Bayville, NJ asked in Foreclosure for New Jersey

Q: Do I have to file a response to my foreclosure summons if I am in the process of a home modification?

I received a foreclosure summons from my lender's attorneys but was in the process of submitting loan modification. My case worker at the mortgage company said not to worry about the summons that I do not need to answer it being that my modification paperwork was all in. Is this true? I feel that I need to provide a response being that it is a court document?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Leonard R. Boyer
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Answered
  • Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
  • Clifton, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: No, you have to retain counsel to handle this matter for you. If you don't retain an experienced mortgage foreclosure defense attorney, the results will be disastrous for you! All residential mortgage foreclosures follow 2 tracks. A Banking track and a legal track. Both move forward separate and independently of each other. To properly and fully explain this, would take well over an hour. Under both the Dodd-Frank Act & the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules and regulations, once a lender has a FULL and complete loan modification application in its possession, then the lender is supposed to direct its attorneys to "put the foreclosure on hold for up to 60 days. But this frequently does not happen and the Judges do not uniformly adhere to this. To properly answer your questions and address your concerns, the best way to handle this is with an in person consultation with an experienced mortgage foreclosure defense attorney.

Derek John Soltis
Derek John Soltis
Answered
  • Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
  • Jersey City, NJ

A: I suggest you have someone review your loan modification numbers to go over the probability of you being accepted for a loan modification.

For instance if you had a 3.75% loan and the bank is now offering 5% loans there is a good chance you will be denied a loan modification as your payments would increase and make the loan more difficult to pay back.

Talk to an attorney to go over all of your options before you decided to do anything or not do something. Be informed of your options.

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