Overview of the Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill

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Governor Baker signed into law the Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill last week.  This bill, which supporters have been trying to pass for years, imposes a deadline for challenging the validity of foreclosures in Massachusetts.  Here, I’ll present an overview of the Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill and what homeowners and lawyers need to know about this new law.

Background

The Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill is largely the direct result of the Supreme Judicial Court’s U.S. Bank v. Ibanez decision, which invalidated thousands of foreclosures across Massachusetts.  In Ibanez, the Supreme Judicial Court held that a mortgagee needs a valid assignment to perform a foreclosure, and the failure to have one at the time of foreclosure makes the foreclosure void.

The Supreme Judicial Court later held in Bevilacqua (a companion case to Ibanez) that a defective foreclosure can’t be fixed by simply going to court and asking the court to fix the problem.  The result of this made it extremely difficult to correct a void foreclosure. Consequently, homeowners who purchased these improperly foreclosed homes were stuck with properties that had bad title.

New Deadline for Challenging a Foreclosure

The Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill imposes a new deadline for challenging a foreclosure (akin to a statute of limitations).  Under this law, a homeowner has three (3) years from the recording of the affidavit of sale in the land records (usually done several months after the foreclosure sale) to challenge the foreclosure.  For foreclosures that occurred over three years before the effective date of this new law, homeowners have one (1) extra year to raise a foreclosure challenge.

A challenge to foreclosure can be brought on the offense (as a lawsuit against the foreclosing entity) or the defense (as a challenge to an eviction case brought by the bank, on the basis on a lawful foreclosure).  The law recognizes either type of action as a basis for challenging a foreclosure.

This law, importantly, is only about a homeowner’s right to reverse a foreclosure; the law does not impose a deadline on lawsuits bought solely for monetary damages.  The law recognizes that violations of Massachusetts foreclosure law are violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Law, which allows for monetary damages.

What is Required Under this New Law

The Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill requires a homeowner to bring a defense to a foreclosure within three (3) years of the foreclosure sale, or forever be barred from doing so.  The law requires a former homeowner to record a true and accurate copy of their lawsuit in the local registry of deeds in order to meet this deadline.

Possible Legal Challenges 

Now that the Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill is law, several legal challenges are expected to be raise against the legality of this bill.  Stay tuned.

Take Home Lesson

 

What’s the take home lesson of the Massachusetts Foreclosure Title Clearing Bill?  Sooner is always better than later in addressing a foreclosure. If you are a homeowner who may be impacted by this new law, contact me for a consultation.  The risks of not acting soon enough are greater than ever, and homeowners who have valid foreclosure defenses should not delay in acting on these important matters.