Can I Sell My Ithaca House Before Foreclosure?

How we help you work toward closing

We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us. We review the Ithaca property, the payoff information you have, other closing obligations, and the time left before the date on your notice.

You see a written offer and written terms before you commit; closing is through a title company. If the terms work for you, we work through the title and payoff steps toward closing.

When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including New York State real estate transfer tax and Tompkins County real estate transfer tax. Mortgage balances, other liens, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes are separate from that promise.

Mortgage foreclosure and tax sale are different

A New York mortgage foreclosure goes through court; a referee conducts the foreclosure sale. A sale tied to unpaid property taxes is a separate tax-enforcement matter, with its own authority and notice deadlines. If the notice is about unpaid property taxes rather than a mortgage, follow the office and date named in that notice. Do not use a mortgage-case deadline for a tax-sale matter.

To stop a mortgage foreclosure by paying the lender, the full amount owed—including applicable interest, fees, and costs—is required. Check the current payoff and court status for your property rather than relying on an estimated balance or a general timeline.

If the payoff is the problem

Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before.

A current lender payoff and the other closing obligations determine whether the sale can cover what is due. Mortgage debt, liens, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes are separate items to review; the transfer-tax and closing-cost promise above does not pay them.

What happens next

1. Call us or use the form to share the Ithaca address and what the foreclosure or tax notice says.
2. We review the property and available payoff details, then provide written offer terms before you commit.
3. If you choose to proceed, the title company works through title, payoff, and closing requirements with the parties involved.
4. The sale can close only if the required amounts and title steps can be completed before the applicable deadline.

It's real estate. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. We won't disappear when that happens, and we'll be fighting to get this to the closing table.

Local and official information

• New York Courts: foreclosure judgments and sale information explains payoff, a referee's sale, and requests to stop a sale. Use your current court notices and case information for the property-specific status.
• Tompkins County Clerk's Office lists county clerk services and links for the county containing Ithaca.
• Tompkins County property-tax information is a local starting point for county tax information. For a tax-sale date or deadline, contact the authority identified in the notice.
• New York Real Property Law § 265-a is the state law referenced above for the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act.