Maryland Servicing Reference Guide
- Kacey Olson
| Citation | Topic | Requirement |
| Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §7-105.11(b) | Court Order Ratifying the Foreclosure Sale | (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, if residential property is purchased at a sale in an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on the residential property, the purchaser shall provide a copy of the court order ratifying the foreclosure sale to the supervisor of assessments for the county in which the residential property is located by the later of: |
| Md. Rules, Rule 14-216 | Deficiency Judgment | (b) Deficiency Judgment. At any time within three years after the final ratification of the auditor's report, a secured party or any appropriate party in interest may file a motion for a deficiency judgment if the proceeds of the sale, after deducting all costs and expenses allowed by the court, are insufficient to satisfy the debt and accrued interest. The motion shall be served in accordance with Rule 2-121. It shall be accompanied by a notice advising the person that any response to the motion must be filed within 30 days after being served or within any applicable longer time prescribed by Rule 2-321 (b) for answering a complaint. A copy of Rule 2-321 (b) shall be attached to the notice. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.14(B) | Expedited Foreclosure Vacant and Abandoned Property | Allows for the petition to the circuit court for commencement of expedited foreclosure on residential property if the property is vacant and abandoned under specified circumstances. Requires a secured party to send a copy of a specified petition to specified persons under specified circumstances. Requires a court to rule on a specified petition promptly after the petition is filed. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1 | Final Loss Mitigation Affidavit | A Notice of Foreclosure Action must be used to comply with the notice of filing requirement when accompanying a final loss mitigation affidavit, as well as an order to docket or complaint to foreclose. The final loss mitigation affidavit must be the third in the sequence of papers and documents in the packet sent to the borrower and must be directly behind Request for Foreclosure Mediation form. |
| Md. Rules, Rule 14–126.1(d)(1) | Foreclosed Property Registry Initial Registration | (d)(1) Within 30 days after a foreclosure sale of residential property, a foreclosure purchaser shall submit an initial registration to the Foreclosed Property Registry. |
| Md. Rules, Rule 14–126.1(d)(3) | Foreclosed Property Registry Final Registration | (d)(3) Within 30 days after a deed transferring title to the residential property has been recorded, the foreclosure purchaser shall submit a final registration to the Foreclosed Property Registry. |
| Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §7-105.1(N) | Foreclosure Sale | (n) A foreclosure sale of residential property may not occur until: (n–1) (1) If a certified community development financial institution makes an offer to a secured party to purchase owner–occupied residential property for the purpose of transferring the property to the immediately preceding mortgagor or grantor, no person may require, as a condition of a sale or transfer of the property to the certified community development financial institution, any affidavit, statement, agreement, or addendum that limits ownership or occupancy of the property by the immediately preceding mortgagor or grantor. |
| Real Property Laws / Md. Code Ann. Tax-Prop. §7-112 | Important Notice of Eviction | If a party claiming the right to possession of residential property reasonably believes, based on a reasonable inquiry into the occupancy status of the property, that all protected residents have abandoned or surrendered possession of the residential property, the party claiming the right to possession may post on the front door of the residential property and mail by first–class mail addressed to “all occupants” at the address of the residential property a written notice. |
| MD Mortgage Lender Law--Secondary Liens | Mass. Gen Laws, ch. 140, §114B | Late Payment Fees - Second Lien Loans | A creditor may, pursuant to an open-end credit plan, charge, receive and collect a delinquency charge on any payment not paid in full within fifteen days of its due date in an amount equal to ten percent of the outstanding balance or ten dollars, whichever is less; provided, however, that no such delinquency charges shall be charged, received or collected unless the creditor, at least thirty days prior thereto, shall have mailed a notice informing its borrowers of the change in terms of such plan providing for the charging, receiving and collecting of a delinquency charge and disclosing the amount of such delinquency charge that may be imposed as part of said open-end credit plan. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1 | Loss Mitigation Application | If the order to docket or complaint to foreclose is accompanied by a preliminary loss mitigation affidavit, the service of documents described below must be accompanied by a loss mitigation application form and any other supporting documents as prescribed by regulation adopted by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. |
| Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Regs. Code tit. 09, §03.12.02 | Loss Mitigation Packet | Must be accompanied in the same envelope or package as the Notice of Intent to Foreclose and Prefile Mediation Packet. |
| Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §7-105.1(c) | NMLSR on the Notice of Intent to Foreclosure | (c) (4) The notice of intent to foreclose shall: (ii) Contain: |
Notice of Excess Funds | The funds in any escrow account for use in paying taxes, insurance premiums and ground rents may not be used to reduce the principal amount of a loan or to pay interest or other loan charges, except in a foreclosure or release. However, if there is periodically a balance in the escrow account that exceeds the amount provided for in the note, loan agreement, or security instrument, the borrower must be given (at least annually) the option of: (1) receiving a refund of the excess amount; (2) applying the excess amount to the payment of principal and interest; or (3) leaving the excess amount in the escrow account. | |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1 | Notice of Intent to Foreclose (Alternative-Other Liens) | A secured party must send a written notice of intent to foreclose (Notice) to the mortgagor or grantor and the record owner at least 45 days prior to filing an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on residential property. The Notice must be sent by first-class, certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, and bearing a postmark from the U.S. postal service. Within 5 business days, a copy of the Notice must also be sent to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (Commissioner) through the Commissioner’s Notice of Intent to Foreclose Electronic System. If the basis for the authority to foreclose on the owner-occupied residential property is a homeowners’ association lien, condominium association lien, mechanic’s lien, a similar statutory or contractual lien, or a basis other than a mortgage loan default, this notice should be used. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1 | Notice of Intent to Foreclose (Not Owner-Occupied) | A secured party must send a written notice of intent to foreclose to the mortgagor or grantor and the record owner at least 45 days prior to filing an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on residential property. The Notice must be sent by first-class, certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, and bearing a postmark from the U.S. postal service. Within 5 business days, a copy of the Notice must also be sent to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (Commissioner) through the Commissioner’s Notice of Intent to Foreclose Electronic System. A Notice must be sent to the borrower and record owner only if the secured party, or representative of the secured party, has a reasonable belief that the residential property is not owner-occupied residential property. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1(c) | Notice of Intent to Foreclose (Owner-Occupied - No Prefile Mediation Option) | A secured party must send a written notice of intent to foreclose to the mortgagor or grantor and the record owner at least 45 days prior to filing an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on residential property. The Notice may include a separate addendum, sequenced at the end of the notice of intent to foreclose, with additional information, a notice, or advice relating to default that is required in advance of commencement of a foreclosure by a covenant of the deed of trust or mortgage that is the subject of the notice, or by the servicer, investor, insurer, or government regulator guidelines applicable to the deed of trust or mortgage that is the subject of the notice, provided the additional information, notice, or advice does not contradict any information required to be contained in the notice of intent to foreclose. The Notice must be accompanied in the same envelope or package by a loss mitigation application; instructions for completing the loss mitigation application with a telephone number to call to confirm receipt by the secured party; a description of the eligibility requirements for the loss mitigation programs offered by the secured party; and an addressed envelope in conformity with Regulation .07 addressed to the person (an individual, a group of individuals, or a department such as a “Loss Mitigation Department”) responsible for conducting the loss mitigation analysis on behalf of the secured party for the mortgage loan. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1(c) | Notice of Intent to Foreclose (Owner-Occupied - Prefile Mediation Option) | A secured party must send a written notice of intent to foreclose to the mortgagor or grantor and the record owner at least 45 days prior to filing an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on residential property. The Notice may include a separate addendum, sequenced at the end of the notice of intent to foreclose, with additional information, a notice, or advice relating to default that is required in advance of commencement of a foreclosure by a covenant of the deed of trust or mortgage that is the subject of the notice, or by the servicer, investor, insurer, or government regulator guidelines applicable to the deed of trust or mortgage that is the subject of the notice, provided the additional information, notice, or advice does not contradict any information required to be contained in the notice of intent to foreclose. The Notice must be accompanied in the same envelope or package by a notice described in Md. Regs. Code tit. 09, §03.12.02. |
| MD House Bill 1048 (2017); 14–126.2 (B)(1) | Notice of Foreclosure | Within 7 days of the filing of an order to docket or a complaint to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on a residential property by a person authorized to make the sale of the residential property, the person authorized to make the sale shall provide the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation with a notice of foreclosure as required under this subsection. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1 | Notice of Foreclosure Action | The Notice Of Foreclosure Action must be first in the sequence of documents in the envelope, followed by the Preliminary Loss Mitigation Affidavit, the remaining documents may be in any order. |
| Sales of Property / Md. Rules, Rule 14-303(b) | Notice of Sale - Judicial foreclosure | Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a trustee proposing to make a public sale must give notice by advertisement of the time, place, and terms of sale in a newspaper of general circulation in each county where any portion of the property is located. The notice must describe the property to be sold sufficiently to identify it and must be given at least once a week for 3 successive weeks. The first publication must be no less than 15 days before the sale and the last publication must be no more than 1 week before the sale. |
Real Property Laws / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.2 | Notice of Sale - Non-judicial foreclosure | In addition to any other notice required to be given, the person authorized to make a sale in an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust must give written notice of the proposed sale. The Notice of Sale must state the time, place, and terms of the sale and must be sent no earlier than 30 days and no later than 10 days prior to the date of sale. Notice must be provided to: (1) THE record owner of the property to be sold; AND (o) Notice of the time, place, and terms of a foreclosure sale shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the action is pending at least once a week for 3 successive weeks, the first publication to be not less than 15 days before the sale and the last publication to be not more than 1 week before the sale. |
| MD Commercial Law / §13-316: Mortgage servicers | Notice After Acquisition of Mortgage Servicing | (b) Notice to mortgagor after acquisition of mortgage servicing. -- Within 7 days of acquiring mortgage servicing, a servicer shall send to the mortgagor a written notice containing the following information regarding the mortgage on the date of transfer: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the new servicer and the address where mortgage payments are to be forwarded; (2) The principal balance and escrow balance; (3) The telephone number of the contact designated under subsection (c) of this section; (4) The responsibilities of the contact under subsection (c) of this section; and (5) A statement that the servicer's violation of this section will result in the servicer being held liable under subsection (e) of this section. |
| Real Property Laws / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.9(b) | Notice to Occupant | In addition to any other notice required to be given, the person authorized to make a sale in an action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on residential property must send a written notice addressed to “all occupants” at the address of the residential property. |
| Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Regs. Code tit. 09, §03.12.02 | Prefile Mediation Packet | Must be accompanied in the same envelope or package as the Notice of Intent to Foreclose and Loss Mitigation Packet. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-105.1 | Preliminary Loss Mitigation Affidavit | "Preliminary loss mitigation affidavit" means an affidavit that: (i) is made by a person authorized to act on behalf of a secured party of a mortgage or deed of trust on owner-occupied residential property that is the subject of a foreclosure action; (ii) certifies the status of an incomplete loss mitigation analysis in connection with the mortgage or deed of trust; and (iii) includes reasons why the loss mitigation analysis is incomplete. If the order to docket or complaint to foreclose is accompanied by a preliminary loss mitigation affidavit, the service of documents must be accompanied by a loss mitigation application form and any other supporting documents as prescribed by regulation adopted by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. A copy of the order to docket or complaint to foreclose on residential property and all other papers filed with it in the form and sequence, accompanied by the documents required under Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §7-105.1(f), must be served on the mortgagor or grantor by: (i) personal delivery of the papers to the mortgagor or grantor; or (ii) leaving the papers with a resident of suitable age and discretion at the mortgagor's or grantor's dwelling house or usual place of abode. |
| Md. Code Ann. Comm. Law §12-1027 | Property Inspection Fee | (a) In this section, "lender's inspection fee" means a fee imposed by a credit grantor to pay for a visual inspection of residential real property. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a credit grantor may not impose a lender's inspection fee in connection with a loan made to a consumer borrower that is secured by residential real property. (c) A lender's inspection fee may be imposed on a consumer borrower if the inspection is needed to ascertain completion of: (d) This section does not apply to an appraisal of the value of real property by a credit grantor or to fees imposed in connection with an appraisal. |
| Md. Rules, Rule 14-306 | Recording Following Sale | Upon the entry of a final order of ratification, the person making a sale of an interest in real property in a county other than one in which all of the property is located must cause to be recorded among the land records of each county where any part of the property is located a certified copy of the docket entries, any complaint, the report of sale, the final order of ratification, and any other orders affecting the property. |
| Rule 14-305(a) | Report of Sale and Affidavit of Fairness | (a) Pleadings; show cause orders; affidavits; admissions; hearing. -- (1) When a petition to establish a broker's lien is filed, the court shall review the pleadings and documents on file and may require the petitioner to supplement or explain any matters set forth in the petition, pleadings, or documents. (2) If the court determines that the lien should attach, it shall pass an order that: (i) Directs the owner to show cause within 15 days from the date of service on the owner of a copy of the order, together with copies of the pleadings and documents on file, why a broker's lien on the lien property and for the amount described in the petition should not attach; and (ii) Informs the owner that: 1. The owner may appear at the time stated in the order and present evidence on the owner's behalf or may file a counter-affidavit at or before that time; and 2. If the owner fails to appear and present evidence or file a counter-affidavit, the facts in the affidavit supporting the petitioner's claim shall be deemed admitted and a broker's lien may attach to the lien property as described in the petition. (3) (i) If the owner desires to controvert any statement of fact contained in the affidavit supporting the petitioner's claim, the owner shall file an affidavit in support of the owner's answer showing cause. (ii) The failure of the owner to file an opposing affidavit shall constitute an admission for the purposes of the proceedings of all statements of facts in the affidavit supporting the petitioner's claim, but shall not constitute an admission that a broker's petition or affidavit in support of the broker's petition is legally sufficient. (4) After the filing of an answer showing cause why a broker's lien should not be established in the amount claimed, the court shall schedule a hearing at the earliest possible time. |
Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property / Md. Code Ann. Real Property §7-105.1 | Secured Party Notification to the OAH | As a precondition to prefile mediation, a mortgagor or grantor must participate in housing counseling services. If a mortgage or grantor submits an application to participate in prefile mediation to the secured party, the secured party must notify the Office of Administrative Hearings not more than 5 business days after the date on which the secured party receives the application. |
| Real Property Laws / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-311(c) | Written Contract for Sales or Transfer of Residences in Default | A purchaser of a residence in default must provide the homeowner with a document entitled “Notice to Homeowner.” The document must: (1) contain the total sales price of the residence in default and an explanation of the distribution of the proceeds of the sale, including any payments to any parties, including the foreclosure consultant; and (2) describe in detail the terms of any sale or transfer including: (A) the name, business address, telephone number, and facsimile number of the person to whom the deed or title will be sold or transferred; (B) the address of the residence in default; (C) the total consideration to be given or received, directly or indirectly, by the homeowner, purchaser, and the foreclosure consultant; (D) the time at which title is to be sold or transferred to the purchaser; and (E) any financial or legal obligations to which the homeowner may remain subject. |
| Real Property Laws / Md. Code Ann. Real Prop. §7-314(a) | Written Contract Required for Foreclosure Surplus Purchasers | A foreclosure surplus acquisition contract must be in the form of a written contract. The contract must contain the entire agreement of the parties and include: (1) the name, business address, and telephone number of the foreclosure surplus purchaser; (2) the address of the residence in foreclosure; (3) the total consideration to be given by the foreclosure surplus purchaser in connection with or incident to the transaction; and (4) a complete description of the terms of payment or other consideration, including any services of any nature that the foreclosure surplus purchaser represents the foreclosure surplus purchaser will perform for the homeowner before or after the sale. |