Maine Foreclosure Law
- Judicial
Foreclosure Available: Yes
- Non-Judicial Foreclosure Available: No
- Primary Security Instruments: Mortgage
- Timeline: Typically 90 days
- Right of Redemption: Yes
- Deficiency Judgments Allowed: Yes
In Maine,
lenders may foreclose on mortgages in default by using
either a judicial or strict foreclosure process.
Judicial
Foreclosure
Although Maine
allows lenders to pursue foreclosure by judicial methods,
which involves filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to
foreclose, it is only used in special circumstances. The
primary method of foreclosure in Maine is strict
foreclosure.
Strict
Foreclosure
The strict
foreclosure process is based on Maine's foreclosure doctrine
in which the lender owns the property until the mortgage has
been paid in full. If the borrower breaks any of the
conditions established in the mortgage prior to the time the
loan is paid in full, he or she will lose any right to the
property and the lender will either take possession of the
property or arrange for it's sale.
In either case,
the borrower has either a three (3) month (post-1975
mortgages) or a twelve (12) month (pre-1975 mortgages)
redemption period. If the lender has taken possession of the
property, they must hold possession of it for the entire
redemption period to finalize the foreclosure. If the lender
chooses to sell the property without taking possession of it
first, they must file an initial suit and then wait until
the redemption period has passed to sell the property by
special procedures set forth by the court.
The lender may
file a for a deficiency judgment, but it is limited to the
difference between the fair market value, as determined by
an appraisal, and the balance of the loan in default. |
