Foreclosure Data Tracker - Financial Regulation

(Last updated January 14, 2021.)

The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (OCFR) is responsible for the administration of online foreclosure notice and registration systems. Maryland law requires lenders and secured parties to submit certain information to OCFR through these systems during the residential foreclosure process.

The information in the foreclosure systems is used internally by OCFR to assist in carrying out its supervisory and enforcement powers, conducting outreach activities, and analyzing foreclosure trends; and certain information is also available to county and municipal governments to aid in property nuisance abatement (i.e. code enforcement or law enforcement) and other responsibilities under the purview of local jurisdictions. Pursuant to Maryland law, the foreclosure systems are not available for public use (except with regard to certain property specific information under certain criteria) and the records contained therein are only accessible to authorized parties.

VIEW FORECLOSURE DATA

OCFR is publishing aggregated data from the foreclosure systems to inform public policy as it relates to the economic impact of the COVID-19 health emergency in Maryland. Please contact Foreclosure Administration staff at FinReg.ForeclosureSystems@maryland.gov if you have questions or need assistance.

• Figure 1. Notice of Intent to Foreclose and Notice of Foreclosure, Volume by Month (GRAPH)
• Figure 2. Notice of Intent to Foreclose and Notice of Foreclosure, Volume by Month (CHART)
• Figure 3. Notice of Intent to Foreclose and Notice of Foreclosure, Volume by Week (CHART)

DESCRIPTION OF DATA

Notice of Intent to Foreclose (NOI)

A Notice of Intent to Foreclose, or NOI, is a written notice that a lender or loan servicer is required to mail to a borrower when the lender or servicer intends to start the foreclosure process. NOI’s are typically sent after the borrower missed one or more mortgage payments or commits another contractual default. The NOI notifies the borrower that they are in default and, unless they act to resolve the default, a foreclosure action could be filed in court in as little as 45 days. Maryland law requires the lender or servicer to electronically submit a copy of the NOI data to OCFR within 5 business days of mailing to the borrower. [See Real Property §7-105.1(c) and COMAR 09.03.12.02.]

The NOI numbers can be an indicator of the number of mortgage defaults in Maryland. Most borrowers who receive an NOI do not end up in foreclosure because they are able to reach a resolution with their lender or servicer, or otherwise catch up on missed payments.

NOTE: Per Governor Hogan’s Executive Order number 20-12-17-02, there is to be no initiation of residential foreclosures until January 31, 2021. Pursuant to the Governor’s Order, OCFR has suspended operation of the NOI reporting system until February 1, 2021.

Notice of Foreclosure (NOF)

A Notice of Foreclosure, or NOF, is an electronic registration submitted to OCFR within 7 days of the initial court filing that starts the legal foreclosure process, by the party authorized to foreclose. The NOF contains information used primarily by local governments for nuisance abatement. (Normally an NOI must be issued at least 45 days before the court filing that precedes the NOF, unless certain criteria are met.) [See Real Property §7-105.2.]

The number of NOF registrations indicate the number of legal foreclosure actions started in Maryland. Not every property with an NOF will be foreclosed upon; for example, a foreclosure may be dismissed if the borrower is able to reach an agreement with their lender or servicer.

NOTE: Per Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Barbera’s June 3rd administrative order, foreclosure actions filed in court, including the filings which precede NOFs, were stayed until July 25, 2020.

NOI AND NOF VOLUME

See the figures below for:

• The number of NOIs and NOFs received by OCFR in the previous 12 months; and
• The number of NOIs and NOFs received by OCFR in the previous 52 weeks.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

View prior fiscal year foreclosure data in OCFR’s Annual Reports
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