Foreclosures in New Jersey: the Waiting Game You Cannot Afford to Lose 

Foreclosure numbers in New Jersey are way up. Although new foreclosure filings have drastically decreased, the reason is not because people are doing better – the reason is that mortgage lenders have frozen their foreclosures and/or not allowed new ones to be filed in an effort to comply with court ordered foreclosure procedures.  

How Foreclosure Works in NJ 

When you take out a mortgage to buy a house or refinance a house, you give the lender a security interest in the house. This means that in exchange for lending you the money, you give the lender the right to take the house and sell it if you do not repay the loan. Foreclosure is the process by which a lender exercises that right, and it culminates in a sheriff sale, where the mortgage lender sells the house at auction to satisfy the debt. 

During the foreclosure process in NJ, you as the homeowner can try to catch up on the back payments you owe; however, once the sheriff sale occurs, you can no longer cure your default. At that point, you have 10 days to come up with the entire balance of the mortgage loan, and if you cannot, the house is gone. 

Note that you may have some time to make up those back payments; the foreclosure process in New Jersey can take time. At a minimum, the process takes 4-6 months.  

Thousands of New Jersey homeowners are in a holding pattern, either waiting for the hammer to fall on an existing foreclosure or waiting for the mortgage company to begin foreclosure proceedings. Meanwhile, arrearage, interest and fees continue to pile up and make the situation worse. 

If you are facing foreclosure or an imminent sheriff sale, selling your house now to a local cash buyer who will make up the back payments and penalty fees, and buy your house will get you out of foreclosure.