I am listening to a continuing education program for Chapter 13 bankruptcy practitioners in New Jersey. Here’s an update, county by county as to sheriff’s sales, foreclosures and evictions:
Foreclosure Sales:
Here is a county by county list as of today of what is happening with foreclosure sales for RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES in NJ:
Atlantic: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Bergen: No sales
Burlington: No sales
Camden: No sales
Cape May: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Cumberland: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Essex: Only vacant and abandoned properties – the Court requires a motion
Gloucester: Only vacant and abandoned properties – motion required
Hudson: All operations suspended. Prior to suspension they were planning on allowing vacant and abandoned properties
Hunterdon: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Mercer: No sales
Middlesex: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Monmouth: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Morris: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Ocean: Only vacant and abandoned properties
Passaic: No sales
Salem: No sales
Somerset: No sales
Sussex: No sales
Union: No sales
Warren: Only vacant and abandoned properties. Rumors are flying that sales may commence soon on non-federally backed loans.
Evictions
Per EO 106 – No evictions can take place until 60 days after the current health emergency is lifted.
In New Jersey, the protections against eviction appear to exceed the FNMA/Freddie Mac and other federal protections for now.
Commencement of Foreclosure Suits
The commencement of foreclosure actions and processing up through judgment of foreclosure is proceeding. The Office of Foreclosure and the General Equity Parts are in full swing and moving cases along. There is a moratorium on federally backed loan holders starting foreclosures until February 28, 2021.
Commercial Properties:
In counties where foreclosure sales are happening at some level, commercial property foreclosures are proceeding. Proof of the commercial nature of the property is required.
What does this all mean???? The upshot of the above is that at the present time, if you are facing foreclosure your lender may be able to start the ball rolling by filing a foreclosure case. The lender cannot, however, take an occupied property to sheriff’s sale at this time. Depending on whether or not you loan is federally insured, this may or may not continue to be the case until the medical crisis ends. In no case, however, will a warrant for removal issue until EO 106 expires and Governor Murphy has continued to extend that deadline as the pandemic continues to rage.
Here is the problem, however, absent a forebearance or other relief, all these delays do is kick the mortgage arrearage or rental arrearage can down the road. The borrower still owes all that money and has to get some means of paying it back somehow. If you had a CARES forbearance, keep in mind that you may not be entitled to “tack” the arrears on to the back of the loan depending on the status of the loan on 3/1/2020 and the type of loan. If you are not sure or want to see what relief you are eligible for, you can go to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to see what relief you may qualify for. Note that NON-FEDERALLY BACKED LOANS are not covered by the CARES Act provisions.
If you are behind on your mortgage and other bills and want to look at how to fix the problem, please Book an Appointment Now to see what your options are and if we can help you.