in Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Springfield, and Worcester

Foreclosure is the legal process through which a lender can sell the property pledged in the mortgage contract and use the money to recover what the debtor owes to them; foreclosure in the aforesaid cities in Massachusetts, United States is provided by Chapter 244 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

As a matter of fact; it is very difficult to get your home back after a bank completes a foreclosure. Needless to say, having an attorney on your side gives you the ultimate chance to prevent it right on the track.

We assist our clients to understand how this chapter dictates foreclosures to be in the state and the two types of foreclosures allowed in Massachusetts and how they work so that we can prepare them on what to expect.

The lender is required to go through the court system and obtain a court judgment in their favor for them to foreclose; the process is thoroughly monitored by the court and the judicial foreclosures can be either:

Foreclosure by sale/sheriff sales

The property is expected to be auctioned by a sheriff as part of notice to publicly sale and it is to be sold to the highest bidder with the lender placing the first/opening bid.
Strict foreclosure.

The court determines and sets a date by which the debtor must make the mortgage payments as required, should s/he fail to pay the court, therefore, will allow the lender to acquire the ownership of the home with no auction having to take place.

The lender can move ahead and make the necessary steps to sell the property in question absent having to first seek the court approval; however for this type to apply the mortgage contract or deed of trust must have the power of sale clause that empowers the lender to sell the property once the debtor stops making the monthly payments. Since most of foreclosures are non-judicial we help our clients understand clearly how the process works in this case.

Notices the client expects, before the lender can foreclose in the non-judicial foreclosure he/she must serve the borrower with the following notices either by hand delivering or send through a registered mail:

The notice is to inform the debtor that he/she has 150 days to cure the default, the creditor can reduce this days to 90 days if they can show that they took action in good faith to help the debtor avoid foreclosure and that the lender took no effort to cure the debt or negotiate an alternative with the lender.

If the cure period expires before the debtor has cured the missed payments, the creditor has to file a complaint with the court in reference to the aforementioned Act regardless of whether the foreclosure is judicial or non-judicial and in this case the only defense the debtor can raise is that he or she is in the military.

The lender is expected to serve the debtor with it at least 14 weeks prior to the auction date and must publish the sale in the local paper and at least once a week for three consecutive weeks before the sale date.

We also guide and recommend foreclosure assistance programs for our clients and after foreclosure services such as deficiency judgments.

The foreclosure attorney will not only defend you in a foreclosure proceeding but will also work with your lender alone or with the help of a certified housing counselor to work out an alternative to foreclosure. Visit us at our offices in Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Springfield and Worcester to get the best advice on foreclosures.