The Ontario power of sale timeline (simplified)
After you fall behind, your lender issues a Notice of Sale under Mortgage. From that notice, you typically have 35 days before the lender can start the formal sale process. That 35-day window is critical — the more of it you have left, the more options you have.
Three realistic ways to stop it
1. Reinstate the mortgage
You can usually bring the mortgage current by paying the arrears plus the lender's legal costs. If you don't have the cash, equity-based lending partners can fund the arrears and roll the balance into a short-term second mortgage.
2. Refinance the whole mortgage
If your existing first lender won't work with you, a private or alternative lending partner can refinance the entire first mortgage based on the equity in your home — paying out the lender, the arrears, and the legal costs in one closing.
3. Sell on your own terms
If reinstating or refinancing isn't realistic, listing the property yourself almost always nets more than a power of sale process run by the lender, where the priority is recovering the debt, not maximizing your equity.
What to gather right now
- The Notice of Sale and any other correspondence from the lender or their lawyer
- Your most recent mortgage statement
- Property tax confirmation
- A rough sense of your home's current value
Why time is the most important factor
Once the redemption period expires and the lender begins formal sale steps, additional legal and listing costs start stacking on top of the arrears. The earlier you act, the more equity you protect.