strategy Review™
What is the Homeowner Strategy Review™?
The Homeowner Strategy Review™ is a structured, six-step assessment of your foreclosure situation. It covers your loan type, servicer, equity position, foreclosure stage, income, and goals — and produces a clear picture of which options are actually available to you and which one we recommend, and why.
It is not a sales meeting. It is not a pitch for a specific outcome. It is a review — thorough, documented, and honest — designed to give you the clarity you need to make a real decision.
Is it really free?
Yes. The initial Homeowner Strategy Review™ is free. There is no cost to schedule it, attend it, or receive a recommendation from it. There is no obligation to take any further action after the review.
If you decide to move forward with any services beyond your initial Strategy Review, those services and any associated terms will always be explained clearly before you make a decision.
What happens during the review?
We walk through your situation in a structured way: your current foreclosure stage, your loan details, your equity position, your income and expenses, and what you've already tried or been told. We ask questions. We review documents you've provided. We explain what we're seeing as we go.
At the end, you receive a clear summary of your situation, which options apply to you, and what we recommend — with our reasoning. You can ask questions, push back, or ask us to explore a different path. The goal is that you leave with complete clarity.
How long does the review take?
Most initial reviews take between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on the complexity of your situation and how many questions you have. Reviews for homeowners at Notice of Sale stage — where time is limited — are typically focused and efficient. Reviews at earlier stages may involve more exploration of options. Complex situations may require a follow-up call to cover everything thoroughly.
If you upload your mortgage statement and other documents before the review, we can cover more ground in less time. We recommend doing so when you're comfortable.
Do I have to decide anything during the review?
No. The review is designed to inform your decision — not to produce one on the spot. You are welcome to take time after the review to consider your options, talk with family, consult an attorney, or ask us additional questions.
The one exception is timing: at Notice of Sale stage, the foreclosure timeline does not pause while you deliberate. We will be clear about any time-sensitive action items so you have what you need to make an informed, timely decision.
Understanding the Process
Can you stop my foreclosure?
We do not guarantee that any foreclosure will be stopped, postponed, or avoided. That is not a statement of pessimism — it is a statement of honesty. Anyone who guarantees they can stop your foreclosure is making a promise they cannot keep, because the outcome depends on factors outside anyone's complete control.
What we can do is give you a complete picture of your situation and options, identify which paths are genuinely available to you, and support you through executing the one that is right for your situation. Some of those paths result in the sale being avoided. Others result in a better-managed exit. Both are valid outcomes.
What's the difference between a Notice of Default and a Notice of Sale?
A Notice of Default (NOD) is filed at the beginning of the formal foreclosure process. The timing varies significantly depending on your state's foreclosure laws, your loan type, your servicer, whether you've previously been through loss mitigation, and other factors — it is not a fixed number of months. It signals that the loan is in default and foreclosure has begun, but no sale date has been set yet. This is usually the stage with the most available options.
A Notice of Sale (NOS) — sometimes called a Notice of Trustee's Sale — means a sale date has been set. The timeline is now shorter, some options that were available at NOD stage may no longer be available, and urgency is significantly higher.
What is a loan modification and does everyone qualify?
A loan modification is a permanent or semi-permanent change to the terms of your loan — typically the interest rate, loan term, or sometimes the principal — that results in a new, lower monthly payment. It is one of the most commonly pursued options, but it is not available to everyone.
Eligibility depends on your loan type (conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, or portfolio), the investor who owns your loan, your servicer's guidelines, whether you can document income sufficient to support the modified payment, and whether you can demonstrate a qualifying hardship. A thorough review of your specific situation is the only reliable way to assess your eligibility.
Is a short sale the same as a foreclosure?
No. A short sale is a voluntary sale of the property for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, with the servicer's approval. It is not a foreclosure. Short sales typically have a less severe impact on credit than a completed foreclosure, and they allow the homeowner to leave the property on their own terms and timeline.
Short sales are not always possible — they require servicer cooperation, and not all servicers approve them in all situations. Whether a short sale is the right option for your situation depends on your equity position, your servicer, and your goals.
My servicer denied my loan modification. Are all my options gone?
Not necessarily. A denial from your servicer for a specific modification program means you did not qualify for that program under the criteria they evaluated. It does not mean every option is exhausted.
There may be other modification programs available for your loan type. The denial may have been based on incomplete documentation, an unfavorable income-to-payment ratio, a debt-to-income calculation that exceeded program limits, investor guidelines specific to your loan, insufficient hardship documentation, or a servicer processing error — some of which are correctable if caught in time. There may also be other options — reinstatement, repayment plan, traditional sale, short sale, deed-in-lieu — that were never evaluated. A review of the denial with fresh eyes often changes the picture.
Does it always make sense to try to keep my home?
Your home is more than a financial asset — it is stability, safety, and in many cases the foundation your family is built around. That matters, and we take it seriously. Keeping your home is the right goal in many situations, and we pursue every realistic option to get there when it makes sense.
But in some situations, the most honest answer is that keeping the home is not financially sustainable — and that a managed exit protects you better: a traditional sale that preserves your equity, a short sale that allows you to move on without deficiency debt, or a deed-in-lieu that resolves the obligation cleanly. Staying in a home you cannot afford long-term can leave you in a worse position than a well-managed exit would have.
The answer depends on five factors: your loan type and eligibility for retention programs, your verified income, your equity position, the time remaining in the foreclosure process, and whether keeping the home is genuinely affordable long-term. We evaluate all five before recommending either direction — and we will be honest with you either way.
Your Mortgage Statement & Documents
Why do you ask for my mortgage statement?
Your mortgage statement contains far more than a payment amount. It tells us your interest rate and remaining loan term, your current escrow balance, the total arrears owed, any fees or charges added to your account, whether you have a deferred balance or forbearance amount outstanding, any suspense balance being held by your servicer, your loan's maturity date, and clues about whether a forbearance or deferment was previously applied — all of which directly affect which options are available to you and what the numbers actually look like.
Reviewing the statement before your strategy session allows us to have a more complete and efficient conversation — and sometimes reveals information (such as errors in the payoff amount, misapplied payments, or an undisclosed deferred balance) that changes the picture substantially.
Is my information safe when I upload it?
Documents you upload are handled with complete confidentiality. They are stored using encrypted, access-controlled systems and are accessible only to the team member assigned to your review. We do not share your documents with third parties except at your explicit request or as required by law.
For full details on how your information is handled, please see our Privacy Policy.
Do I have to upload documents to schedule a review?
No. You can schedule a review without uploading any documents. Uploading your mortgage statement beforehand allows us to prepare more thoroughly and have a more efficient conversation, but it is not required to get started.
If you're not comfortable uploading documents yet, simply schedule the review and we will discuss what documents would be helpful during the conversation.
US Foreclosure Aid
Are you a law firm, lender, or government agency?
No to all three. US Foreclosure Aid is an independent private resource. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice or representation. We are not a lender and do not originate loans, arrange financing, or collect payments. We are not affiliated with HUD, FHA, VA, USDA, the CFPB, or any state housing authority.
We are a foreclosure-focused resource that provides structured, strategic guidance to homeowners navigating the foreclosure process. For legal advice — including on bankruptcy — you should consult an attorney licensed in your state.
How are you different from a HUD housing counselor?
HUD-approved housing counselors provide free, government-regulated guidance and are a valuable resource. We are not a replacement for them — we often encourage homeowners to use both resources. The difference is in depth and focus: HUD counselors are generalists who work across many programs and loan types. We specialize exclusively in foreclosure, and our reviews go deeper into loan-specific, servicer-specific, and investor-specific factors that determine your actual eligibility for each option.
The best answers come from reviewing your specific situation.
General answers can only take you so far. Schedule My Strategy Review for answers specific to your loan, your servicer, and your stage.