Quick Facts
– Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes
– Non-Judicial Foreclosure Available: No
– Primary Security Instruments: Mortgage
– Timeline: Typically 90 days
– Right of Redemption: Yes
– Deficiency Judgments Allowed: Yes
In Maine, lenders may foreclose on mortgages in default by using either a judicial or strict foreclosure process.
Judicial Foreclosure
Although Maine allows lenders to pursue foreclosure by judicial methods, which involves filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to foreclose, it is only used in special circumstances. The primary method of foreclosure in Maine is strict foreclosure.
Strict Foreclosure
The strict foreclosure process is based on Maine’s foreclosure doctrine in which the lender owns the property until the mortgage has been paid in full. If the borrower breaks any of the conditions established in the mortgage before the loan is paid in full, they will lose any right to the property, and the lender will either take possession of the property or arrange for its sale.
In either case, the borrower has either a three (3) month (post-1975 mortgages) or a twelve (12) month (pre-1975 mortgages) redemption period. If the lender has taken possession of the property, they must hold possession of it for the entire redemption period to finalize the foreclosure. If the lender chooses to sell the property without taking control of it first, they must file an initial suit and then wait until the redemption period has passed to sell the property by special procedures set forth by the court.
The lender may file for a deficiency judgment, but it is limited to the difference between the fair market value, as determined by an appraisal, and the loan’s balance in default.
