How to avoid foreclosure in Maine

How foreclosure works in Maine, step by step

1. Missed payments and the notice of right to cure

   After the federal 120-day wait, or during it, the lender must send a written notice of your right to cure by certified and first-class mail. It must list exactly what you owe to catch up, and the lender cannot speed up the loan or sue until at least 35 days after giving it.

   14 M.R.S. § 6111; 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. The lender files a foreclosure complaint

   The lender starts a civil action and serves you with a summons and complaint. The court tells homeowners they have 20 days to respond. The papers include a one-page form you can fill in and return, which counts as your answer and as a request for mediation.

   14 M.R.S. §§ 6321, 6321-A

3. Mediation through the Foreclosure Diversion Program

   If the home is your primary residence and has four units or fewer, the court must send the case to mediation when you ask for it or appear in the case. A court mediator meets with you and the lender to look at options like a loan modification. No final judgment can be entered until the mediator's report is done.

   14 M.R.S. § 6321-A

4. Judgment and the 90-day redemption period

   If the lender wins, the court enters a judgment of foreclosure and sale. You then have 90 days to pay the full judgment amount and keep the home, and you can stay in the home during that time.

   14 M.R.S. § 6322

5. Notice of sale and public sale

   After the redemption period ends, the lender advertises the sale once a week for three weeks and mails notice to the parties at least 30 days before the sale. The sale must be held 30 to 45 days after the first advertisement. The lender runs the sale and can bid.

   14 M.R.S. § 6323

6. After the sale

   The lender gives the buyer a deed and any writ of possession, files a report of the sale with the court, and mails you a copy. Any money left over belongs to you, and any shortfall can be charged to you.

   14 M.R.S. §§ 6323, 6324

Maine foreclosure deadlines to know

These are the periods written into the law. Your own dates are on the notices you received. If a notice and this page disagree, trust the notice and ask a counselor or lawyer.

Your rights as a homeowner in Maine

Other Maine protections

• Detailed notice of right to cure

  Before suing, the lender must send a notice that itemizes the past due amounts, names who can modify the loan, lists HUD-approved counselors in Maine, tells you mediation may be available, and carries a scam warning. The lender must prove strict compliance when it files the case.

  14 M.R.S. §§ 6111(1-A), 6321

• State outreach after a default notice

  The lender must report each notice of right to cure to the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection within three days, and the Bureau then mails you a notice about help that is available.

  14 M.R.S. § 6111(3-A), (4-A)

• The lender must prove it owns the loan

  The foreclosure complaint must certify proof of ownership of the mortgage note and produce the note, the mortgage and all assignments.

  14 M.R.S. § 6321

• No judgment until mediation is reported

  In cases scheduled for mediation, the court cannot enter a final foreclosure judgment until the mediator's report is completed.

  14 M.R.S. § 6321-A

Maine mortgage assistance programs

If the home is sold for more than you owe

After sale costs and the amounts in the judgment are paid, any surplus must be paid to you or your heirs. If you never appeared in the court case, the surplus goes to the clerk of courts, who holds it for six months. If no one claims it, it goes to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property. The lender must file a report of the sale with the court and mail you a copy.

14 M.R.S. § 6324

Ways to avoid foreclosure

Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in Maine as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

• Repayment plan
• Forbearance
• Payment deferral or partial claim
• Loan modification
• Reinstatement
• Short sale
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy