MJ Adams Law can help you through the foreclosure process in Maryland. It might not feel like it, but you actually have a few options when you’re facing foreclosure. But it all comes down to your personal situation and what your lender will agree to. That’s where my firm can step in and guide you. Set up a free consultation today to talk through these options.
Why Would I Need a Lawyer?
Once the foreclosure process starts in Maryland, it can quickly feel like things are getting out of control. That’s usually around the time people decide they need someone in their corner. That’s exactly what my firm can do for you in this situation. We will:=
- Slow everything down and help you understand exactly where you stand.
- Look at the lender’s timeline.
- Check whether they followed Maryland’s rules
- Figure out what options you actually have—the ones that apply to your specific situation.
Sometimes the issue is just a rough patch: hours were cut, an illness threw your finances off for a while, or one missed payment turned into three. Other times, the lender has made mistakes—misapplied payments, added fees they shouldn’t have, or skipped required steps.
Most of all, we give you breathing room. Once you get a clear plan, the panic starts to fade, and you can focus on stabilizing things instead of reacting to every new notice. But that starts with actually looking at the legal options you have prior to foreclosure.
What Are the Legal Options I Have Prior to Foreclosure?
Like a lot of situations, it’s helpful to try to resolve your foreclosure before it reaches a courtroom. The good thing–relatively speaking–here is that you don’t have to wait until there’s a sale date to take action. Here’s what your legal options are prior to foreclosure:
- Requesting a Loan Modification. A loan modification is basically a reset button. It permanently changes the terms of your mortgage so the payment fits your situation better. That could mean:
- Lowering the interest rate,
- Stretching out the repayment period,
- Rolling the past-due amount into the back end of the loan.
Your lender has to review loss-mitigation applications before moving forward with a foreclosure sale, so this is often the first volley in your talks.
- Using Maryland’s Homeowner Assistance and Loss-Mitigation Programs. Maryland has several programs that come and go depending on funding. They’re meant to help homeowners who are behind because of job loss, medical issues, or other hardships. These programs can offer:
- Temporary payment help
- Grants
- Structured ways to catch up.
They’re paperwork-heavy, and missing even one form can delay things, so having guidance here often matters.
- Mediation. If the lender has filed an Order to Docket, you may have the right to mediation. This is an official meeting between you, your lender, and a neutral mediator with the goal of resolving things fairly before going forward to court. It’s one of the best tools you have, and it can:
- Slow down the foreclosure timeline,
- Force the lender to take a closer look at your situation,
- Create a real opportunity for modification or repayment plans.
Better yet, we’ll prepare the documents, attend the session with you, and make sure the lender is approaching the conversation seriously.
- Repayment or reinstatement plans. If you fell behind because of something temporary, reinstatement may make sense. This means catching up on missed payments and fees so the loan is current again. Sometimes that happens all at once; sometimes it’s done through a short-term repayment plan.
- Short sale or Deed in lieu. In the event that staying in your home isn’t realistic, you have a couple ways to get out of the mortgage without having a foreclosure on your record:
- Short sale, where you sell the home for less than the mortgage balance with the lender’s approval.
- Deed in lieu of Foreclosure, where you transfer the home back to the lender voluntarily.
With all of these options, it’s about protecting your home, or at the very least, protecting your credit score and financial health. And while it’s helpful to have our team for guidance, the earlier you have things in order, the better off you’ll be.
What Documentation Can Help Me With My Foreclosure Process?
Before any of your legal options can move forward—whether that’s a loan modification, mediation, a repayment plan, or even exploring a short sale—the lender needs a clear picture of your situation. The best way to do that is to have a few pieces of documentation:
- Mortgage statements and payment history. This is the foundation for almost every option you’ll explore. These records help your lawyer—and the lender—understand:
- Where your account stands
- How much it would take to reinstate the loan,
- Whether the lender added fees that don’t line up with Maryland law.
If you’re applying for mediation or negotiating a repayment plan, this is one of the first pieces of information used to map out where you are.
- Pay records. Any option that lets you stay in the home is going to depend on showing the lender that you can afford whatever new payment is being offered. This means pay records are going to be important. So make sure to have:
- Recent pay stubs
- Bank statements showing regular deposits
- Tax returns
- Documentation for disability, retirement, or unemployment benefits.
- Hardship letter. This letter helps tie your story to your legal options. Lenders and mediation reviewers want to understand:
- Why you fell behind
- What’s changed
- Why a modification or repayment plan would work for you now.
- Your monthly budget. Whether you’re trying to modify the loan or negotiate a repayment plan, lenders rely heavily on your monthly expenses. A simple budget shows:
- What you can reasonably afford
- Where your financial limits are
- How a modified payment could fit into your life
- Lender documents. It’s also about what the lender has sent you and where they are in the process. So, keep anything they’ve sent you, like:
- Default letters
- Notices about missed payments
- Mediation packets
- the Order to Docket
Like a lot of situations, the more documentation you have, the better. This is especially true when you’re trying to explore options to avoid foreclosure and keep your home. But it’s also about putting it all together, and my firm will be there from the very beginning to help.
MJ Adams Law Can Help You Avoid Foreclosure in Maryland
Dealing with foreclosure is overwhelming, and Maryland’s process doesn’t make it any easier. The timeline moves quickly, the notices are full of legal language, and missing even one step can limit your options. You don’t have to sort through all of that on your own—especially when the right guidance can open doors you may not realize you still have.
MJ Adams Law can look at your situation, lay out what your options are, and what the path forward looks like. Reach out today to set up a free consultation to protect your home.