Do You Have A Foreclosure Sale Date Yet? Don’t Wait Until This Becomes An Emergency. Run To Your Lawyer!

     If you call me to discuss a mortgage problem, more often than not, our conversation will start with one question – is there a sale date yet? Many people have no idea.   In foreclosures, the sale date is a key date for the homeowner.   Once it passes, all hope is lost.   Not always.   But most of the time. Up until the moment that the gavel is struck down by the court-appointed referee, a homeowner can still take some action to prevent the sale. In other states, the timing may vary.   In New York, the sale date is usually the end of the road.        

     You’d be surprised how many people call me the week or even days before the sale date.  Those calls are automatically considered emergencies by me.   Some of them result in skeletal Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings where we file the rest of the schedules and the plan within 15 days.   Sometimes I can help the client avoid the sale by negotiating a forbearance agreement.   Sometimes, I can help the client get a quick loan commitment for refinancing and then either try to obtain a postponement from the lender or go to the Supreme Court to ask for a stay (a TRO) based on the client’s ability to payoff within a short time.   Either way, waiting until the sale date is a dangerous move.   Some clients are put in that position because they were led astray by a mortgage broker who promised to deliver a loan he really couldn’t deliver, or by some out of state “foreclosure specialist” company which is really a front for some scammer who is practicing law in New York without a license.   Some clients may have just procrastinated or waited hoping that another family member or friend would come to their rescue.     The basic rule for those in foreclosure is run, don’t walk, to your attorney.   Time is not on your side. The sooner you act, the better your chances are of avoiding a frantic last minute fire drill at your lawyer’s office. 

       Oh, and what about the client who calls me after the sale is over?   Unfortunately, it is almost always too late to do anything.  However, in the case where there was something irregular or improper about the foreclosure action or the manner of sale, it is sometimes possible to file an order to show cause to vacate the sale.   It’s possible.   But you should really try to avoid this predicament in the first place.

     Even someone who really was never served with the summons or any papers during the entire foreclosure action (which can usually run from 6 to 12 months), should at least be aware that they haven’t paid their mortgage!  This makes it that much harder to convince a Judge that the lender did something wrong.   Sitting on your rights may give your lender defenses of laches,  estoppel or waiver in response to any motion to vacate a sale.    So don’t sit.   Run!