Facing Foreclosure in Maryland? Understand Your Options Before It’s Too Late

What Happens When You Fall Behind on Your Mortgage in Maryland?

Maryland residential foreclosures go through the circuit courts and follow notice and timing rules set by state law. Here is the general order of events in plain English. Every case is different, and this is not legal advice.

1. 1

   Missed mortgage payments

   Once a payment is missed, your loan is past due. Late fees and the grace period are set by your loan documents, and your servicer will usually start contacting you. This is the best time to call your servicer and a free housing counselor, because the most options are still open.

2. 2

   Default notices and the Notice of Intent to Foreclose

   Before a lender can file a residential foreclosure in Maryland, it must send a Notice of Intent to Foreclose at least 45 days before filing. In most cases the case cannot be filed until the later of 90 days after the default or 45 days after that notice is sent. The notice must include a loss mitigation application for programs that apply to your loan. Some exceptions apply, for example to vacant or abandoned property.

3. 3

   Loss mitigation

   Loss mitigation is the general name for alternatives to foreclosure that a servicer may review, such as a repayment plan, forbearance, loan modification, short sale, or deed-in-lieu. What is available depends on your loan type, investor, and finances. Applying early and keeping copies of everything you send usually helps.

4. 4

   Foreclosure filing

   If the default is not resolved, the lender’s attorneys or trustees file the case in the circuit court for the county where the property is located and serve the homeowner with the papers. If the home is your primary residence, you may be able to request foreclosure mediation, a meeting with the lender run by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The request generally has to be filed within 25 days of being served with the final loss mitigation affidavit and comes with a $50 fee, which the court may reduce or waive for eligible homeowners.

5. 5

   Sale or auction

   If no other solution is reached, the property can be sold at a public foreclosure sale. Notice of the sale must be published in a local newspaper once a week for 3 successive weeks, with the first notice at least 15 days before the sale, and the homeowner is generally sent written notice between 30 and 10 days before the sale date.

6. 6

   After the sale

   The sale is reported to the court, and the homeowner generally has 30 days after the clerk’s notice to file objections (called exceptions) before the court ratifies the sale. A court auditor then accounts for the money. The new owner may later ask the court for possession of the property.

7. 7

   What it can mean for your remaining equity

   Foreclosure sale prices can be lower than what a property might bring on the open market, and the lender’s fees and the costs of the foreclosure are paid from the sale. If money is left over after the debts and costs are paid, the court process decides how that surplus is distributed. If the sale brings less than what is owed, the lender may be able to ask the court for a deficiency judgment. This is why many homeowners who have equity look at their options well before a sale date.

Sources: Md. Code, Real Property §7-105.1, Maryland People’s Law Library, and the Maryland DHCD foreclosure mediation FAQ, checked October 2026.

Can You Sell Your House in Pre-Foreclosure in Maryland?

In many situations, yes. A homeowner may be able to sell a property before the foreclosure sale if there is enough time to complete the transaction and satisfy the mortgage, liens, and other required costs.

Whether a sale can work depends on several things at once:

Timing

A sale has to close before the foreclosure sale date. Title work, payoff statements, and closing all take time.

Title

The title company must confirm who owns the property and what liens, judgments, or ownership questions need to be cleared.

Mortgage balance

The payoff usually includes past-due payments, interest, late fees, and foreclosure costs, so it is often higher than the loan balance on your last statement.

Equity

If the sale price does not cover everything owed, the lender and any other lienholders would have to agree to accept less.

Foreclosure status

Whether the case has been filed, whether mediation is pending, and whether a sale date is set all affect how much time is left.

What Are Your Options Before Foreclosure?

No single option is right for everyone. Which ones are available depends on your loan, your lender, your income, your equity, and how far the foreclosure has gone. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can help you compare them.

Availability and terms vary by loan type and servicer. For bankruptcy, speak with a licensed bankruptcy attorney; for the others, start with your servicer and a housing counselor.

When Might Selling the House Make Sense?

Selling is one option among several. It is most often worth considering in situations like these:

• You have significant equity

  Selling before a foreclosure sale may let you keep more of the value you have built, after the mortgage and costs are paid.

• The payment is not affordable long-term

  If even a modified payment would not fit your budget, catching up may only delay the problem.

• The property needs major repairs

  Repairs can be hard to fund while behind on payments, and they can limit which buyers can finance the home.

• A traditional listing may take too long

  Listing, showings, buyer financing, and closing take time that may not fit the foreclosure timeline.

• There are multiple liens or title problems

  Judgments, tax liens, or unclear ownership need to be sorted out by a title company before any sale can close.

• You want or need to relocate

  If you were already planning a move for work, family, or military orders, a sale may line up with that plan.

• A foreclosure deadline is approaching

  When a sale date is getting close, the time left to complete any sale shrinks, so it matters to start early.

If you want to keep the home and your income can support the payment, options like reinstatement, a repayment plan, or a loan modification may fit better. Explore those with your servicer and a housing counselor first. If the missed payments began with a divorce or separation, our guide to selling a jointly owned house during a divorce covers who has to sign and how the equity is handled.

How Maryland House Pros Can Help

Maryland House Pros, operated by Maryland Private Capital, buys properties directly from homeowners throughout Maryland. We may be able to purchase a property as-is, without repairs or traditional showings, depending on the property, title, equity, and available timeline.

• Sell as-is
• No traditional agent commission paid to us as buyer
• No open houses
• Flexible closing timeline when possible
• Work with professional title companies
• No obligation to accept an offer

Want a rough idea of the numbers first? Use our cash offer calculator for Maryland homeowners to compare a direct sale with a traditional listing. You can also read how we work with sellers on our we buy houses in Maryland page.

How Much Time Do I Have?

Every case is different. How much time you have depends on when you defaulted, which notices you have received, whether the case has been filed, whether you requested mediation, and whether a sale date has been set. Do not wait until the last minute: every option, including selling, needs time to complete.

Timing rules in Maryland law

• The Notice of Intent to Foreclose must be sent at least 45 days before a residential foreclosure is filed.
• In most cases a foreclosure cannot be filed until 90 days after the default or 45 days after the notice is sent, whichever is later.
• An owner-occupant generally has 25 days after being served with the final loss mitigation affidavit to request mediation.
• The borrower generally has the right to cure the default and reinstate the loan up to 1 business day before the foreclosure sale.
• After a sale, exceptions generally must be filed within 30 days after the clerk’s notice.

Sources: Md. Code, Real Property §7-105.1 and the Maryland People’s Law Library foreclosure timeline, checked October 2026. Laws change, and exceptions apply. Confirm your own deadlines with an attorney or housing counselor.

Maryland Foreclosure Questions Homeowners Ask

Maryland Foreclosure Resources

These official government sources are free and are a good first stop, whatever you decide to do.

• Maryland Courts: The Foreclosure Process

  The Maryland Judiciary’s plain-English overview of how a foreclosure case moves through court.

• Maryland Courts: Foreclosure Mediation

  How foreclosure mediation works and how to request it.

• Maryland People’s Law Library: Foreclosure Steps and Timeline

  A step-by-step timeline published by the Maryland State Law Library.

• Maryland DHCD: Foreclosure Prevention

  Free state help for homeowners, including the Maryland HOPE hotline at 877-462-7555.

• Maryland DHCD: HUD-approved housing counseling agencies

  A list of approved foreclosure counseling agencies by service area. Counseling is free.

• Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings: Foreclosure Mediation

  The state office that conducts foreclosure mediation sessions.

• Maryland Attorney General: Foreclosure Scams

  Warning signs of foreclosure rescue scams and where to report them.

• HUD: Avoiding Foreclosure

  Federal guidance and the HUD housing counseling line at 800-569-4287.

• Maryland Real Property Article §7-105.1

  The Maryland statute that sets the notice, mediation, and right-to-cure rules described on this page.

Foreclosure Help in Prince George’s County and Throughout Maryland

Our office is in Upper Marlboro, and we work with homeowners throughout Prince George’s County, including Upper Marlboro homeowners facing foreclosure and homeowners in Clinton, Bowie, and Fort Washington.

We also work with homeowners in Baltimore, Montgomery County, Charles County, Anne Arundel County, and other areas of Maryland. Foreclosure cases are handled by the circuit court in the county where the property is located, so local court and housing counseling resources can differ from one county to the next.