Dear Jan: Because my husband lost his job, we have not been able to make our house payments. We have received notice of our foreclosure date.

Our home is on the market now. Is there a way to stop the foreclosure sale? We have a tiny bit of equity that we hate to lose. Thank you. — SDSB

Dear SDSB: I am sorry to hear about your life circumstances. My experience is that a foreclosure sale can be stopped but it takes perseverance on your part and on your agent’s part.

I was recently able to stop a foreclosure sale. The key was to have a written offer in hand. Once we had an offer, the seller called the lender to tell them of the offer. The lender requested that the offer be faxed to them. The seller also faxed a letter giving the lender authorization to talk to me.

I made the next call, to the trustee that was handling the foreclosure. I emailed the trustee the offer and letter of authorization. The trustee and I spoke again and I was able to explain that we had a quick closing date and the trustee agreed to contact the lender to see if the sale could be postponed. The lender agreed and they extended the date of foreclosure out past our closing date. We were then able to successfully close the transaction; therefore, there was no need to foreclose and the seller could keep their equity.

I wish you better days ahead. — Jan

— Jan Zufelt is a broker with John L. Scott Real Estate in Kingston. Contact her at janzufelt@telebyte.com.