New Jersey Foreclosures &
Sheriff Sales: How to Save Your
Home If You Are Not Current
on Your Mortgage or Your
Forbearance Program Has Ended

Sheriff’s Sales Resumed on September 7, 2021.

As of September 7, 2021 Sheriff Sales have resumed in New Jersey. If you receive a notice of a Sheriff Sale date, get in touch if you would like to save your home. Firstly, contact your county sheriff’s office to verify your sale date. And verify the Sheriff Sale adjournment process. Generally, you will receive two (2) adjournments of two (2) weeks each. Before you have used your two (2) adjournments, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will have to be filed. Otherwise, you will lose your home on the date of the Sheriff Sale. 

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy stops your Sheriff Sale. Let’s discuss your individualized plan of action if you are facing a Sheriff Sale. With your individualized plan of action, I will take into account your financial picture, and long and short-term goals with respect to the property. 

Foreclosure Actions are Being Filed by Mortgage Lenders and Must Be Defended

At present, there are no restrictions on a mortgage company filing and prosecuting a foreclosure case to Final Judgement in New Jersey. If you have been served with a Foreclosure Complaint, your mortgage lender is seeking permission to foreclose on your home to take possession of it, schedule a sheriff sale to do so, and evict you from the premises. 

If you have a pending foreclosure case, give me a holler so that we can discuss your options to retain the home. Pre and post COVID retention options remain the same. Your options to stay in your home include: foreclosure defense, a loan modification with feasibility analysis to see if you will qualify for a loan modification based on the specific terms of your loan, and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to resume making your regular mortgage payments and catch up on the missed payments over 36-60 months.  

Eviction Proceedings 

Homeowners

After a Sheriff’s Sale, an eviction proceeding is scheduled. To take advantage of the protections of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to obtain a loan modification under the bankruptcy court’s Loss Mitigation Program, or to use Chapter 13 to catch up on back mortgage payments, the bankruptcy case must be filed before the Sheriff’s Sale. 

Renters

Lower income renters in New Jersey will be protected from eviction and have eviction court cases dismissed through December 31, 2021 if their annual household income is below 80% of their county’s median income, pursuant to the governor’s office. If your only financial issue is missed rent, and you do not have revolving credit card debt, personal loans, medical debts, or lines of credit that you would like to seek forgiveness on in bankruptcy, your best bet is to reach out to your local housing authority if you require assistance. 

Loan Modifications

If you are considering a loan modification, have been offered a loan modification by your lender, or have been denied a loan modification please reach out. Do not fill out and submit a loan modification on your own, no matter what your lender tells you, or your friends and family tell you. The loan modification process is not easy and is not straight forward despite the seemingly simple questions on a loan modification application. Every number and statement can result in wildly different outcomes for you. There is a ton of research to be done regarding your specific loan on my end before putting in a loan modification application.

I offer advice to every client as if the advice was to a close friend or family member of mine. Keep in mind that each loan has specific underwriting guidelines. Submitting an application on your own can result in a denial of a loan modification, hurt your chances to submit a subsequent loan modification appeal after preparing and submitting an application on your own, or, as I see on a regular basis, you may receive a loan modification offer from your lender with terms that are not the best ones available based on programs available for your specific mortgage. Using the Consumer Financial Bureau Guidelines (CFPB), I have the unique ability to analyze your specific mortgage in granular detail to determine, with certainty, your likelihood of receiving a loan modification, what modification programs are available for your specific loan both on a federal level and by your mortgage lender, and then to prepare and submit an application tailored both to give you the best chances at a loan modification and the best terms per your mortgage loan. 

The process generally goes as follows:

First, we have a free confidential consultation to discuss your situation. Then, using the CFPB guidelines I get to work requesting the necessary information from your mortgage lender to work up a feasibility analysis to determine your likelihood of a loan modification and what the projected terms of a loan modification should be based on federal loan modification guidelines and guidelines specific to your mortgage lender. The requested information includes: 

• A copy of the Note, Allonges, Owner, and Master Servicer for the loan
• Specifics of the role of your mortgage servicer. Are they a sub servicer? Default Servicer?
• Itemized Payoff Statement and Reinstatement Statement
• A life of loan transaction history
• Current and most recent property valuation done by the mortgage company
• Copy of the most recent Escrow Analysis
• Copy of the most recent Periodic Billing Statement

The mortgage servicer has a statutory period of time to get this information and any additional information that I request specific to your mortgage to do my feasibility analysis. Once all information is received, I prepare the feasibility analysis and we review same together.

Once we have the analysis complete, we will meet to discuss your loan modification feasibility and all options.

Then, I prepare and submit a loan modification application. guaranteed to give you the best shot at a mortgage modification.

Foreclosure Defense

There is no moratorium on Foreclosure Complaints being filed. Lenders are filing Foreclosure Complaints on an ongoing basis. If you have just been served with a Foreclosure Complaint, reach out so that we can discuss Foreclosure Defense. Without a defense of the foreclosure action, your lender will obtain a Judgment of Foreclosure. With the Judgement, your lender can schedule to sell your home at a Sheriff Sale once Sheriff’s Sales resume. 

A Foreclosure Answer slows down the foreclosure timeline and allows us to explore your options including a loan modification or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. 

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

A loan modification may not make sense in your situation. If you are able to resume making your regular monthly mortgage payment but have mortgage arrears, filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is an excellent option. Upon filing your case, you are considered contractually current on your mortgage. Any pending foreclosure actions and lawsuits are stayed (stopped). You resume making your regular monthly mortgage payment directly to your mortgage company. The mortgage arrears are amortized out and paid back over 36-60 months. 

What Should You Do Right Now?

If you are not current on your monthly mortgage payments or in a mortgage forbearance program, get in touch with me at your earliest convenience. I look forward to discussing your options in depth. If you have just been served with a Foreclosure Complaint, we will need to file an Answer to the Complaint within 35 days and move forward with a course of action to fit your objectives whether they are selling the home, keeping it and getting a loan modification, or using Chapter 13 Bankruptcy as a tool to stop foreclosure, get a loan modification and/or catch up on back payments and be considered current on your mortgage. 

My work cell phone number is: 732-737-7985. You can text or call me anytime to discuss, or email me at jgc@imclawgroup.com. 

Again, I look forward to speaking with you and being of assistance. Hang in there!