Maryland foreclosure law is a living lesson in history. It is firmly rooted in English common law and reflects an evolutionary process that predated and then survived the American Revolution, four state constitutions, and eight statutory revisions. It has been subject to extensive judicial interpretation every step of the way, with enduring historical variations in each of the State’s 23 jurisdictions. To further complicate matters, its sometimes arcane state law foundations are now girded by a number of federal programs that both regulate and facilitate almost every aspect of the mortgage industry.
To make sense of all of this, Maryland practitioners have come to rely on Gordon on Maryland Foreclosures, which for 40 years has been the most comprehensive source for practical guidance on practice, procedure, and strategy for this important practice area. This is the first revision of this popular work since 2004.
A lot has happened in this arena in the last 17 years, particularly after the collapse of the housing bubble in 2008. Substantial statutory reform in Maryland and elsewhere followed in its wake, granting borrowers new substantive rights and procedural protections, and requiring changes to the Maryland Rules, court forms, and foreclosure practices generally. Reverse mortgages have continued to proliferate, and digital documents have been fully integrated into the mortgage industry. The advent of eMortgages, eNotes, and eClosings have in turn introduced new issues and concerns into a centuries-old foreclosure process. And just as things were starting to settle, the mortgage market has come face-to-face with COVID-19, and fears that a new foreclosure crisis will follow shortly after federally mandated mortgage forbearance is lifted in April 2021.
Gordon on Maryland Foreclosures (5th., Ed. 2021) has been completely and thoroughly rewritten to address these and other legal changes and challenges. True to the memory and high standards established by Alexander Gordon IV when he first published this treatise in 1981, a team of attorneys and judges, all experts in the field, was assembled to bring this resource current and serve as a guide for practitioners for years to come. As with prior editions, Fifth Edition is designed to take practitioners deep into the complexities of the foreclosure process, and to provide step-by-step instructions for getting out, efficiently and effectively, while complying with both the letter and spirit of the law and its attendant ethical obligations. The book has pulled into one volume all pertinent statutes, rules, and regulations. Its authors review and analyze them in context, providing citations and detailed annotations that discuss applicable case law, agency guidance, ethics opinions, and other authorities as they guide practitioners through the foreclosure process from beginning to end.
Gordon on Maryland Foreclosures is at once a “how to” manual for routine foreclosure matters and a first stop for attorneys, lenders, loan servicers, or auditors with specific issues in need of resolution. The book provides background and explores preliminary considerations, explaining security instruments and secured interests in Maryland, regional differences between assent to decree (“city mortgages”) and deeds of trust (“Potomac mortgages”), and the use of HELOCs, contracts for deed, and the like. Separate chapters review the requirements for and issues surrounding the note, noteholders, recordation, and the validity (and priorities) of other liens, what to look for in a title report, and how to verify the validity of conveyances of the property and associated mortgages, deeds of trust, and other encumbrances as they pass among property owners, lienholders, servicers, and state and federal agencies and programs.
The “nuts and bolts” of foreclosure are fully explored in chapters dedicated to comparing types of foreclosures and foreclosure processes, including foreclosure defense; the nature of foreclosure proceedings; defaults, notices, and the notice of intent to foreclose; issues regarding trustees, initial process and procedure, including the order to docket; and alternatives to foreclosure. How to request (and respond to requests for) mediation, and how to raise and counter efforts to delay foreclosure using newly sanctioned techniques such as court screening of pleadings pursuant to Rule 12-207.1, or motions to stay or dismiss under Rule 14-211, are also examined in detail. There are separate chapters that explain the bidding and sale process and others that contain tips for credit bidding buy-in and the representation of third-party bidders or lienholders, post-sale process and procedure (including settlement and the audit), and obtaining a judgment awarding possession and other remedies to recover property that remains occupied after foreclosure. Appeals and other post-judgment issues and proceedings are discussed in detail, as are the impact of a bankruptcy involving some or all of the debtors, when and how to seek a receivership to maintain loan security, and other incidental proceedings.
As with prior editions, Gordon on Maryland Foreclosures (5th., Ed. 2021) explains the law, gives examples of its application, and provides dozens of practical tips and forms useful at all stages of the foreclosure process. There is no comparable work available to the Maryland practitioner.
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