Maryland Foreclosure Laws

Although Maryland is generally a lien theory state, it can actually practice both judicial and non-judicial foreclosure methods. Of course, as a lien theory state, Maryland foreclosure laws would definitely practice the judicial method. However, it allow acknowledges the power of sale in the mortgage, although in limited capacity. Just the same, most foreclosure procedures are settled through court action.

The laws for foreclosed homes in Maryland require lenders to file a notice in order to start the foreclosure process. This notice is called the lis pendens, which is a document that announces the legal status of the property. The lis pendens serves as the beginning of the court hearings to prove that the borrower did default on his payments. However, in the Maryland foreclosure laws, there is such a thing as the assent to foreclosure. This assent is summary of the proceedings providing the status of the property; with this, the lender will no longer have to wait for the actual decision from the court to proceed with the sale. Technically speaking, it is a non-judicial foreclosure, although the necessity of the assent of foreclosure makes it somewhat limited in scope.

Borrowers are in a bind with the Maryland foreclosure laws once the default was proven since it permits deficiency agreements; with this, the borrower will still have to pay for the remaining debt from the principal even after the sale. When the auction or the sale does not procure the whole of the debt, the original borrower sill has to pay. Furthermore, the laws in the state give no right of redemption so foreclosed properties cannot be redeemed.

All in all, thanks to the somewhat lax standards of the Maryland foreclosure laws, it takes less than three months to get a property foreclosed in Maryland although, as with most things, this depends from case to case.