Short answer
For owner-occupied homes with one to four units, section 5062B requires a notice of intent to foreclose, and no action can be filed until 45 days after it is sent. The notice must go by certified mail and first-class mail and include reinstatement information, the default, the cure amount and a counselor list.
The 45-day rule
Section 5062B of the Delaware Code covers owner-occupied one to four family residential property. The lender must send a notice of intent to foreclose, and the foreclosure action cannot be filed until 45 days after that notice is sent. The notice goes by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, and also by first-class mail. Keep the envelope and the receipt card if they reach you, because dates matter.
What the notice must contain
According to the statute, the notice must include instructions for reinstating the loan, the nature of the default, the amount needed to cure it, a list of HUD-certified housing counselors, and an accounting of the mortgage obligation covering the 12 months before the date of the alleged default. If a notice leaves out those items, tell your attorney. Not every error is fatal, but it is worth a look.
What to do with the 45 days
Use them. Call a HUD-approved counselor from the list. Collect pay stubs, bank statements and hardship papers so a loan modification request is complete. Ask the servicer for a reinstatement figure good through a specific date. If you decide to sell, a payoff statement helps a buyer and a title company plan the closing.
Then mediation
After a complaint is filed, a separate notice of foreclosure mediation follows for eligible homes. The Attorney General's program page describes mediation as a face-to-face meeting with the lender at no cost. This page is general information and not legal advice, and an attorney can read your actual notice.
Selling for cash instead
A 45-day notice is short when you also need to find housing and pack. A cash sale to Kaizen Home Buyers skips the repair list and the agent commission. The purchase is as-is. We can give you an offer within 24 hours and close in 14 to 30 days, or later if you need time. Our phone is 267-329-0084.