In a case before justice Maryann Brigantti, sitting in a foreclosure part, in Bronx county US bank moved to strike a defendant’s answer. They brought a motion for summary judgement in their foreclosure lawsuit. This type of application urges a court to eliminate the need for a trial in a foreclosure case. They claimed in their motion for summary judgement they produced a copy of the mortgage. In addition they produced a written assignment of the mortgage. They also submitted an affidavit by an individual named Wild. This affidavit asserted the defendants defaulted on the loan and the bank was in physical custody pf the note.

The defendants claimed they never received communication from the bank regarding the foreclosure settlement conferences. They requested to have the case transferred back to the foreclosure mediation settlement conference part.

Challenge to the Bank’s Standing to Sue

The homeowners also claimed the bank did not have legal standing to bring the lawsuit. They claimed that Wild’s affidavit only stated that before the action was commenced the bank was in physical possession of the note the affidavit did not provide factual allegations regarding the physical delivery of the note. The affidavit did not establish that Wild personally inspected the note. Justice Brigantti stated without having further details the bank failed to establish it was the holder of the note before the commencement of the foreclosure lawsuit. Therefore the bank did not sufficiently establish they had standing to bring the foreclosure lawsuit.

Homeowners Resided in the Home

Justice Brigantti pointed out the homeowners resided in the home. They only missed one court conference and that public policy considerations required the matter to be returned to the foreclosure conference part for the parties to negotiate in good faith to work out a reasonable mortgage modification.

In late June 2016 the legislature in the state of New York passed a bill that created a state wide zombie house registry.  This statute created a toll free number for homeowners to report eyesores related to abandoned homes in foreclosure. The statute imposed fines on banks that fail to maintain homes which were abandoned by their homeowners during the foreclosure process.

Speeding up Foreclosures in New York Courts

This new statute in addition to dealing with the abandoned “Zombie” home issue is also designed to speed up the foreclosure process in New York state courts.

Zombie Homes on Long Island

Many communities on Long Island have had problems in recent years dealing with thousands of homes which were abandoned by their owners as their homes went into foreclosure.  This problem also exists in parts of the city of New York and cities in Upstate New York.

Misunderstanding By Homeowners

Homeowners sometimes misunderstand how the foreclosure process works. The service of a foreclosure summons and complaint upon the homeowner by the bank holding the mortgage, on the home is the start of a process whereby the bank takes back the ownership of the home.  Homeowners sometimes misunderstand how the legal process of foreclosure progresses from the initiation of the lawsuit to the bank taking title to the home when it is sold on the courthouse steps. Even when the bank takes title to the home this doesn’t give them the right to show up at the house and force the homeowner from the home.

Attorney Elliot S. Schlissel and his associates are foreclosure attorneys representing homeowners in foreclosure cases throughout the metropolitan New York area.

Zombie Home Legislature: Part Two

Under New York State law, the bank or the individuals or the party that purchased the home at the foreclosure sale must bring a landlord tenant proceeding if they seek to evict the homeowners. In many cases the bank and or the people who purchased the property at the foreclosure sale are prepared to negotiate and discuss an amicable resolution of the issue of the homeowners vacating the home.

This new statute gives municipalities and the state dept of financial services the power to take legal action against banks and mortgage serving companies that do not maintain vacant homes.  The banks and or mortgage servicer can be fined as much as $500.00 dollars per day for each property they do not properly maintain. State senator Jeffrey Klein stated concerning this new legislation “finally, banks will be responsible to maintain zombie properties that have caused property devaluation across our state.”

Banks Failure During Foreclosure Process

Banks who are found to not be acting appropriately or exercising good faith during the foreclosure court proceedings can be fined up to $25,000.00 under this new statute. This new statute also can cause banks to be fined up to $25,000.00 for failure to produce required documents, during foreclosure mediation court conferences.

Eliot S Schlissel is a foreclosure defense lawyer representing homeowners throughout the New York Metropolitan area with regard to obtaining mortgage modifications and defending foreclosure lawsuits. Elliot and his staff of attorneys take legal action to keep homeowners and their families in their homes by fighting foreclosure lawsuits and working with financial institutions to obtain mortgage modifications for the firm’s clients.