Finding Foreclosure Help in Maryland

Finding Foreclosure Help in Maryland

Foreclosure prevention counseling services are provided free of charge by nonprofit housing counseling agencies working in partnership with the Federal Government. These agencies are funded, in part, by HUD and NeighborWorks® America. There is no need to pay a private company for these services.

Baltimore Field Office

City Crescent Building
10 S. Howard Street, Fifth Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201-2505

Phone: (410) 962-2520

Fax: (410) 209-6670

TTY: (410) 209-6681

Jurisdiction: State of Maryland (Except as noted below under Washington, DC)

James Kelly
Field Office Director

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday

District of Columbia Field Office

820 First Street, NE, Suite 300
Washington D.C., 20002

Phone: (202) 275-9200

Fax: (202) 275-6381

TDY: (202) 275-6388

Jurisdiction: Washington, DC; City of Alexandria, VA; Fairfax County, VA; Arlington County, VA; Prince William County, VA; Loudoun County, VA; Montgomery County, MD and Prince George’s County, MD.

John E. Hall
Field Office Director

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday

Maryland Foreclosure Laws Summary

Quick Facts:

Judicial foreclosure process is available.
Non-judicial foreclosure process is available but with restrictions.
The primary security instruments are mortgages and deeds of trust.
The timeline can vary by process, typically 90 days.
The borrower has no rights of redemption.
The lender may sue for deficiency judgements.
Three foreclosure processes can be used by lender to foreclose on mortgages in default in Maryland. These are by judicial, assent to decree, or non-judicial foreclosure process.

Judicial Foreclosure
When no power of sale is present in a mortgage deal, the lender must file a lawsuit to obtain a court order to foreclose. Once the court has proven that a default has occurred, it will set the amount that the borrower has to pay in order to cure the default. The borrower must pay the amount within a given time period, or the property will be sold to pay for the debt.

Assent to Decree Foreclosure
In this foreclosure process, it has been previously agreed on by the lender and borrower that for a specific default, the lender is permitted to sell the property. This will be done by filing a complaint to the court but no more hearing is necessary for the foreclosure sale to proceed.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure
The non-judicial foreclosure is used when there is a power of sale clause present in a mortgage deal. This clause states that the borrower permits the selling of the property to pay off his debts in the event of his default. An order to docket must first be filed for the foreclosure sale to start but no hearing will be needed.

Foreclosure Guidelines
A notice of sale must be published in the county newspaper where the property is located. This must be done for 3 weeks with the first ad not later than 15 days before the sale, and the last ad not more than 1 week before the sale. The notice of sale must also be sent to the borrower not more than 30 days and not less than 10 days before the sale.

The sale is to be conducted by an authorized person, which can be held at the property itself, in the county courthouse or any place indicated in the notice of sale.

If the sale needs to be postponed, the announcement should be done in the same way that the original sale was advertised.

Once the sale has been completed, the person who conducted the sale must file a report with the court. The clerk will then issue a notice that describes the property and states that the sale will be approved within 30 days as long as no reason has been found that proves that the sale should not push through. This will be published n the county newspaper for 3 consecutive weeks until the 30 day period expires.

Deficiency judgements may be filed until 3 years after the sale, but it is limited to the difference between for the balance of the loan in default and the price of the property during the sale.