What should I do first if I'm behind on my mortgage?

Call your loan servicer to get your current payoff amount and any notice deadlines, and contact a HUD-approved housing counselor for free guidance on your legal options and timeline before making any decisions.

Do I need a home equity investment (HEI) or is a sale-leaseback better for staying in my home?

Both let you stay in the home, but they work differently: an HEI keeps you as the owner while a sale-leaseback makes you a tenant after selling. Which fits depends on your equity, credit, and whether you want to keep ownership or simplify to renting.

Can Sold & Stay guarantee approval for a sale-leaseback or HEI?

No. Approval and terms are determined by the buyer or HEI provider based on your home's equity, condition, your state, and their own underwriting — not by Sold & Stay.

Plain-English homeowner guide

Foreclosure Pressure and Want to Stay in Your Home?

Behind on your mortgage and want to stay in your house? Compare a sale-leaseback, home equity investment, and other options to access your equity.

The address, payoff, and deadline decide whether staying would still work after the numbers are written down.

If a deadline or payment problem is active, confirm the outside options with the servicer, tax office, counselor or attorney before choosing.

The next step should make the tradeoffs clearer: what changes now, what waits for written approval, what costs more each month, and what happens if staying does not fit.

If this guide matches the problem in front of you, put the payoff and decision date beside the cash need, monthly budget, and staying goal before making calls or sharing documents.

Then compare the next written step with one choice that keeps ownership and one choice that moves toward a sale. If neither one lowers the pressure without creating a new payment problem, pause before signing or sending private documents.

The written numbers should make the next choice easier: who owns the home, what payment continues, and what happens if staying does not fit.

A useful comparison has the payoff, deadline, monthly number, and backup housing plan in one place before anyone signs or applies.

Key details

Foreclosure Pressure and Want to Stay in Your Home?
homeowner options

Common questions

Can a sale-leaseback close before a scheduled foreclosure sale date?

It depends on timing and your lender's cooperation. A sale-leaseback can pay off your existing mortgage at closing, but the closing has to happen before any scheduled sale date, and your lender must agree to accept payoff by that date. Contact your servicer immediately to confirm deadlines and whether a sale can be completed in time.

Does a home equity investment (HEI) pay off my mortgage?

Not automatically. An HEI provides funds based on your home's equity, and you decide how to use them, including toward mortgage payments or arrears, but you remain responsible for your existing loan unless you specifically use funds to pay it off and confirm that with your servicer.

Will I definitely get an option to purchase my home after a sale-leaseback?

Only if your sale-leaseback agreement includes a separate, written option to purchase the home. This is not automatic and is not included in every agreement — it depends on the specific terms you negotiate and sign.

Is Sold & Stay a lender or the company buying my home?

No. Sold & Stay is not a lender, broker, tax professional, or government agency, and it does not buy or purchase homes. Any sale, sale-leaseback, or HEI is completed with a separate buyer or provider under their own written terms.