Maine Foreclosure Laws

Under the foreclosure laws in Maine, judicial proceedings should be followed and governed by the rules of Civil Procedure where the Instrument of Security is a mortgage. Typical timeline for foreclosure is 9 months.

Judicial Foreclosure in Maine

In order to begin the foreclosure process, the lender should send the notice of default to the borrower. The borrower is given 30 days to settle the full amount owed – the defaults plus the fees and interests; failure to do so, allows the lender to initiate the foreclosure proceedings which requires court appearance. The lender should file all the necessary documents in court and notifies the borrower about the foreclosure. A court hearing is only conducted if the borrower challenges the petition wherein, the case could go to a trial.

If the court ruling favors the lender, the borrower is given 90 days to redeem the ownership of the property by paying the full amount owed. If the borrower fails to fulfill the obligation to the lender, a foreclosure sale will take place.

Under the Maine foreclosure laws, a statutory right of redemption is allowed. In order to redeem ownership of a foreclosed property, the borrower has to pay for the unpaid mortgage loan plus the costs accrued. However, there is a provision in claiming for redemption. For mortgages issued prior to 1975, the borrower or homeowner is given a 3-month redemption period. On the other hand, for mortgages issued after 1975, the borrower or homeowner is granted a redemption period of 12 months.

Deficiency judgment is allowed. This may be obtained when a property in foreclosure is sold for less than the amount of the mortgage loan. This would also mean that the borrower owes to the lender the difference between the amount of the property sold for the foreclosure sale and the amount of the original loan.

The foreclosure sale is conducted similar to that of a public auction and held at the foreclosure attorney’s office. The highest bidder wins and gets the ownership of the property. Immediately, the winning bidder needs to provide a deposit and given 30 days to pay the remaining balance.

Notice of Sale

As stated in the foreclosure laws in Maine, the borrower is given fair time to halt the foreclosure on a property by paying the default amount owed as well as redemption rights to reclaim property ownership.

In cases where foreclosure takes place, a Notice of Sale should be published for 3 weeks in a local newspaper and should contain the following: description of the property, location of the public auction, and the sale’s date and time. The public auction is scheduled 30 to 45 days after the first publication date.