MA S765

Creates a Massachusetts Foreclosure Prevention Program requiring supervised conferences between borrowers and creditors before foreclosure can proceed on owner-occupied residential properties with up to 4 units

Borrowers must elect to participate within 30 days of receiving notice; eligible participants include those who received a notice of right to cure, those at imminent risk of default, judge referrals, and borrowers in active bankruptcy

Creditors must send a representative with authority to negotiate and approve loan modifications, provide required documents 10 days before conferences, and evaluate borrowers for all home retention options before considering non-retention alternatives like short sales

Foreclosure sales cannot proceed without a Certificate of Compliance recorded in the registry of deeds; conducting a sale without the certificate constitutes an unfair and deceptive business practice under Chapter 93A

Program funded through fees paid by creditors upon filing Servicemembers Civil Relief Act complaints, deposited into a segregated Foreclosure Prevention Fund; creditors cannot shift participation costs to borrowers