Thousands of American families have stopped making their mortgage payments, their houses have gone into foreclosure and they’re living in their homes for years without making mortgage payments. Approximately four and a half million American homes are behind on their mortgage payments or have foreclosure actions pending against them. In two-thirds of these cases, the homeowners continue to live in their homes, with their families, without making any payments towards their mortgage. Many of these families have been living in their homes for more than a year and approximately one-third of the families have been living in their homes for more than two years, without making mortgage payments.

Foreclosures Move Slowly Through the Courts

In virtually all fifty states, the courts have been inundated with foreclosure proceedings. At a time of economic turmoil throughout the country, additional judges and resources have generally not been allocated to deal with the foreclosure crisis. This means that cases sit idle in the courts for long periods of time before the foreclosure actions are completed. It is estimated that it takes approximately a little more than a year and a half for the average foreclosure case in the United States to make it’s way through the courts. In the State of New York, in cases handled by my office, it generally takes three to five years for the cases to proceed through the courts.

Evictions After Foreclosure

Even if your home is foreclosed on and eventually sold years later at auction, you can still continue to stay in your home. At the end of a foreclosure sale, should someone buy your home, whether it be the bank or a third party, and they seek to remove you from your residence, they have to bring an eviction proceeding. Eviction proceedings are brought in landlord/tenant courts. These proceedings are separate and distinct from the foreclosure actions. There are additional calendar delays in these eviction proceedings. Most take anywhere from two to four months.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo handles foreclosure defense for homeowners. We litigate all aspects of foreclosure proceedings including, but not limited to, defective foreclosure lawsuits,defective mortgages, predatory lending issues, bad faith, and other real estate legal issues. We attend foreclosure court conferencesfor the clients we represent. We also assist our clients in the preparation of mortgage modification applications, as well as deal with mortgage modification programs that are unresponsive to our clients’ needs.

In certain situations, foreclosure related bankruptcies can be utilized to stop foreclosures from moving forward. Upon filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court issues an automatic stay that stops the foreclosure lawsuit from moving forward. It should be noted that bankruptcy proceedings are brought in the United States Bankruptcy Court, while foreclosure proceedings are brought in New York State Courts.

For our clients who file bankruptcy, we can sometimes eliminate second mortgages. We also can assist our clients in re-establishing their credit after filing bankruptcy. Should you have questions as to what type of bankruptcy would be appropriate for you or whether there is other alternatives related to foreclosure defense, feel free to contact us. At your initial free consultation, we will discuss all of your foreclosure options. You can reach us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802. We look forward to seeing you again on our foreclosure blog.