How Long Will a Foreclosure Take in Massachusetts?
States exercise the authority to govern how foreclosure proceedings are conducted within their boundaries. Factors of the foreclosure process include time constraints, notices to the borrower and whether the foreclosure has to be conducted within the court system. The regulations of the state foreclosure laws determine, in part, how long a foreclosure will take. The average foreclosure in Massachusetts takes between four and six months to complete.
Other People Are Reading
-
Pre-Foreclosure
-
Banks and mortgage companies lend money to qualified borrowers based on their credit history and income. Before the loan can fund, the borrowers must sign a series of documents. In Massachusetts, lenders provide a deed of trust to act to secure the loan and property in its favor. The deed of trust places the property in under the control of a trust. The property will remain in this trust until the loan is paid in full. The deed of trust also provides a power of sale stipulation that enables the lender to sell the property without a formal court ruling if the borrower fails to meet the terms of the loan. Depending on the specific practices of the lender, the borrower's account will be deemed in default after 30 days of missed payments. The lender will generally initiate the foreclosure process after the borrowers are 90 days past due on their mortgage payment.
Notifications
-
When the lender decides to initiate the foreclosure process on a Massachusetts property, it must provide the borrower with a notification. This notification can be called the 90-day right to cure. During this time the lender must essentially freeze the account and is prevented from assessing fees and penalties. The borrower has the opportunity during this 90-days to reach an agreement with the lender to remedy the past due balance and become current on their mortgage payment. If the borrower and lender cannot reach an agreement, the terms of the mortgage are broken and the borrower will now owe the full unpaid loan balance. At this point, the property is officially in foreclosure. The borrower must be notified of this via certified mail at least 21 days before the scheduled auction sale date.
-
Land Court
-
Although Massachusetts does not require judicial foreclosures, the lender must clear one aspect with the Land Court system with the county where the property is located. The Service Members' Civil Relief Act provides foreclosure protection to military members who are actively serving. The lender must check with land court to ensure that the borrowers are not covered under this law. If they are not, the land court system will allow the lender to proceed with the foreclosure system.
Auction Sale
-
The lender schedules a date for the foreclosure auction sale of the property to take place. The details of the sale must be published in a circulated newspaper and well as delivered to the borrowers at least 14 days before the date of the sell. The sale proceeds as an auction. The highest bidder wins ownership of the property. At this point in time, if the borrowers have not vacated the property, the winning bidder will need to take them to court to have them evicted. Massachusetts does not offer a post-sale redemption period to the borrowers.
-
