Build one workflow in GoHighLevel with a front loaded schedule, monthly touches after that, and Stop on Response turned on, and add a second step that removes owners who reply by phone or in person. Six months is the right length because the law puts about five months between a missed payment and the earliest sale in some states. The bottom line: the workflow should stop the moment an owner engages, and the messages should be about selling, never about stopping the foreclosure.
The timeline you are working inside
Federal servicing rules say a servicer may not make the first notice or filing required for a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent (12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1)(i)). Timing after that depends on the state. A 2015 analysis by a Texas attorney says the first required notice is a notice of default giving at least 20 days to cure, and that a notice of trustee's sale must go out at least 21 days before the sale date. Adding those gives at least 161 days, about five and a third months (120 plus 20 plus 21), before the earliest sale in Texas. A California servicer must make live contact, or complete due diligence, at least 30 days before recording a notice of default. Other states differ, so learn your state's schedule.
That range is why a six month follow up fits: it covers the window from the first public notice to the sale.
Rules that apply to your messages
The FTC's Mortgage Assistance Relief Services rule defines a covered service as one represented to help homeowners prevent or postpone foreclosure or obtain relief such as loan modifications, short sales, or deeds in lieu, and bans upfront fees. The FTC's commentary says an agent's customary work of listing and showing a home is not covered, but marketing a sale as a way to avert foreclosure can be. Maryland's regulator says licensed brokers may not negotiate short sales with lenders unless also licensed under state law. So market help selling, not stopping a foreclosure, do not negotiate with the lender unless you are licensed to, and ask your broker or attorney about your state. Text and call consent rules apply too.
The schedule
| Day | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 | Task to call, and a text that says who you are and offers to talk about selling options |
| 3 | Second text if no reply |
| 7 | Email with a plain description of how a sale works |
| 14 | Call task |
| 30 | Email or letter |
| 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 | One short message each, then stop |
Build it in GoHighLevel
- Add owners as contacts with a tag such as Pre foreclosure and a custom field for the notice date.
- Build a workflow with a tag added trigger, and turn on Stop on Response in the workflow settings.
- Add the steps from the table with Wait actions between them, and a task action for each call.
- Set a Time Window for daytime hours, and choose the contact's timezone.
- Build a second workflow that removes the contact from the six month workflow when you tag them Talking, so owners who reply by phone or in person stop getting messages. GoHighLevel offers a remove from workflow action, so confirm its name.
- Add a tag for owners who ask you to stop, and exclude that tag from every workflow.
GoHighLevel's Workflow Settings page says Stop on Response ends the workflow for a contact when they respond to a message sent from that workflow, and only for that contact. A reply on a phone call or at the door is not a response to a message, which is why the second workflow matters.
GoHighLevel's Workflow Settings page says Stop on Response removes a contact from the workflow when they respond to a message sent from that workflow, and only for that contact. It says Allow Reentry controls whether a contact can enter again, that Allow multiple Opportunities lets each of a contact's opportunities start its own run (on by default in new workflows), that the Timezone can follow the account or the contact, and that the Time Window restricts when communications go out, uses one window for every day, and does not affect internal actions such as tags, fields, or opportunities. Its Automating Opportunities page lists the Pipeline Stage Changed and Opportunity Status Changed triggers, both filterable by standard and custom opportunity fields, and its Opportunity Changed trigger page adds that this trigger also detects changes to lead value, assignment, and custom fields, with date field filters. A HighLevel agency help center article says opportunity custom fields are created under Settings, then Custom Fields.
What the workload looks like
For example, a list of 200 owners with a call at day 1, day 14, and a message at each other step is about 10 touches per owner, or 2,000 in all. Doing that by hand is a full time job. A workflow does the messages, and you do the calls.
Mistakes to avoid
- Promising to stop the foreclosure. Federal and state rules target that language.
- Ignoring do not contact requests. Tag and exclude them.
- Texting people who already talked to you. Remove them yourself.
- Skipping the state schedule. The timeline varies.
How this was handled before
Agents worked pre foreclosure lists with mailers, door knocks, and phone calls, and tracked who they had reached on paper. The risk was contacting someone twice who had already said no or had already listed. A workflow that records replies and stops on them removes that risk and keeps the schedule steady.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Owners facing foreclosure are under stress, so keep every message short, factual, and respectful. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Why six months?
Federal rules bar the first foreclosure filing until 120 days of delinquency, and Texas adds at least 41 days after that, so the earliest sale in Texas is about five and a third months out. Other states differ.
Does Stop on Response cover phone calls?
No. GoHighLevel says it applies to responses to messages sent from that workflow, so remove owners you talk to by phone.
Can I say I can stop the foreclosure?
No. The FTC's rule targets services represented as preventing foreclosure, and state rules apply. Market help selling and ask your broker or attorney.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.