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Massachusetts · What this letter means

Massachusetts foreclosure letters and notices

The papers Massachusetts homeowners receive, in the order they usually arrive. Each page uses the name on the Massachusetts document, explains the deadline it starts under Massachusetts law, and lists what to do this week.

  1. Step 1

    Right to Cure Notice (90-day notice)

    Before a Massachusetts lender can call your whole loan due or start a foreclosure for missed payments, it must send you this notice and wait at least 90 days. If you pay the past-due amount by the cure date, the lender cannot speed up the loan for that default. You get this right once in any 5-year period.

    What it means
  2. Step 2

    Right to Request a Modified Mortgage Loan Notice

    If your loan has certain higher-risk features, Massachusetts law makes the lender try to avoid foreclosure before it can advertise a sale. This notice tells you that you can ask for a modified loan. You have 30 days after it is delivered to send back your choice.

    What it means
  3. Step 3

    Servicemembers Complaint and Order of Notice

    A Servicemembers case is a short court case a lender files, usually in the Land Court, before it forecloses. It decides only whether an owner has military protections under federal law. It is not the foreclosure itself, but it is a sign that a sale notice may come soon.

    What it means
  4. Step 4

    Notice of Intention to Foreclose and of Deficiency After Foreclosure of Mortgage

    This registered-mail notice warns that you may owe money if the foreclosure sale brings in less than the debt. A Massachusetts lender can sue you for that shortfall only if it mailed this notice at least 21 days before the sale. It also tells you a sale is close.

    What it means
  5. Step 5

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

    This is the notice of the foreclosure auction. It must run in a local newspaper once a week for 3 weeks, the first at least 21 days before the sale, and be mailed to you by registered mail at least 14 days before. In Massachusetts the auction itself ends your right to redeem.

    What it means
  6. Step 6

    Notice to Quit and Summary Process Summons and Complaint

    After a Massachusetts foreclosure auction, the new owner must use a court eviction case, called summary process, to remove you. It usually starts with a written notice to quit, then a Summary Process Summons and Complaint. You cannot be locked out without a court judgment.

    What it means

Got a letter not listed here? See every foreclosure letter explained, or how foreclosure works in Massachusetts.