Bill would require 24 months of billing before foreclosing on old second liens, lawmakers told

Delegate Dana Jones described House Bill 769 to the House Environment and Transportation Committee on Feb. 18 as a response to what she called "zombie mortgages": older subordinate liens that were charged off, sold to debt buyers and — after home values rose — resurrected in foreclosure actions that surprised homeowners.

The lede: HB 769 would require holders of materially‑delinquent mortgages to issue periodic billing statements for a prescribed interval before initiating foreclosure and would give homeowners statutory defenses tied to latches and fair notice. Proponents said the change would protect long‑standing borrowers who believed an old subordinate lien had been discharged or written off and were then blindsided by foreclosure notices for large arrearages.

Why supporters say the bill is needed Office of Financial Regulation officials told the committee that Maryland lacks a statute of limitations for mortgage foreclosures and that federal protections do not always…