Being 30 days behind on your mortgage is a warning sign—not a foreclosure sentence.

If you’ve missed a mortgage payment, the temptation is to panic—or worse, avoid dealing with it altogether.

Neither helps.

New national mortgage data caught my attention because approximately 1.932 million properties were at least 30 days past due on their mortgage but not yet in foreclosure as of May 31, 2026. That was 188,000 more than a year earlier.

Those are big numbers.

But if you're a homeowner in Baltimore or anywhere in Maryland struggling with your mortgage, there's something much more important than the headline:

Being behind doesn't necessarily mean you're losing your house.

What it does mean is that it's time to understand your options.

1.9 Million Delinquent Mortgages Doesn't Mean 1.9 Million Foreclosures

Let's get something straight because scary housing headlines travel fast.

ICE reported a national mortgage delinquency rate of 3.50% in May. The monthly increase was influenced significantly by May ending on a Sunday, which pushed some payment processing into the following business day. Overall mortgage performance remained below January 2020 delinquency levels.

So no, I'm not telling you 1.9 million homes are about to be foreclosed on.

But there's another part of the report I am watching.

There were 577,000 properties at least 90 days delinquent but not yet in foreclosure, up 111,000 from a year earlier. Active foreclosure inventory reached approximately 280,000 loans—34% higher than a year earlier and the highest level in six years, although the foreclosure rate remained below pre-pandemic levels.

That's worth paying attention to.

30 Days Late Is When You Should Start Asking Questions

If you're behind, don't wait until you're staring at a foreclosure sale date to figure out what you're going to do.

Federal mortgage-servicing rules generally prevent a servicer from making the first foreclosure notice or filing until a mortgage is more than 120 days delinquent, with limited exceptions. Servicers also generally have early-intervention responsibilities when borrowers become delinquent.

Maryland has additional foreclosure procedures and notices. The Maryland Office of Financial Regulation says a Notice of Intent to Foreclose is a warning that a foreclosure action could be filed and generally must be mailed at least 45 days before the foreclosure action may be filed.

That's why 30 days late and 120 days late are two very different situations.

Time creates options.

Waiting takes them away.

If you want a deeper explanation, I've also written a guide on What Happens After You Miss Mortgage Payments in Maryland?

 

Before Selling, Find Out Whether You Can Save the Home

I'm a Realtor, but I'm going to tell you something that might sound strange coming from one:

Selling shouldn't automatically be your first move.

If you want to keep the house, start by contacting your mortgage servicer and finding out what loss-mitigation options may be available.

Depending on the loan and circumstances, those options can include a repayment plan, forbearance or loan modification. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also recommends contacting a HUD-approved housing counselor, who can provide foreclosure-avoidance assistance at little or no cost.

The goal isn't to sell everybody's house.

The goal is to figure out the solution that makes sense.

Sometimes Selling Is Actually the Best Foreclosure-Avoidance Strategy

Here's something else homeowners sometimes miss:

Being behind on the mortgage and being underwater are not the same thing.

You could owe $250,000 on a property worth $375,000 and be three months behind.

That's a problem—but potentially a very solvable one.

If there's enough equity to pay the mortgage, liens and selling expenses, a traditional sale may allow you to pay everything off and preserve the remaining equity rather than letting the situation progress toward foreclosure.

That's why one of the first things I want to know is:

What is the property realistically worth, and what do you actually owe?

Those two numbers can completely change the conversation.

And What If You Owe More Than the House Is Worth?

That's where a short sale may become part of the conversation.

A short sale involves selling the property when the proceeds aren't enough to satisfy the mortgage and obtaining the lender or servicer's required approval for the transaction. The CFPB includes short sales among the loss-mitigation possibilities that may be available to some borrowers.

I've been working with short sales for many years, and one lesson keeps repeating itself:

Earlier is better.

Waiting until you're deep into foreclosure makes an already complicated transaction harder.

I've put together two additional resources if this describes your situation:

What Is a Short Sale and How Does It Work in Maryland?

and

Can You Sell Your House If You Owe More Than It's Worth?

 

Dan McDevitt

President | Realvolution Homes Group

Realtor® | Cummings & Company Realtors

📱 Call or Text: 410-670-4762

📧 Email: dan@realvolutionhomes.com

🌐 Website: https://www.realvolutionhomes.com

🏢 Office:

Cummings & Company Realtors

9607 Belair Road

Baltimore, MD 21236

🔗 Helpful Resources & Links:

👉 https://linktr.ee/realvolutionhomes

 

About Dan McDevitt

Dan McDevitt is a Baltimore-area Realtor with Cummings & Company Realtors and President of Realvolution Homes Group. With more than 20 years in real estate, Dan specializes in complicated property situations including short sales, pre-foreclosure and distressed properties, probate and estate sales, inherited homes, and reverse mortgage properties throughout the Baltimore area and Maryland.

If you or someone you know is facing a difficult property situation and doesn't know where to start, Dan can help evaluate the real estate side of the situation and explain the available paths forward.