If you don’t know who to call first, one free number can connect you to real help — no matter what county you’re in.
You’re not alone. When money is tight and a mortgage payment or a legal notice is weighing on you, the hardest part is often just knowing who to call first. Pennsylvania has a free answer to that question, and it’s one a lot of homeowners never hear about until a neighbor or a counselor mentions it: dial 211.
What’s actually happening
PA 211 is a free, confidential helpline that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in every county in Pennsylvania, including Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties and the city of Philadelphia. It’s not a foreclosure hotline specifically — it’s a front door to the entire network of help available where you live: housing counselors, mortgage assistance programs, legal aid, utility help, and more. A real person (called a resource navigator) listens to your situation and points you to the specific program that fits it, including the same HUD-approved counseling network PHFA and HEMAP (the state’s Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program) use to help people behind on payments.
How to reach it
- Dial 2-1-1, or call 855-567-5341 if 211 doesn’t connect on your phone.
- Text your zip code to 898-211 if a call feels like too much right now.
- Chat online at pa211.org and select the option to talk with a resource navigator.
- Ask for housing help specifically. Mention your mortgage, a notice you received, or back property taxes, and the navigator will route you to a free housing counselor rather than a general referral.
What happens after you call
A lot of homeowners put off calling because they picture a long hold time or a form to fill out. In practice, it’s closer to a short conversation. The navigator asks a few plain questions — what’s going on with your home, what county you’re in, whether you’ve received any notices — and then gives you a name and number to call next, sometimes the same day. If English isn’t your first language, interpreters are available on the call, and Spanish-speaking navigators can walk you through the whole process. Nothing about the call obligates you to anything; it’s simply the fastest way to stop guessing and start with someone who already knows the local programs.
Free resources first
- PA 211 — the starting point above, free and confidential, in English and Spanish.
- PHFA’s free foreclosure counseling network — HUD-approved counselors who review your situation at no cost and explain what programs, like HEMAP, might apply.
- PA Legal Aid Network — free legal help if your situation involves a notice, a court date, or paperwork you’re unsure how to read.
None of these cost anything, and none of them require you to have everything figured out before you call. You can call 211 the same day a notice arrives, or on a random Tuesday just because the worry is keeping you up at night.
A calm next step
Some homeowners talk to a free counselor and find that a repayment plan or loan modification gets them back on track. Others realize their situation calls for a different path entirely — selling as-is, a leaseback, or working through an inherited or tax-lien property. If you’d like to talk through what your options look like alongside the free help above, that’s a conversation we’re glad to have, with no pressure either way.
Schedule your free, pressure-free Strategy Session at WayOutNow.com.
Hablamos español. Text Glen or Brie anytime: 215-999-7208.
