East Orange, NJ Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

Facing a mortgage foreclosure is perhaps every homeowner’s worst nightmare. If you are in such a predicament, an attorney can help you determine if you can defend against foreclosure and hopefully keep your home.

If you are facing a mortgage foreclosure, call a lawyer immediately. Foreclosures do not just happen overnight, and you should receive advanced notice of foreclosure proceedings. This allows you to meet with a lawyer and plan your next steps. You should talk to your lawyer about filing for bankruptcy. Doing so might help you restructure your finances so you can hopefully avoid foreclosure. New Jersey is a judicial foreclosure state, meaning the process must go through the courts. The process proceeds like a lawsuit where creditors are suing you for falling behind on mortgage payments. As with a typical lawsuit, your attorney can protect you and look out for your legal rights. Contact a lawyer as soon as you get notice of the impending foreclosure.

Contact Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates by calling (609) 755-3115 and ask for a free review of your case with our mortgage foreclosure defense lawyers to get started.

You Are Facing Mortgage Foreclosure in East Orange, NJ. Now What?

If you are facing foreclosure, you might be overwhelmed. The thought of losing your home and other assets might be very frightening, and it is understandable not to know what to do next. First things first, hire a lawyer. Our mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys can review everything that led up to your foreclosure to see if there is any hope of saving your home.

One of the first things we should assess is your notice. Before creditors are allowed to initiate foreclosure proceedings, they are required to give you advanced notice. According to N.J.S.A. § 2A:50-56, a creditor must provide notice of foreclosure at least 30 days before foreclosure is formally initiated but no more than 180 days in advance.

If you did not receive notice, our attorneys can immediately begin working on challenging the validity of the foreclosure. While this might buy us extra time, it might not necessarily halt or prevent the foreclosure from happening.

If you have received notice, talk to your attorney about how far behind you are on mortgage payments. Creditors typically do not start foreclosure proceedings for one or even two missed payments. According to federal law 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f), a creditor may not even think about starting foreclosure proceedings until a borrower is more than 120 days behind on payments.

How far behind are you? If you have only missed a couple of payments, the foreclosure might be premature, and we can try to stop it while also getting your finances in order.

How Filing for Bankruptcy Can Help You During a Mortgage Foreclosure in East Orange, NJ

When faced with a mortgage foreclosure, people might not immediately think of filing for bankruptcy as a way out. Many people regard bankruptcy as some sort of punishment, and there are a lot of negative connotations around it. In reality, bankruptcy is not a punishment but a solution. While there are some drawbacks, filing for bankruptcy might help you avoid foreclosure or at least get a fresh financial start.

When a person files their bankruptcy case with the courts, an automatic stay should be set in place almost immediately. The automatic stay is an injunction handed down by the court that puts a stop to creditors who might take legal action against you for unpaid debts. If you have received notice of a foreclosure, the automatic stay will force creditors to put an immediate stop to foreclosure proceedings, at least for a while.

The great thing about the automatic stay is that it also stops creditors from contacting you. Many people who file for bankruptcy report being hassled, if not outright harassed, by creditors regarding unpaid bills. If any creditors try to contact you for payment during the automatic stay, report it to your attorney immediately.

How Does Mortgage Foreclosure Work in East Orange, NJ, and How a Lawyer Can Assist

New Jersey is a judicial foreclosure state. This means that if creditors want to initiate foreclosure proceedings against you, they must do so through the courts. As such, creditors would have to file a formal foreclosure complaint, similar to how a lawsuit is typically filed, after you are served proper advanced notice of the case.

The creditor must then serve you with a copy of the complaint and a court summons regarding the foreclosure. In New Jersey, you have the opportunity to go through foreclosure mediation. Under N.J.S.A. § 2A:50-77, the court could order mediation, or you can request medication within 60 days of receiving the foreclosure complaint and summons.

If you choose mediation, definitely have a lawyer with you. Your attorney can help you try to work things out with the creditors so you can try to avoid foreclosure. This might be a good idea if you have money coming in soon and can catch up on payments. For example, maybe you are starting a new job soon and can pay overdue mortgage bills, but you need a little more time. Creditors might be willing to give you more time rather than go through foreclosure.

If you forego mediation, we will proceed to court. We will need to prepare an answer to the creditor’s complaint in which we can admit or deny specific allegations. This might be the way to go if we believe the creditor or lender has no legal right to foreclose at this time.

When You Should Contact an Attorney About Your Mortgage Foreclosure in East Orange, NJ

You should talk to an attorney about your foreclosure situation as soon as possible. Ideally, you should call an attorney as soon as you get the first notice of foreclosure. However, if you fall behind on mortgage payments and suspect a foreclosure is on the horizon, you can call a lawyer even sooner. Remember, the sooner you contact an attorney, the sooner they can start preparing your case and figuring out the best way to handle the foreclosure.

Call Our East Orange, NJ Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyers for Support Now

Contact Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates by calling (609) 755-3115 and ask our mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys for a free review of your case to get started.