In Maine, foreclosure is a kind of lawsuit generally brought by a lender to sell a borrower's (property owner's) home to please a financial obligation. In a foreclosure case, the house owner is the "accused" and the lending is the "plaintiff."

A foreclosure case normally takes a number of months or more to complete. Simply filing a case does not permit a lending institution to acquire the home or require a property owner to leave. There are typically ways to settle the case before it is completed.

If you are a Maine homeowner who lives in a 1-4 system residential or commercial property that is in foreclosure, you can demand mediation through the Foreclosure Diversion Program.

Foreclosure Step by Step

Step 1: Notice of Default Letter

If a homeowner falls back in paying the mortgage, the lending institution sends a letter to the property owner saying how much should be paid by a particular deadline (providing at least 35 days) in order to get back on track and prevent foreclosure. This is called a "notice of default and right to cure" letter (default letter). See 14 M.R.S. § 6111.

Please note: if the house owner attempts to pay after the due date, the quantity required to catch up will be more than the quantity the default letter needs due to the fact that more will be needed after the deadline. Even if the loan provider accepts the default letter quantity after the deadline, the property owner will still be behind in regular monthly payments and/or the total amount due.

Step 2: Foreclosure Summons & Complaint

If the house owner does not catch up by the deadline in the default letter, the lender might begin a foreclosure action by "serving" the homeowner with a foreclosure summons and complaint. The house owner may be served face to face by a sheriff, or by mail (if the house owner signs and returns a receipt of the mailed problem).

Once a foreclosure case has begun, if the loan provider accepts any payment from the house owner, even for less than the full quantity owed, the foreclosure is cancelled (unless the celebrations concur in composing that it is not). Because of this, it is not uncommon for homeowners who try to send out in checks after they have actually been served to have those checks returned. See 14 M.R.S. § 6321 ¶ 5.

The foreclosure court papers include important details, including:

- The location and address of the court where the case has been submitted;

• The clerk's office phone number;
• The quantity declared to be owed; and
• An Action to Complaint and Request for Mediation kind for the homeowner to go back to the court within 20 days.
  
  Step 3: Homeowner's Response
  
  To object to a foreclosure or to demand mediation, a homeowner should respond to the grievance within 20 days by submitting a reaction with the court. There are a number of methods to do this. The property owner's response may be:
  
  - A court document called an "response" prepared by an attorney or by the property owner;
• The one-page Response to Complaint and Ask for Mediation form. This form is likewise consisted of with the foreclosure papers; or
• Another form of composed ask for mediation.
  
  Even if the deadline has actually passed, a homeowner may still call the court or send out in a response to the foreclosure problem.
  
  Step 4: First Call Day and Mediation
  
  If you have actually requested mediation, the clerk's office will mail you a notice of when and where to come for an Educational Session and first mediation session (" First Call Day"). Please note: the area might be various from the court where the foreclosure case was filed. Learn more about foreclosure mediation.
  
  If you are not able to come to First Call Day (or any court occasion) on the date set up, you need to ask the court in composing to alter your date.
  
  Step 5: Foreclosure Case is Settled OR Goes Forward "On The Docket"
  
  You might be able to settle your case in mediation (or at any other point while doing so). If your case is settled, you may ask the court for a "stay" (time out) until any actions needed to complete the case are finished. If no extra steps need to be taken, the celebrations can ask the court to close the case (sometimes called a "Stipulation to Dismissal"). Then the case is over.
  
  Some settlement choices you may discuss in mediation consist of:
  
  - A "loan modification." (A change in the regards to the loan so the homeowner can afford the payment.).
• Establishing a "payment strategy." (This is where the house owner pays a part of the back payments on top of the regular month-to-month payment for a set time period until payments depend on date.).
• A "short sale." (Where the parties agree that the home is to be cost less than is owed, with the sales continues going to the lending institution in exchange for the foreclosure being dropped (dismissed).).
• Giving a "deed in lieu of foreclosure." (The homeowner gives a deed to the residential or commercial property to the lending institution in exchange for the lender dropping (dismissing) the case.)
  
  If the case is not settled before or throughout mediation, it is returned to the court docket (a list of cases the clerk's workplace manages). The case then moves on. Each side is permitted a particular quantity of time to collect info (" discovery") and/or make requests of the court for orders or judgments (" movements"). After discovery and movements are completed, the case is scheduled for trial. The parties might settle the case at any point previously, and even throughout, trial.
  
  Step 6: Conclusion of the Case
  
  Dismissal: This is when the case is canceled. Parties can accept request for a case to be dismissed, or a judge can buy a dismissal when one party asks for it and the judge concurs that dismissal should be given.
  
  Judgment: After a trial, the court orders judgment for the complainant or judgment for the offender. The party versus whom judgment is gone into can file an appeal within 21 days of entry of judgment. The celebrations can also concur to a judgment (a "Stipulation to Judgment"), which can not be appealed.
  
  Step 7-Post Judgment, "Period of Redemption," and Public Sale. When judgment for the complainant (lending institution) is gotten in, a 90-day "duration of redemption" starts unless an appeal is submitted. This implies the house owner has 90 days to pay the complete amount of the judgment to "redeem" (conserve) the residential or commercial property. The homeowner can remain in the home during this period.
  
  After the 90-day redemption duration is over, if the house owner has actually not paid the quantity in the judgment to redeem the residential or commercial property, the loan provider can then take belongings of the residential or commercial property and move forward with a public sale. The lender is allowed to bid on the residential or commercial property at the general public sale. See 14 M.R.S. § 6323.