Enter the dates from your foreclosure papers and see how much time you have — and what to do next.
An estimate for planning, not legal advice — timelines can vary by county and case. Confirm every date with your papers, the court, or your attorney. Free help: find a HUD-approved housing counselor.
District of Columbia uses a both (judicial dominates residential in practice — after the 2010 mediation law, title insurers largely stopped insuring nonjudicial residential sales; the power-of-sale track triggers notice-of-default and mediation rights) foreclosure process. Key dates come from your own papers — enter them above for your exact timeline.
For a residential mortgage you have the right to cure the default — pay all past-due amounts plus allowable fees and costs (not the full accelerated balance) — at any time up to 5 BUSINESS days before bidding starts at the foreclosure sale. Limit: usable no more than once in any 2 consecutive calendar years. Cure restores you to the same position as if the default and acceleration had not occurred. Separately, you can pay off the entire loan, refinance, or sell at any time before the sale. D.C. Code §42-815.01
Before the sale: Until the sale you can cure (reinstate) under §42-815.01, pay off the loan in full, or sell the home. In a judicial foreclosure the sale must also be ratified by the D.C. Superior Court before it is final — paying off the full debt before ratification may still unwind it, but do not count on the post-sale window; treat the sale date as your real deadline.
After the sale: NO statutory post-sale right of redemption in DC for mortgage foreclosures. The lender may pursue a deficiency judgment (in the judicial case itself or by separate suit after a power-of-sale foreclosure, §42-816). D.C. Code §42-815.01 · D.C. Code §42-816
You can sell the home and keep your equity any time BEFORE the foreclosure sale/auction. In a judicial case that is typically many months after the summons, and the sale itself is not final until the court ratifies it — but plan around the auction date, not ratification.
Want the fuller picture beyond the dates? Read the District of Columbia foreclosure guide — timeline, rights & options.
DC's annual tax sale is separate: after the property is sold at tax sale, the purchaser must wait 6 months before filing a Superior Court complaint to foreclose the right of redemption, and the owner can redeem (pay the taxes, interest, and costs) at any time until the court's judgment foreclosing the right of redemption becomes FINAL — tax-sale homeowners usually have well over a year, but must act before final judgment. D.C. Code §47-1370(a), (b)
Practitioner estimate (not statute): federal rules require 120+ days of delinquency before foreclosure can start. DC's power-of-sale statute exists (§42-815), but after the 2010 'Saving D.C. Homes from Foreclosure Act' added the mediation-certificate requirement (a non-compliant sale is VOID), title insurers largely stopped insuring nonjudicial residential foreclosures — so lenders now regularly foreclose JUDICIALLY in D.C. Superior Court. Expect a judicial case to run roughly 1 year at minimum and often 2+ years if contested, versus ~6 months minimum under the rarely-used nonjudicial track. (Practitioner estimate, not a statute.)
If your mortgage predates your military service, the federal SCRA generally requires a court order to foreclose during active duty and for 12 months after (50 U.S.C. §3953). These protections must be raised — tell the court and your counselor.