2012- New Wave

Posted by kevin on January 26, 2012 under Foreclosure Blog | Comments are off for this article

2011 was a slow year for foreclosures in NJ.  The robo-signing issue put practically all foreclosures on hold.  When the NJ Supreme Court finally gave the go ahead to most of the banks to continue with foreclosure action, the banks decided to sit on the fence for two reasons: first, to get a ruling from the Supreme Court of NJ  on what exactly must be presented in a Notice of Intent to Foreclose and what the penalty for non-compliance is; and second, to see if the national robo-signing deal pushed by the Obama administration could be effected.  As of this date, neither has occurred.  However, if I were a betting man, I would bet that the NJ Supremes will come down with their decision in the Notice of Intent to Foreclose case (Guillaume) before the people in Washington get off their duffs.  In fact, that decision should come down any day now.

Once the Guillaume decision is published, the rumor is that 70,000 foreclosures may be filed in NJ within a few months.  Now, you probably receive periodic letters from your servicer ( the entity that collects payments and not necessarily your lender) about the fact that you are behind and they want to help you.  Pretty soon if you are in arrears , you will receive a Notice of Intent to Foreclose.  When you get that Notice,  you can expect that a complaint will be filed sometime 30 days after the notice is received.  You do not get a copy of the complaint at the time it is filed.  The lender files the complaint with the Clerk who marks it “filed” and returns it to the lender.  The lender then sends the filed complaint with a summons to the sheriff (or private process server) for service upon the borrowers and any other third party that may have an interest or lien on the property.  The Sheriff or process server serves all defendants including the borrowers.  Then, the borrower has 35 days to file an answer.

If you are in arrears, put together all the papers from your mortgage closing and every paper you can find from the servicer.  When you are served with the Notice of Intent, call an attorney who is experienced in foreclosure defense.  There are not a lot of attorneys in NJ who sepecialize in this field so it may be prudent not to wait around too long after you get the Notice.   With 70,000 filings, experienced attorneys will be over loaded with work.  If you put it off, you may find that the attorney is not going to be able to take your case.