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Maine Foreclosure Law
Court foreclosures are most common in the state of Maine. The
typical foreclosure process can take nine months.
Pre-foreclosure Period
Before a foreclosure can begin, a lender must deliver a
default notice to the borrower. If the borrower does not pay the
full amount in default plus interest and fees within 30 days,
the lender may start the foreclosure process by filing the
appropriate documents in court. The lender also notifies the
borrower of the foreclosure action. If there is no opposition by
the borrower to the court action, there will be no hearing. If
the borrower opposes the foreclosure, the case could go to
trial. If the court rules in favor of the foreclosing lender,
the borrower has at least 90 days to keep the property and stop
the foreclosure proceedings by paying all amounts due. Including
these 90 days, the pre-foreclosure period usually lasts 6-7
months.
Notice of Sale / Auction
If the borrower does not stop the foreclosure during the
pre-foreclosure period, the lender publishes a notice of sale
for three weeks in a local newspaper. The sale is scheduled
30-45 days after the first publication date. The notice must
contain the property description and the date, time, and
location of the sale. The sale is often at the office of the
foreclosure attorney, who also runs the sale. Sales may also
take place at the courthouse or the property. The sale may be
postponed for no more than seven days at a time and the
postponement will be announced at the originally scheduled sale.
At the sale, the lender may bid on the property. The property is
sold to the highest bidder. Usually bidders are required to
bring a certain deposit amount (stipulated in the notice of
sale) and may pay off the balance within 30 days. After the sale
and payment of the balance, the lender transfers the property
ownership to the winning bidder.
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