Power of sale
The remedy, without the panic.
A power of sale lets a lender sell after default and apply the proceeds to the debt. It is a process with rules. It is not the same thing as you choosing to sell.
Two powers
Many residential mortgages contain their own power of sale. The ordinary floors are in section 32 of the Mortgages Act: notice is not to be given until default has continued for at least 15 days, and the sale is not to be made for at least 35 days after notice. Section 37 keeps any longer period written into the mortgage.
Where the mortgage does not contain its own power, sections 24 to 26 supply a statutory one: three months from default in the payment case, a missed-insurance branch, and 45 days’ notice before a sale under that power. Court orders and exceptions exist. A lawyer reads the charge you actually signed. The Act is published by Ontario: Mortgages Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.40.
What happens to the money
On a statutory sale, the Act sets an order of payment and directs any residue to the owner after listed claims. That is not a promise that money will be left. A contractual sale is accounted for under the mortgage. A lawyer explains the file. The lender does not simply keep whatever remains, and you should not assume a remainder will be there.
Foreclosure is a different, court-based remedy. Which one is in use is a fact about your letters, not a headline.
Next: the notice, selling while it runs, and your sale or the lender’s.
A listing does not stop a lender’s enforcement. Paying what is overdue does not always put a mortgage back in good standing. An Ontario lawyer confirms notice deadlines, the payout, and whether a lender has already signed an agreement. This page is general information, not legal or financial advice.