Summary of Maryland's Foreclosure Laws

If you are facing foreclosure in Maryland, it’s important to understand some of the basics, including:

the most common type of foreclosure procedure (judicial v. nonjudicial) used in Maryland
how much time you have to respond
your rights and protections in the process, and
what happens afterwards (for example, whether you’ll be liable for a deficiency judgment).

Below we have outlined some of the most important features of Maryland foreclosure law. Keep in mind that this is just a summary; we’ve included statute citations so you can get more details from the laws themselves. And be sure to check out Nolo’s extensive Foreclosure section, where you can find information about all aspects of foreclosure, definitions of foreclosure terms (like redemption and reinstatement), and options to avoid foreclosure.

Topic	State Rule
Common type of foreclosure process	Nonjudicial: under power of sale in deed of trust, but a court must ratify the sale for clear title to pass to the new owner
Time to respond	Foreclosing party must serve homeowner with notice of intent to foreclose at least 45 days before sale date. Service must be by first-class and certified mail, return receipt requested. Foreclosing party must also publish notice for three consecutive weeks, with the last week at least one week before sale. In addition, person authorized to make the sale must serve (by certified mail, return receipt requested) a notice of sale on homeowner at least 10 days but not more than 30 days before sale.
Reinstatement of loan before sale	Allowed until one day before sale date, if homeowner pays foreclosing party the amount due plus costs and fees
Redemption after sale	None
Special protections for foreclosures involving high-cost mortgages	None
Special state protections for service members	Md. Code Ann. [Pub. Safety] § 13-705
Deficiency judgments	Foreclosing party may request this of the supervising court after the sale
Cash exempted in bankruptcy	$6,000 for one person, $12,000 for a married couple
Notice to leave after house is sold	No special provisions for evictions following foreclosure. New owner will likely have to go to court to get an eviction order. Court-ordered evictions usually take two weeks to a month, depending on whether or not former owner responds to the lawsuit.
Foreclosure statute	Md. Code Ann. [Real Prop.] §§ 7-105 to 7-105.8