Pennsylvania's Foreclosure Diversion and Conciliation Programs, County by County

Pennsylvania foreclosure is judicial: the lender must sue you in the Court of Common Pleas for the county where the property sits. That fact creates an opening that non-judicial states do not have — a judge, a docket, and in a number of counties, a formal program designed to get the servicer and the homeowner in the same room.

What a diversion program does

Names vary — residential mortgage foreclosure diversion, conciliation conference, mortgage foreclosure mediation — but the structure is consistent. After the complaint is filed, the case is stayed while:

• you are connected with a HUD-approved housing counselor, usually at no cost;
• a complete loss-mitigation package is assembled and submitted;
• the parties appear before a judge, master, or conciliator to report on the application;
• the case is continued if the review is genuinely progressing.

Philadelphia has run the best-known version for years, and Allegheny, Dauphin, and other counties operate their own. Program details, deadlines, and whether participation is automatic or requires a request differ by county — the county Prothonotary or the local bar association's lawyer referral line will tell you what applies where your case sits.

Where the leverage comes from

Two places. First, the case is not moving toward judgment while conciliation is live, which is time you would not otherwise have. Second, a servicer that has been unresponsive by mail tends to become responsive when it must report to a court on a specific date.

The limits

A diversion program cannot force a modification. If the numbers do not support one — the payment exceeds what your income can carry — the conferences end and the case resumes toward judgment. And these programs generally live at the complaint stage: once judgment is entered, that window is usually closed.

Do not skip the answer

Whatever program your county runs, you still have 20 days from service to respond to the complaint. A default judgment entered while you are waiting on a conference date removes options you had the week before.

Running both tracks

Conciliation and Chapter 13 are not mutually exclusive. If conciliation produces a modification, excellent. If it stalls and a sale gets scheduled, a Chapter 13 stops the sale and can cure the arrears over three to five years — and Pennsylvania's bankruptcy courts have their own loss-mitigation procedures for continuing the modification talks under court supervision.

For a straight read on what your county's program can realistically do for your case, call (717) 724-7503.