The Homeowner’s Response

The Homeowner’s Response

Upon being served with the summons and complaint, regarding notice of the foreclosure lawsuit, in the event you wish to keep your home and contest the foreclosure lawsuit, you need to file a verified answer. This is a response to the summons and complaint, and it will outline any defenses you have to the lawsuit. Be advised if you do not file an answer or you simply fail to respond the court will rule in the case that you have defaulted and the lawsuit will go faster and you’ll lose your home more quickly.

Foreclosure Settlement Conference

Usually within 60 days after your lender initiates the foreclosure lawsuit the Supreme Court in the county where the house is located will schedule a legally mandated foreclosure settlement conference. The purpose of this conference is to see if there’s a way to resolve the foreclosure lawsuit without the homeowners being forced from their home. At the foreclosure settlement conference, issues such as mortgage modifications, forbearance agreements, short sales and other issues will be discussed.

The Discovery Phase

If you put submit a written answer in the foreclosure lawsuit and you contest it, a period begins called the discovery phase of lawsuit. During this time, both you and your lender can request pertinent information and documents from the other side to prepare your respective arguments during motion practice or trial.

Motion For Summary Judgment

In most cases, the financial institution will file a motion for summary judgment. This is a motion by the bank’s lawyers, which asks the court to issue a judgment of foreclosure based solely on the evidence presented in writing. They will claim a trial is not necessary because the case is so one sided. For a homeowner to be successful in defeating the motion for summary judgment, the homeowner simply needs to show there is some issue that should be dealt with at trial. Any issue which is not 100% clearly in the bank’s favor will be the basis for the for the judge to deny the bank’s application for summary judgment motion.

Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale

If the judge rules on the summary judgment motion in favor of the bank, the Court will issue a final judgment of foreclosure and sale and an order to auction off your home. If there is an auction order given, a referee will be appointed, who will sell your home on the Supreme Court steps or in a courtroom in the Supreme Court on rainy days.

Can I Stop A Foreclosure From Moving Forward?

Yes! There are numerous defenses, affirmative defenses, counterclaims and other legal actions which can be taken to stop foreclosures from moving forward and tie up the case in court from three to seven years. The banks have experienced law firms representing them. The best way to you protect your investment in your home and your ability to continue to live in your home with your family is to hire an experienced foreclosure attorney.

The law office of Schlissel DeCorpo have been defending homeowners regarding mortgage issues for more than three decades. They can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262 and 914-998-0080 or emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

On February 20, 2023 the new Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act was signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Here are some significant aspects of this new law;

Changing Foreclosure Rules

Financial institutions and their attorneys have been getting away with starting foreclosure lawsuits, withdrawing the foreclosure lawsuits, and then starting them all over again and continually renewing the six year statute limitations. Now homeowners have a sword to fight foreclosure lawsuits which they didn’t have in the past!

The law office of Schlissel DeCorpo have been defending homeowners regarding mortgage issues for more than three decades. They can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262 and 914-998-0080 or emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

If you’re successful in modifying your mortgage on your own, you may not need a foreclosure defense lawyer. But if you’re unsuccessful obtaining a mortgage modification or if a process server shows up at your house and serves you with legal papers, it’s important you hire an experienced foreclosure defense lawyer as soon as possible.

INTERVIEW THE LAWYER

When you arrive at a foreclosure defense lawyer’s office, you should interview the attorney. You should find out his or her experience level. You should find out if they’ve published articles on foreclosure defense. You should speak to the attorney about how many cases they’ve handled and their success rate. You should look into whether they have appropriate staffing. Some attorneys’ offices are outgunned by the type of law firms hired by the financial institutions to bring foreclosure lawsuits. If you cannot afford to hire a private attorney, you may qualify for legal aid if available to help you defend you and your family in the foreclosure lawsuit.

The law office of Schlissel DeCorpo have been defending homeowners regarding mortgage issues for more than three decades. They can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262 and 914-998-0080 or emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

Legal action can be taken by homeowners in either state courts or federal courts to save their homes. Unfortunately, these procedures are sophisticated. Most general practice lawyers are not familiar with the complicated process of fighting foreclosure lawsuits. Should you find yourself facing a foreclosure situation, do yourself a favor and hire an experienced foreclosure attorney.

WHAT CAN OF FORECLOSURE ATTORNEY DO TO HELP ME?

An experienced foreclose defense lawyer will be in a position to examine all of the documents connected with the obtaining of the mortgage on for your home. He or she can identify possible legal defenses or counter lawsuits which can be brought against the financial institution. A foreclosure defense lawyer can review your financial information and evaluate if there are mitigating circumstances which have caused your default. The mitigating circumstance can be brought to the attention of the financial institution to avoid your home from going into foreclosure. Your attorney could also be utilized to help you regarding a forbearance plan or a mortgage modification. There are a number of viable alternatives to losing one’s home in a foreclosure. Among them is having the attorney negotiate with your financial institution to work out a plan which meets your needs and saves your home.

LITIGATION

Should you end up in a foreclosure lawsuit, a qualified foreclosure defense lawyer can vigorously defend you and your family in court. Foreclosure defense attorneys who take an aggressive position with the financial institution can help in the negotiations with regard to obtaining a forbearance agreement, or a mortgage modification.

The law office of Schlissel DeCorpo have been defending homeowners regarding mortgage issues for more than three decades. They can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262 and 914-998-0080 or emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

Mortgage loans generally are made for a period of 15 or 30 years. When homeowners take out the loan, they usually have good jobs, are healthy and have no problems making the payments. But during the term of the mortgage, sometimes homeowners run into financial difficulties. Their financial situations change. They experience all types of anxiety regarding losing their home.

THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ATTORNEY

Financial institutions have in house lawyers. They have outside counsel who bring lawsuits against homeowners that helps the financial institutions maintain their profitability. Foreclosure lawsuits can be fought. New York now has a mandatory modification mediation requirement before a foreclosure lawsuit is initiated. This puts pressure on the financial institution to come up with a program which is affordable by the homeowner and stops the foreclosure litigation from moving forward.

NOTICE REQUIREMENTS

There are all types of notice requirements and provisions which must be given to homeowners by financial institutions and the assignees of their mortgages before a foreclosure lawsuit can be started. In cases where the financial institutions do not specifically comply with all the terms and conditions of the statutes and consumer protection laws the homeowners may challenge the foreclosure lawsuit successfully and have it dismissed.

FRAUDULENT ACTIONS

In cases where there are fraudulent actions or misleading documents related to the loan application process or the foreclosure lawsuit, homeowners can fight these lawsuits in court and have the foreclosure lawsuits dismissed. In addition, there are procedural defenses in the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules and the rules of Court a foreclosing financial institution must very specifically comply with or the foreclosure lawsuit can be dismissed.

The law office of Schlissel DeCorpo have been defending homeowners regarding mortgage issues for more than three decades. They can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262 and 914-998-0080 or emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

PRE-FORECLOSURE

PRE-FORECLOSURE

When a home owner falls three months behind on their mortgage payments the property is considered to be in a pre-foreclosure status. This will cause the financial institution to send demand letters. The letters will talk about mortgage modifications, forbearance plans, and possible other means of avoiding foreclosure. If the homeowner takes no action, the financial institution will usually initiate the foreclosure process.

NOTICE OF THE DEFAULT

Before the financial institution actually serves the summons and complaint in foreclosure case, a 90 day notice will be given to the homeowner. This 90 day notice advises the homeowner unless arrangements are made with regard to dealing with their late mortgage payments, a foreclosure lawsuit will be initiated.

FORECLOSURE LITIGATION

The litigation process in New York usually moves slowly. It was made slower by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Governor Hochul shutting down the foreclosure process during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic for approximately two years. A qualified foreclosure defense attorney can often tie a foreclosure up in the courts in New York for three to five years or even much longer than that.

THE END GAME IN A FORECLOSURE

At the end of a foreclosure litigation a public foreclosure auction takes place on the courthouse steps. The home is sold at the auction to the highest bidder. The financial institution will bid the entire amount of their mortgage and then speculators can bid over that amount if they seek to buy the home.

AFTER THE FORECLOSURE

When the foreclosure lawsuit has ended and a new owner has taken title to the home the new homeowner must provide notice they are the new homeowner to the ones who have lost their home. The notice statute in New York State requires they provide the former homeowners a copy of the new deed. Thereafter, the former homeowners will have to make arrangements to move from the premises or face an eviction proceeding which can result in their being put out of their home by the Sheriff or in the city of New York by a Marshall.

The law office of Schlissel DeCorpo have been defending homeowners regarding mortgage issues for more than three decades. They can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262 and 914-998-0080 or emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 1304 requires lenders and servicing companies who want to bring a legal action regarding a mortgage on a residential home in the State of New York must provide 90 days written notice to the borrower regarding the home loan foreclosure before starting legal action. The notice needs to be mailed to the homeowner by regular mayor and certified mail.

90 Day Notice To Homeowners Required

Homeowners challenge the compliance with a statute on a regular basis. It is a complete defense to the foreclosure lawsuit that the homeowner was not properly served the requisite notice under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 1304.The mailing of this notice is considered a condition precedent to the initiation of the foreclosure lawsuit. The financial institution or servicing company must be in a position to provide an affidavit of service of the mailing of the pre-foreclosure notice.

There have been numerous decisions by the Supreme Court Judges and the Appellate Courts dismissing cases for the slightest mistake or deviation that the financial institution, its services and its attorneys have made with regard to failing to fulfill the strict compliance with the terms of this 90 day pre-foreclosure mailing.

Elliot S. Schlissel and his law office has been protecting homeowners in foreclosure cases for more than 3 decades. He can be reached at elliot@sdnylaw.com and 800-344-6431.

The plaintiff in this case, a financial institution, had appealed an order denying it summary judgment of foreclosure. A summary judgment motion is a motion that states there is no question of fact and the financial institution should be entitled to enter a judgment of foreclosure and sale without taking the case to trial. As stated earlier, the bank lost this motion and they appealed the loss of the motion. The appeal went to the Appellate Division of the 2nd Department.

The Issue On Appeal

The issue with regard to the appeal was Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 1304 (2) This section requires a homeowner receive 90 days notice prior to the initiation of a foreclosure lawsuit. The Appellate Court found the “notice required by this section shall be sent…in a separate envelope from any other mailing or notice.” This was a strict interpretation of the statute.

The Bank’s Problem

The bank in this case acknowledged the envelope it had sent to the homeowner’s contained the required notice under Real Property Actions and Proceeding Laws Section 1304 but it also included other information in 2 separate and distinct notices. The Appeals Courts ruled the bank did not comply with Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 1304.The appeals court found the bank had not strictly complied with the requirements of this section of the law. Therefore the bank failed to satisfy a condition precedent before it could bring its foreclosure lawsuit. The court went on to hold this strict approach precluding any additional materials to be contained in the same envelope with the notice required under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 1304 “promotes stability and predictability.” in foreclosure cases. The decision of the lower court ruling against summary judgment for the plaintiff and dismissing the lawsuit was sustained.

Conclusion

Is the purpose of the 90 day notice under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 1304 is to give the homeowner’s specific notice they are in default on their mortgage and that they have 90 days to cure the default or a foreclosure lawsuit will be initiated against them to take back the house. This strict interpretation of this section by the appeals courts is designed to clarify to the homeowner the serious nature of this notice and the need to deal with being behind on their mortgage payments prior to the foreclosure lawsuit starting after 90 days.

Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure defenses lawyer who has been helping homeowners form more than 3 decades. He can be reached at elliot@sdnylaw.com or 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802, 631-319-8262.

The following post is one in a series of inspiring stories from NGPF's Gold Standard Challenge Grant Program which incentivizes high schools and districts to commit to ALL students taking personal finance courses before graduation. Learn more, and apply for your $2,500 to $30,000 Gold Standard Challenge Grant before the August 31, 2022 deadline 

The following post is one in a series of inspiring stories from NGPF's Gold Standard Challenge Grant Program which incentivizes high schools and districts to commit to ALL students taking personal finance courses before graduation. Learn more, and apply for your $2,500 to $30,000 Gold Standard Challenge Grant before the August 31, 2022 deadline here.

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