- Who sends it
- The mortgage holder, usually through its foreclosure attorney, by registered mail and in a local newspaper
- What it starts
- An auction date at least 21 days after the first newspaper notice
- Do this first
- Call legal aid today, and if the sale is within 7 days, call the Division of Banks at (617) 956-1501
What this notice is in Massachusetts
Most Massachusetts foreclosures are sales under the power of sale in your mortgage. M.G.L. c. 244, § 14 sets the notice rules and gives a sample form titled "MORTGAGEE'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE." The notice gives the date, time and place of the auction, which is often at the property and run by a licensed auctioneer.
Before this notice can be published, the lender must record an affidavit at the registry of deeds that it holds the note or acts for the note holder (M.G.L. c. 244, § 35C) and, for loans covered by section 35B, that it made a good faith effort to avoid foreclosure. If the mortgage was assigned, the notice is valid only if the assignments were recorded when it was mailed and are referred to in the notice.
How to count the 21 and 14 days
- Newspaper: once in each of 3 weeks in a row, in a newspaper published or generally circulated in your city or town. The first publication must be at least 21 days before the sale.
- Mail: a copy must be sent by registered mail to the owner of record at least 14 days before the sale.
- Count back from the sale date. If the first ad ran fewer than 21 days before, or the mailing went out fewer than 14 days before, show the dates to a lawyer.
- Anyone holding a lien behind the mortgage, such as a second mortgage, must also get a registered mail copy at least 14 days before.
- MassLegalHelp says an auction can be postponed by public announcement at the scheduled time and place, so ask for any new date in writing.
What you can still do before the auction
- Redeem by paying the full amount due, or sell the home and pay off the loan, any time before the sale (M.G.L. c. 244, § 18).
- Send a complete modification or short sale application and ask in writing for the sale to be postponed while it is reviewed.
- If the auction is within the next 7 days, the Division of Banks can make a one-time request asking your servicer for a 60-day stay. The servicer does not have to agree.
- If a required notice was skipped, or the lender does not hold the note, a lawyer can file a case and ask a judge to stop the sale.
- A bankruptcy petition filed before the sale triggers a federal automatic stay. Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer first.
What happens at and after the sale
- Once the home is sold under the power of sale, your right to redeem ends.
- The new owner cannot lock you out. It must win a court eviction case. See the Notice to Quit and Summary Process Summons.
- The lender must send you an itemized accounting of the sale money, including any surplus, within 60 days after it receives the funds. See Massachusetts foreclosure surplus funds.
- A deficiency suit is possible only if you got the Notice of Intention to Foreclose and of Deficiency.
What to do this week
- Call the lender's attorney named in the notice to confirm the date, and ask for a written payoff figure good through the sale date.
- Call free legal aid through Massachusetts Legal Services' Find Legal Aid tool, or the Attorney General's Consumer Hotline at (617) 727-8400.
- Do not pay anyone who promises to stop the sale. The Attorney General warns against deed transfer rescue deals.
- Read what to do when a Massachusetts sale date is set and our national notice of sale page.
The rest of the Massachusetts process
See how foreclosure works in Massachusetts, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Massachusetts, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How much notice of a foreclosure auction do I get in Massachusetts?
The notice must be published once a week for 3 weeks, the first at least 21 days before the sale, and mailed to you by registered mail at least 14 days before, under M.G.L. c. 244, § 14.
Can I stop a Massachusetts auction the week of the sale?
Possibly. The Division of Banks can make a one-time request for a 60-day stay if the sale is within 7 days, and you can still redeem by paying in full or file bankruptcy before the sale. None of these is certain to work, so call legal aid right away.
Can I buy my home back after a Massachusetts foreclosure auction?
Not as a legal right. Under M.G.L. c. 244, § 18, the right to redeem ends when the home is sold under the power of sale.
Other Massachusetts letters
- 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.
- Right to Request a Modified Mortgage Loan NoticeIf 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.
- Servicemembers Complaint and Order of NoticeA 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.
- Notice of Intention to Foreclose and of Deficiency After Foreclosure of MortgageThis 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.
- Notice to Quit and Summary Process Summons and ComplaintAfter 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.