Foreclosing Based Upon An Assignment of Mortgage?
Sometimes we receive calls from homeowners who have been mailed a foreclosure complaint from a company they do not recognize. This usually means that your loan has been sold or the mortgage has been assigned. This type of mortgage transfer is legal, but the new company cannot foreclose unless they have an Assignment of Mortgage which has been recorded in your County.
There is a fairly recent law in New Jersey, N.J.S.A. 46:18-13, (2015), which states that “only the established holder of a mortgage shall take action to foreclose a mortgage.” The established holder is defined as “the record holder of the mortgage as established by the latest record of assignment or by the original mortgage recording in the records of the county clerk.”
This means that if you receive a complaint and it states there is an Assignment of Mortgage, which has NOT been recorded, the Complaint violates the statute, and you can file a motion and ask the Court to Dismiss the Complaint.
I Received a Foreclosure Complaint from a Third Party. What Should I Do?
If you have received a foreclosure complaint from a company other than your lender, contact the Law Office of Ira J. Metrick today. If the assignment of the mortgage to this new lender has not been officially recorded, they are not authorized to take action to foreclose on your home and are in violation of New Jersey state law. We can determine whether this lender is authorized to pursue foreclosure and whether there has been a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because the lender attempted to collect a debt in an unlawful manner.
