December 14, 2018
Maryland requires a person who is authorized to sell a residential property as a result of foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust to provide the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation with a Notice of Foreclosure within seven days of the filing of an Order to Docket or Complaint to Foreclose.
The Commissioner of Financial Regulation created an online Foreclosure Registration System which allows persons to submit the Notice of Foreclosure in an electronic form to the DLLR. The Foreclosure Registration System requires that all users have an approved account before submitting any notice or registration.
House Bill 78, which becomes effective January 1, 2019, requires the DLLR to establish procedures that require a foreclosure purchaser (after submitting an initial registration), to submit to the Foreclosure Property Registry any change to certain information within 21 business days after the change is known to the purchaser. The foreclosure purchaser is required to update the following information: the name and address of the person, including a substitute purchaser who is authorized to accept legal service for the foreclosure purchaser; whether the foreclosed property is vacant; the name, telephone number, and street address of the person who is responsible for the maintenance of the property; and whether the foreclosure purchaser has possession of the property.
In order to comply with the procedures in House Bill 78 and to provide upgrades to the Foreclosed Property Registry database and user account structure, the Commissioner - on behalf of the DLLR - is migrating the data in the current Foreclosed Property Registry to the new Foreclosure Registration System. On January 1, 2019, the Foreclosure Registration System will replace the current Foreclosed Property Registry and begin accepting foreclosed property registrations.
All users of the new Foreclosure Registration System will be required to create a user account, even if that user already has an account with the current Foreclosed Property Registry. The Commissioner has requested that users create their new accounts in the Foreclosure Registration System on or before December 21, 2018.