➣ Before a Lawsuit Has Begun
➣ Answering the Summons and Complaint
➣ Settlement Conference/Modification Process
➣Motion Practice
➣ Foreclosure Auction
If you are behind on your mortgage payments, or in danger of falling behind, you should meet with a housing counselor to review your financial circumstances. The best solution will vary by household based on your income, the amount and type of debt you have, and other life circumstances. You will receive a nothing attached that if you do not get back on track within 90 days of missing a payment, they will begin a foreclosure lawsuit against you. It is best to negotiate the matter before the missed payments and associated fees build up to an unaffordable level.
A lawsuit starts with the filing of a Summons and Complaint. Filing means to bring the original copy to the County Clerk’s office. It will appear as a thick stack of legal papers, and may have a cover page that looks like the following attachment. The Court verifies the bank is doing what is required of them in order to eventually sell the house at an auction. It is extremely important to respond to this quickly, in order to preserve your rights and reasons in case the bank does not approve you for any options to keep the house. To respond, you must file a document known as an Answer with the County Clerk and send a copy to the bank’s law firm. Be sure to retain a copy for your self with copies of the mailing receipt. Failure to respond on time could foreclosure. This could allow the bank to go through the much more quickly. The bank’s law firm can agree to give you more time to prepare this document upon request. If the Court only hears one side of the story, it is much more difficult for it to protect your interests. If you have missed your time to Answer, you can still file a Late Answer, and there is free help to accomplish this .
After the Summons and Complaint is filed and you have filed your response, the lawsuit is put on pause. During this pause, the bank cannot move the case forward toward an auction. Instead, the Court invites both parties to a settlement conference. At these conferences, the Court simply wishes to monitor the process of trying to get you back on track and to make sure everyone is doing what is asked of them in a timely fashion. The Court will Order you to send documents directly to the law firm rather than the servicer and will create deadlines for you and the bank to communicate with one another, click here for conference Order. These conferences are usually limited to attempts to keep the house, and the bank is not allowed to move forward with the case unless they can show that you failed to qualify for any options to keep the house, or that you have failed to cooperate with their requests for documents. It is best to work with a free housing counselor to ensure proper communication and preparation of required documents.
Free mortgage foreclosure Clinics are held twice a month at the Nassau County Bar Association. Volunteer attorneys provide one-on-one guidance, options and direction to any Nassau County homeowner who is concerned about foreclosure matters or is already in the foreclosure process involving property in Nassau County. You can have any and all of your questions answered. When homeowners are attending court settlement conferences, or visiting the free mortgage foreclosure clinic, download and fill out the intake form to ensure speedy process at the meetings.
Adjourning Motions – If you need more time to respond, the bank’s lawyer can agree to give you a few extra weeks. Call the bank’s law firm, describe why you need more time, and count out the new deadline based on how many extra weeks they are willing to give you. Fill out this form and send it to the bank’s law firm for them to sign. Once they send it back with their signature, this must be filed with the County Clerk’s Office so they are aware that you have been given extra time.
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