- Who sends it
- Your lender or servicer, by both certified mail and regular first-class mail, to you and any cosigner
- What it starts
- At least 35 days in which you can cure by paying only the past due amounts. No lawsuit can be filed before then
- Do this first
- Write down the cure deadline and the total due, then call the state Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at 1-888-664-2569
What this letter is in Maine
The Maine Judicial Branch's foreclosure help page calls this the "notice of default and right to cure" letter. It is required by 14 M.R.S. § 6111 when you live in the home as your primary residence and the loan is for personal, family or household use.
The lender cannot accelerate the loan (call the whole balance due) or enforce the mortgage for a missed payment, a missed tax payment or a missed insurance payment until at least 35 days after it gives you this notice. If you pay the amounts it lists before the date in the notice, you are put back in the same position as if you had never missed a payment.
The notice must include, by law: your right to cure; an itemized list of the past due amounts and the total needed to cure; any other charges you must pay to cure; a statement that you may have options other than foreclosure; contact details for whoever can modify the loan; the name and contact details of every HUD-approved counseling agency serving Maine; a statement that you may request mediation; a statement that the total does not include amounts that come due after the notice date; and a printed warning about scammers who pose as negotiators (14 M.R.S. § 6111(1-A)).
For how this kind of document works in every state, see the national guide: Breach letter (demand or notice of intent to accelerate).
What it does and does not mean
- It is not a lawsuit. No court case exists yet, and you do not have to go to court because of this letter.
- It is your last chance under Maine law to catch up by paying only what is past due, without the full loan balance being called due.
- If the lender later sues, it must prove to the court that it strictly followed every step of this notice law (14 M.R.S. § 6321). A notice that is missing required parts can be a defense, so keep the letter and its envelope.
- The cure amount is fixed as of the notice date. The Maine courts warn that if you try to pay after the deadline, you will owe more than the letter says because more payments and charges will have come due.
- Within 3 days after sending it, the lender must report the notice to the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection. Within 3 days after that, the Bureau must mail you its own letter summarizing your rights and resources, including mediation (14 M.R.S. § 6111(3-A), (4-A)). That state letter is real, not a scam.
The deadline it starts and how to count it
- The 35 days start on the date the notice is "given" to you. Under 14 M.R.S. § 6111(2-A), that is the earlier of two dates: the day you sign for the certified letter (or, if it cannot be delivered, the day the post office last tries to deliver it), or the day you receive the first-class copy.
- If the lender has a post office certificate of mailing for the first-class copy, the law treats you as having received it on the 7th calendar day after mailing, even if you never opened it.
- Count 35 calendar days from that starting date. The cure date printed in the letter should be at least that far out. The law says your payment must be made before the date in the notice, so do not wait until that day.
- Federal rules separately bar most servicers from filing a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)). Maine's 35 days can run during that time.
See how long foreclosure takes in Maine for the full timeline after this letter.
What to do this week
- Find the date on the certified mail slip and the first-class envelope. Write both down, and mark the cure deadline on your calendar.
- Check the itemized amounts against your own records. Ask the servicer in writing to explain any fee you do not recognize.
- If you can pay the full cure amount, ask the servicer how to pay so it arrives before the deadline, and keep proof of payment.
- If you cannot pay it all, call the Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at 1-888-664-2569 (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). It connects you with a free HUD-approved housing counselor who can help you apply to your servicer for a modification, repayment plan or other option.
- Send a complete loss mitigation application as early as you can. Read how to stop foreclosure in Maine for every option and its cutoff.
Free help in Maine and scam warnings
The Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection runs the free hotline. Pine Tree Legal Assistance gives free civil legal help to people with low incomes, and the Maine State Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service can connect you with a private lawyer. If a court case is filed later, you can ask for free court mediation through the Foreclosure Diversion Program. The Maine foreclosure help page lists contacts.
- The warning printed in your notice is there because scammers target people who just got this letter. Use a HUD-approved counselor or a Maine lawyer, as the notice itself says.
- Maine licenses foreclosure purchasers, people who take your deed and promise to sell or rent it back. You can cancel their contract until midnight of the fifth business day after signing (32 M.R.S. § 6195). Never sign over your deed without talking to a lawyer.
- Pay the cure amount only to your servicer, using the contact details in the notice.
The rest of the Maine process
See how foreclosure works in Maine, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Maine, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
When does my 35-day cure period start in Maine?
On the earlier of the day you sign for the certified letter (or the post office's last delivery attempt) and the day you get the first-class copy. If the lender has a certificate of mailing, you are treated as receiving the first-class copy on the 7th calendar day after it was mailed (14 M.R.S. § 6111(2-A)).
What happens if I pay the cure amount on time?
Maine law says you are restored to all your rights under the mortgage as though the default had not happened (14 M.R.S. § 6111(1)). You go back to regular monthly payments.
I also got a letter from the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection. Is it real?
Yes. The lender must report your notice to the Bureau within 3 days, and the Bureau must then mail you a summary of your rights and resources, including mediation (14 M.R.S. § 6111(3-A), (4-A)). You can confirm by calling the Bureau's hotline at 1-888-664-2569.
Can the lender sue me without sending this notice?
Not for a home you live in with a personal-use loan. The foreclosure complaint must certify and show that every step of § 6111 was strictly performed (14 M.R.S. § 6321). If you think the notice was wrong or missing, tell a lawyer or Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
Other Maine letters
- Foreclosure Summons and Complaint, with the Response to Complaint and Request for Mediation formThe summons and complaint start the court case your lender must win before it can sell your Maine home. A one-page Response to Complaint and Request for Mediation form is attached to the front. Returning it within 20 days after you are served counts as your answer and gets you into court mediation if you live in the home.
- Foreclosure Mediation Scheduling Notice (Informational Session and first mediation)This notice from the court clerk sets the date, time and place of your Informational Session and first mediation session in the Foreclosure Diversion Program. Mediation must usually be finished within 90 days after the notice is sent, and no final foreclosure judgment can be entered until the mediator's report is done. Missing a session can send your case back to the regular court schedule.
- Judgment of Foreclosure and SaleA Maine judgment of foreclosure and sale says the lender won the court case and states how much you owe. It does not end your ownership that day. For most mortgages you then have 90 days to pay the judgment amount and keep the home, and you can stay there during that time.
- Notice of Public SaleA Maine notice of public sale gives the time, place and terms of the auction of your home after the redemption period has ended. It runs in a local newspaper once a week for 3 weeks, and if you appeared in the court case it must be mailed to you at least 30 days before the sale. Your right to redeem has ended, but the lender can still agree to let you pay off or catch up.
- Report of SaleThe report of sale shows what your home sold for and how the money was paid out. The lender must file it with the court and mail you a copy. You have 30 days after you receive it to challenge the accounting, and it decides whether you are owed surplus money or face a deficiency.