 |
|
| Maine |
|
| |
 |
When you develop a definite plan of action with well-timed, well-informed steps, you can stop the foreclosure process and save
your home. We have outlined the foreclosure process for the state of Maine.
Judicial Foreclosure Available: yes
Non-judicial Foreclosure Available: no
Maine offers several methods of foreclosure. Most residential mortgage foreclosures are done by filing a lawsuit in the District or
Superior Court. On the other hand, a foreclosure against a corporation may be done by a power of sale procedure. Otherwise,
Maine still maintains the common-law strict foreclosure doctrine in which the lender owns the property and the borrower loses any
rights to the property by breaking a condition in the mortgage, such as failing to make the loan payment. Although Maine is a strict
foreclosure state, it nevertheless permits a lawsuit to be filed along the form of a bill in equity, which would ask the court to cut off
any further rights the borrower had to the property. This would be done only in special cases. Generally, foreclosures in Maine are
by strict foreclosure, which, for convenience, can be divided into those circumstances in which the lender seeks possession as
part of the foreclosure, and those situations where the lender does not seek possession as part of the foreclosure.
Strict Foreclosure with Possession
In Maine, the lender may want to take over the borrower's old property. After regaining title by legal means, the lender could sell the
property at a later date, without giving the borrower the benefit of any excess the lender gets out of the sale over and above what
the borrower owed on the old loan. Alternatively, the lender could simply keep the property and rent it out. In sum, strict foreclosure
allows the lender to become the owner, pure and simple. To become the owner through strict foreclosure, however, the lender
must follow some specialized procedures. In particular, the lender must obtain possession of the property and hold it throughout
the redemption period, which is one year on pre-1975 mortgages and three months on post-1975 mortgages.
In Maine, there are three methods for the lender to regain possession as part of the strict foreclosure process:
1. A lender can obtain a writ of possession (which authorizes the sheriff to throw the borrower out) from a court by filing a lawsuit
that asks for the writ as part of a conditional judgment.
2. The lender can enter the property and take possession if the borrower consented to it in writing.
3. The lender may enter the premises peacefully, openly and without opposition, in the presence of two witnesses.
Strict Foreclosure Without Possession
In Maine, a lender can foreclose the borrower's rights to the property without regaining possession at the time of foreclosure by
arranging to sell the borrower's property. Initially, the lender files a lawsuit and wins a judgment that the borrower owes the money;
then the lender must wait until the end of the redemption period, as described previously. At the end of the redemption period, the
lender will sell the property by a special procedure.
The procedure is to publish public notice of the impending foreclosure for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county where the land is located. The notice should state that the lender is claiming the property due to a breach
of the mortgage conditions (such as nonpayment of the loan) and give a description of the property, the date of the mortgage and
the nature of the breach. A copy of the printed notice and the name and date of the newspaper in which it was last published must
be recorded within 30 days of the last publication of the notice. Alternatively, an attested (sworn) copy of the printed notice may be
served on the borrower by the sheriff, and a copy of the notice and the sheriff's return (indicating that it was served) may be
recorded within 30 days after service.
The foreclosure sale must take place no less than 30 days and no more than 45 days after the initial publication of notice. The
property must be sold at public sale to the highest bidder, which may be the lender or anyone else. At the end of the sale, the sales
costs are deducted and the lender must disburse the remaining money in accordance with the foreclosure judgment. Junior lien
holders should already have been joined when the foreclosure suit was first filed, so they may get some part of the proceeds. Any
surplus proceeds from the sale must be paid to the borrower. The borrower may contest the accounting within 30 days after the
sale, but the high bidder at the foreclosure sale will still retain title.
Deficiency
Any deficiency based on the foreclosure sale is limited to the difference between the fair market value of the property at the time of
the foreclosure, as established by an appraisal, and the amount of money the court found the lender was still owed on the loan, as
set forth in the court's final judgment.
Redemption
Maine offers the borrower a fairly powerful right of redemption, which is the right to get the property back after foreclosure by
coming up with the loan money. There are two redemption time periods:
1. Pro-October 1, 1975, mortgages: one year
2. Post-October 1, 1975, mortgages: three months
The time period begins once the lender wins a judgment in the foreclosure lawsuit. The borrower may redeem the property by
paying off the loan. The Maine statutes cannot shorten the one-year time period on pre-1975 mortgages be cause to do so would
violate the Maine State Constitution by impairing the existing provisions of a contract.
Waiver
Maine has a waiver procedure that can be deadly to the lender and helpful to the borrower. If the lender accepts money or anything
of value on the mortgage debt after the foreclosure has begun and before the redemption time period has expired, then the lender
waives the foreclosure procedure. However, the lender may receive income from the property after properly taking possession
without triggering a waiver. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
House Payment Rescue 5458 Longley Lane Suite A,
Reno, NV 89511
|
| |
Office Phone: 775-824-9002 Cell Phone: Fax: 775-824-9015 |
| |
Copyright ©
2007 House Payment Rescue |
All rate, payment, and area information are estimates and approximations
only. |
| |
|
|
