Facing foreclosure in Delaware
A Delaware lender cannot take your house without a lawsuit, a mandatory mediation conference for owner-occupants, a sheriff sale and a judge’s confirmation. Each step takes time, and you still own the house through all of them. This guide walks through the process, your options, and the Delaware law that governs anyone who offers to buy a house in foreclosure, us included.
The date that matters: the sheriff sale, and the 20 days before itAny sale you arrange has to settle before the sheriff sale is confirmed. And under Delaware’s foreclosure consultant law, anyone who offers to buy a house in foreclosure within 20 days of the advertised sale date is treated as a foreclosure consultant, with extra contract rules attached. In practice, an early start keeps more doors open.
How a Delaware foreclosure works
Delaware forecloses through the courts. The lender files an action called a scire facias on the mortgage in Superior Court, county by county, which means Wilmington for New Castle County, Dover for Kent and Georgetown for Sussex. The case asks the court to let the sheriff sell the house to pay the debt.
Before any of that, for a one- to four-unit home the owner lives in, the lender generally has to mail a notice of intent to foreclose at least 45 days before filing. Delaware law even dictates the capitalized heading it must carry: a warning, under the state’s name, telling you to act to keep your home. If you have received that letter, the clock has started, but nothing has been filed yet.
Once the case is filed, the same owner-occupants are automatically enrolled in the state’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. You meet a HUD-approved housing counselor, file a certificate of participation, send the lender a financial proposal, and sit down with the lender before a mediator. The court cannot enter judgment until the day after that conference. Mediation is where loan modifications, repayment plans and lender-approved short sales usually get worked out.
If there is no agreement, the lender gets a judgment and the county sheriff schedules a sale. After the sale, the Superior Court has to confirm it before the sheriff signs a deed to the buyer, and once that happens there is no right to buy the house back.
The Delaware foreclosure clock
Only the steps the statutes or the sheriffs fix are listed. How long each stretch lasts depends on your lender, whether you answer the complaint, and the court’s calendar.
- 45 days or more before the case
Notice of intent to foreclose
Sent by certified and first-class mail for a one- to four-unit home the owner lives in (10 Del. C. § 5062B).
- Day 0
Complaint filed in Superior Court
For eligible homes it comes with a notice of foreclosure mediation. An answer filed by the mediation date is on time.
- Within 30 days
Housing counselor meeting
You meet a HUD-approved counselor and file a certificate of participation.
- 45 to 75 days after the mediation notice
Mediation conference
Your financial proposal is due to the lender 14 days before. No judgment until the day after the conference (§ 5062C).
- At least 10 days and two weeks of ads
Sheriff sale noticed
Posted in public places and sent to you at least 10 days ahead, and advertised in newspapers for two weeks (§ 4973).
- Sale day
Sheriff sale
In Kent County, usually the first Thursday of the month in the Levy Court Chamber at 555 Bay Road.
- The month after the sale
Confirmation and deed
Usually confirmed on the Friday that follows the third Monday of the next month. Then the sheriff signs the deed; there is no redemption.
The Delaware law that protects you from rescue schemes
Once a foreclosure is filed, it is public record, and the letters arrive. Delaware answered that with Chapter 24B of Title 6, “Foreclosure Consultants and Reconveyances.” Read it before signing papers with any buyer or helper.
Foreclosure consultants
Anyone who offers to save your house, who systematically contacts owners in default, or who offers to buy a house in foreclosure within 20 days of the advertised sale. Their contracts have to tell you that you may cancel whenever you like, penalty-free, and the consultant cannot charge anything until every promised service is fully performed or take an interest in your house.
Reconveyances
Deals where you sign the house over and the buyer promises to rent it back to you or let you buy it back later. You can rescind until midnight of the third business day after signing, the buyer cannot record the deed until then, and a resale within 18 months owes you at least 82 percent of the net proceeds.
Where does a cash sale fit? The simplest version is an outright purchase: you sign an agreement of sale, a Delaware attorney conducts settlement, the loan is paid off, you receive what is left, and you move on. That is how we buy, and we charge you no fee. Any promise to rent the house back to you or sell it back later turns a sale into a reconveyance, whoever the buyer is, so get it in writing and have a lawyer read it. And because the consultant rules tighten in the last 20 days before a sale, starting early keeps the most options open.
Your options, side by side
| Route | What happens | Fits when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catch up | You pay everything overdue, plus the lender’s added charges, using a written reinstatement quote. | The cash is available and the regular payment fits your budget again. | The figure grows every month, and state help (DEMAP) is not taking applications right now. |
| Modification | The lender changes the rate, term or balance, often negotiated in the mediation program. | Your income has steadied and you want to stay. | Lots of paperwork, no promise of approval, and the lawsuit does not pause while they decide. |
| Short sale | The lender signs off, in writing, on a sale price below what you owe. | You owe more than a buyer would pay. | Every offer waits on lender approval; ask in writing whether any shortfall is forgiven. |
| Deed in lieu | The lender takes the house back by deed, and the sheriff sale never happens. | There is no equity and you want it over with. | You give up any equity, and a second lien can stand in the way. |
| List with an agent | An agent advertises it, mostly to buyers who will be borrowing. | You have solid equity, weeks to spare, and a house that will satisfy a lender’s appraiser and inspector. | Commission, showings and financing that must all fit before a sale date that will not move. |
| Sell to a cash buyer like us | An as-is purchase with our own funds, settled by a Delaware attorney. | Time is short, repairs are piling up, or you are ready to move on. | We pay less than a renovated house would sell for, and no sale can clear a loan that exceeds the value. |
This is an overview, not legal advice. Housing counselors approved by HUD charge nothing, and a lawyer who handles foreclosures or bankruptcies can say which routes are still open in your case.
Keeping the house is often the better outcome when your income can carry the payment, and mediation exists for exactly that. We are a fit for owners who have decided to move on, or whose numbers no longer work, and who would rather leave with their equity than watch it go to fees and a sheriff sale.
What to gather before you call anyone
- The notice of intent and your latest mortgage statement. They show the servicer, the loan number and what the lender says is owed.
- Every court paper. The complaint, the mediation notice, and above all any notice of a sheriff sale with a date on it.
- One list of dates. Counselor meeting, proposal deadline, mediation conference and sale date, written in one place.
- Other debts on the house. Home equity loans or lines, court judgments, overdue water or sewer charges.
- Property tax bills. County, school and city taxes that are behind are paid off at settlement too.
- Everyone on the deed. Each person on title signs both the agreement and the deed, even a former spouse or a brother who lives three states away.
Selling to us while the case is open
- We walk through the house once and ask for the latest statement or reinstatement figure.
- You get a cash number, usually within 24 hours, and can take it to your counselor or lawyer.
- The settlement attorney requests an exact payoff, legal fees included, from the lender’s lawyers.
- On settlement day every lien, the mortgage included, is cleared, and the lender’s attorney withdraws the case.
Leave the place as it is right up to settlement day. Keep what matters and leave whatever you do not want. If property taxes are behind as well, see behind on property taxes; for the county-by-county details, see Kent County, New Castle County or Sussex County.
Free help firstCall the Delaware Attorney General’s foreclosure mediation hotline at (800) 220-5424, or a HUD-approved counselor from the list on its mediation page. When you want to know what the house would bring as-is, call us at (856) 226-4289 with the date on your latest court notice.
Related situations
- Behind on property taxesWhen the county is owed as well, both debts come off the settlement statement on the same day.
- Divorce or separationEvery owner on the deed has to sign, even the one who stopped paying.
- House needs major repairsWhy a bad roof or a failing septic system narrows the buyers who can settle in time.
- Vacant houseMoved out already? Empty houses in foreclosure still need coverage, heat and regular checks.
What Delaware homeowners in foreclosure ask us
Once the lender files suit, can I still sell?
Yes. Filing a scire facias case in Superior Court does not take the house from you; you remain the owner until the sheriff sale is held, the court confirms it and the sheriff signs a deed to the buyer. A sale that closes before then pays off the lender and ends the case.
How much notice does a Delaware lender have to give before filing?
For a one- to four-unit home the owner lives in, the lender generally has to send a notice of intent to foreclose at least 45 days before filing, by certified and first-class mail, under 10 Del. C. § 5062B. There are exceptions, for example when the property has been abandoned.
Is foreclosure mediation automatic in Delaware?
Yes, for an owner-occupied primary residence of one to four units. The mediation notice comes with the complaint, the conference is scheduled 45 to 75 days after that notice is served, and the court cannot enter judgment until the day after the conference date. You still have to take part, starting with a HUD-approved housing counselor.
What do I have to do to take part in Delaware foreclosure mediation?
Within 30 days, sit down with a HUD-approved housing counselor and file proof that you did, called the certificate of participation. Your financial proposal then goes to the lender no later than 14 days ahead of the conference. The Attorney General’s hotline at (800) 220-5424 can walk you through it.
How is a Delaware sheriff sale advertised?
Under 10 Del. C. § 4973, notice is posted in public places in the county at least 10 days before the sale, a copy goes to the owner at least 10 days ahead, and the sale is advertised in newspapers for two weeks beforehand. Lienholders and tenants also receive notice by certified mail under the Superior Court’s rules.
Can I redeem my house after a Delaware sheriff sale?
Not after a mortgage foreclosure sale. Once the Superior Court confirms the sale, the buyer holds the property free of the old owner’s equity of redemption under 10 Del. C. § 5066. If the auction brings in more than is owed, the surplus belongs to the former owner under § 5067.
Is there still state money to help me catch up on my mortgage?
Not right now. Housing Delaware, the state housing agency, says its Delaware Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (DEMAP) is not accepting applications, and the federally funded Delaware Mortgage Relief Program is fully subscribed. A HUD-approved housing counselor can still help you work with your lender at no cost.
What is a foreclosure consultant under Delaware law?
Under 6 Del. C. chapter 24B, a foreclosure consultant includes anyone who offers to save a home from foreclosure, who offers to buy a home in foreclosure within 20 days before the advertised sale date, or who systematically contacts owners in default. The law bans up-front fees and lets the homeowner cancel a consulting contract at any time without penalty.
What if a buyer offers to let me rent the house and buy it back later?
That is a foreclosure reconveyance, which 6 Del. C. chapter 24B regulates closely. You can rescind until midnight of the third business day after signing the deed, the buyer cannot record the deed until that right expires, and if the house is resold within 18 months you must receive at least 82 percent of the net proceeds. Talk to a lawyer before signing one.
How long does a Delaware foreclosure take?
There is no fixed length. The statutes set a 45-day notice period and a mediation conference 45 to 75 days after the mediation notice, but the rest depends on your lender, whether you contest the case and the court’s calendar. Ask an attorney or a housing counselor to look at where your case actually stands.
My mortgage payoff is above the house’s value. Now what?
Then selling to us cannot retire the loan, and we will be upfront about that before anyone signs. A lender-approved short sale, a modification worked out in mediation, or a deed in lieu may suit you better; a housing counselor can lay them side by side.