How foreclosure works in Massachusetts

The notices you will receive in Massachusetts, in order

1. 90-Day Right to Cure Notice

   Sent by the lender or servicer after you miss a payment, at least 90 days before it can speed up the loan or foreclose

   The first page must say: 'This is an important notice concerning your right to live in your home. Have it translated at once.' It lists the amount to catch up, the cure deadline, and who to call if you think the amount is wrong. Paying that amount by the deadline stops the lender from calling the whole loan due, and you get this right once in any 5-year period.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 35A

2. Right to Request a Modified Mortgage Loan notice

   Sent with the right to cure notice, only for certain higher-risk loans

   This notice comes with an election form. You have 30 days to send it back and say whether you want a modified loan, another option like a short sale, or the regular cure period. If you ask for a modification, the lender must answer in writing within 30 days with its review and any offer.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 35B(c)

3. Acceleration notice

   After the cure period ends without the default being cured

   MassLegalHelp, written by Massachusetts legal aid groups, lists this as the notice saying the full loan balance is now due. Keep it with your other papers. Many mortgages require a specific default notice first, and Massachusetts courts require lenders to follow those terms strictly.

4. Servicemembers complaint and Order of Notice

   Filed in the Land Court or Superior Court before the sale; mailed, published and recorded 14 days before the return day

   This court case checks only one thing: whether an owner, or someone who depends on an owner, is protected by federal military law. It is not the foreclosure, and it is not too late to apply for a modification. If no one in your home is in the military, you do not need to answer it, but treat it as a sign that a sale is coming soon.

   Servicemembers Civil Relief Act; St. 1943, c. 57

5. Notice of Intention to Foreclose and of Deficiency

   Sent by registered mail at least 21 days before the sale, if the lender wants to keep the right to sue you for a shortfall

   This warns that you may owe money if the sale brings in less than the debt. If the lender never sends it, it cannot sue you for the shortfall. Save the envelope and the date you got it.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 17B

6. Mortgagee's Sale of Real Estate (notice of sale)

   Published once a week for 3 weeks, first at least 21 days before the sale; mailed to you by registered mail at least 14 days before

   This gives the auction date, time and place. Before it can be published, the lender must record affidavits at the registry of deeds saying it holds the note or acts for the note holder and, where it applies, that it followed the modification rules. Call legal aid the day it arrives.

   M.G.L. c. 244, §§ 14, 35B(f), 35C(b)

7. Auction and foreclosure deed

   On the date in the notice, unless postponed

   A licensed auctioneer sells the home to the highest bidder, often the lender. After the sale, the seller records a copy of the notice and an affidavit of the sale at the registry of deeds. Your right to redeem ends with the sale.

   M.G.L. c. 244, §§ 15, 18

The legal steps in Massachusetts

1. Missed payments and the 90-day right to cure notice

   The lender must send a written notice giving you at least 90 days to catch up on the missed payments before it can call the whole loan due. Federal rules also generally bar starting a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Use this time to apply for a loan modification.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 35A; 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. Notice of your right to ask for a modified loan

   For certain higher-risk loans, the lender must make a good faith effort to avoid foreclosure before it can advertise a sale. You may get a Right to Request a Modified Mortgage Loan notice. Read it, fill in the election form and send it back by the due date.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 35B

3. The Servicemembers case in Land Court

   Before foreclosing, the lender usually files a Servicemembers case in the Land Court or Superior Court. It decides one thing: whether you have military protections under federal law. It is not a chance to argue the foreclosure itself, but do answer it if you or a co-owner are in the military.

   Servicemembers Civil Relief Act; Mass. Land Court

4. Notice of sale

   The lender must publish a notice of sale in a local newspaper once a week for three weeks, with the first notice at least 21 days before the sale. It must also send you the notice by registered mail at least 14 days before the sale.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 14

5. The foreclosure auction

   The home is sold at public auction to the highest bidder. If the lender wants to hold you liable for any shortfall, it must have mailed you a notice of intent to foreclose and of deficiency at least 21 days before the sale.

   M.G.L. c. 244, §§ 14, 17B

6. After the sale

   A sale under the power of sale ends your right to redeem. The lender must send you a written, itemized accounting of the sale money, including any surplus owed to you, within 60 days of receiving the funds. The new owner must use the court eviction process to remove you, so get legal help if you are still in the home.

   M.G.L. c. 244, § 18; M.G.L. c. 183, § 27

Common questions in Massachusetts