Quick Answer

If you're behind on your mortgage but not yet in foreclosure, you still have options that don't show up as a foreclosure on your record. Pallas Growth buys your home and pays your lender directly to bring the loan current — back payments, late fees, and any attorney fees that have started. You walk away without writing a check.

Late Payments

Behind on Your Mortgage? Stop the Slide Before It Gets Worse.

A few missed payments isn't foreclosure yet — but the longer you wait, the fewer doors stay open. We buy your house, catch the loan up at closing, and stop the bleeding.

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What Actually Happens, Month by Month, When You Fall Behind

Lenders don't just suddenly foreclose. There's a predictable sequence, and knowing where you are in it changes what your best move is. Here's the real timeline most major servicers follow.

1–15

Days 1–15 — Grace period

Most mortgages have a 15-day grace period. No late fee, no credit hit. If you can catch up here, do.

Day 16 — Late fee applied

Typically 4–5% of the payment amount, sometimes more. The lender's collection department starts calling.

Day 30 — Reported to credit bureaus

First "30 days late" appears on Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Drop of 50–100 points is common for borrowers with strong credit going in.

Day 45 — Loss mitigation letter

Federal rules require the servicer to send a "loss mitigation" letter outlining your options: modification, forbearance, short sale. This is the moment most homeowners realize how slow lender workouts actually are.

60–90

Days 60–90 — Demand letter

A formal demand to bring the loan current within a specific window, usually 30 days. Failure to respond escalates the file. Each missed payment adds another 30/60/90-day late on your credit report.

120

Day 120 — Foreclosure referral (federal floor)

CFPB rules generally prohibit foreclosure filings before 120 days past due. At this point your file gets handed to foreclosure attorneys, fees pile up fast, and the timeline to auction starts running.

The cleanest exits happen between day 30 and day 90 — far enough in to know the workout isn't going to save you, far enough out that no foreclosure has been filed and your options are still wide open.

How We Get You Out, Clean

Two paths, depending on the math. Both end with you free of the house and the payment.

Path A

Cash Sale + Lender Payoff

If your home has equity, we pay cash, satisfy the mortgage in full (back payments included), and you keep whatever's left after the loan and any late fees are settled. Standard closing, recorded with the county, done in two to three weeks.

Best when: you have equity, you don't need to move in days, and a clean break feels right.

Path B

We Take Over the Payments

If you have little or no equity, a cash sale doesn't pencil out. Instead, we step in, catch up the back payments at closing, and then continue paying the mortgage going forward. The loan stays current. The house is ours. You're done.

Best when: you owe close to or more than the home is worth, or you'd rather keep your credit clean than walk away with a check.

How the takeover works →

"Shouldn't I Try a Loan Modification First?"

It's a fair question, and for some homeowners the answer is yes. But modifications work best when one specific thing has changed and is fixable: a temporary income drop you've already recovered from, a missed payment because of a hospital stay, a paperwork error.

If the underlying problem is structural — the payment is too high relative to your income, the home has issues you can't afford to fix, or your life is moving somewhere this house isn't going — a modification usually buys time without fixing the math. Trial plans get offered, they don't fit the budget, and the file ends up back in collections three months later, often worse off than before.

The hard part about pursuing a modification while you're already behind: it takes 60–120 days for a decision, your loan keeps reporting late the whole time, and a denial puts you that much closer to foreclosure with no time left to sell.

If you've already tried a workout and it didn't stick, or you can see the math doesn't work, selling now — before the foreclosure clock starts in earnest — is almost always the better outcome.

"Three months behind, the calls from the bank were nonstop, and the modification paperwork was a moving target. I called Pallas on a Tuesday and we were closed before the end of the month. They paid every fee. I didn't write a single check."

Marcus T.

Hillsborough County, FL

Frequently Asked Questions

How many months can you be behind before the bank starts foreclosure?

Most lenders refer the file to foreclosure attorneys at 120 days past due, per federal CFPB rules. That said, late fees, credit reporting, and collection calls start as early as 16 days late. Each month you stay behind costs you in fees and credit damage, even before any formal foreclosure begins.

Can you actually catch up my back payments at closing?

Yes. As part of our purchase, we pay your lender whatever it takes to reinstate the loan to current status — back payments, late fees, attorney costs if any have started. Those numbers come straight out of the closing, and you don't fund them out of pocket.

I tried a loan modification and it was denied. Can you still help?

Yes. A denied modification, forbearance ending without a workout, or a trial plan you couldn't sustain are all common starting points for the conversation. We don't need the lender's approval to buy your home — that's the difference between a sale and a modification.

Will selling now still show late payments on my credit?

Yes — the late payments that already happened are on your report and will stay for up to seven years. But selling now stops the bleeding. No more new late payments. No foreclosure event. The damage is capped at what's already there, and your score begins recovering immediately.

How fast can we close?

Two to three weeks is typical, and we've closed in as little as six days when timing demanded it. The bigger your gap from foreclosure, the more flexibility on the closing date — you choose.

Read Further

Pillar

Get Out Before the Clock Runs Out

Confidential, obligation-free, and faster than any lender workout. Tell us where the loan stands and we'll send a written offer within 48 hours.