The foreclosure process in New York, even under optimum circumstances, can take as long as three years. New York has enacted legislation regarding the robo-signing scandal that was uncovered in 2010. There are new court imposed rules affecting attorneys representing banks that seek to bring foreclosure lawsuits.
New Foreclosure Requirements
The attorneys for financial institutions must prepare an affidavit or swear under penalties of perjury that the foreclosure documents being submitted are accurate. Consternation by lender’s attorneys with regard to the accuracy of notes, mortgages and assignments of mortgages have caused delays as long as two years in the New York foreclosure process.
Lenders themselves must verify, when a foreclosure action is initiated, that the lender has the right to sue. This deals with the issue of standing. Notes and mortgages are sold as commercial paper. If the sale is not accompanied by an appropriate assignment from one bank to another, the second bank has no right to bring a foreclosure lawsuit.
The delays in foreclosure proceedings can cause interest and penalties to accrue against the homeowner.
Foreclosure Settlement Conferences
When a foreclosure lawsuit is initiated in the State of New York, the homeowner is entitled to attend a foreclosure settlement conference. At these conferences, judges and their staff seek to mediate foreclosure issues and assist homeowners in obtaining mortgage modifications. Unfortunately, the reality is many of the homeowners whose homes have gone into foreclosure could not afford, when they bought the homes, to pay the mortgages and due to the economic crisis facing America have even less capability today of paying their mortgages.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a foreclosure defense lawyer representing homeowners throughout the metropolitan New York area who seek to fight foreclosure lawsuits.
