I attended a conference this past September on foreclosures, and heard speakers from a number of asset management companies and mortgage servicers who have the state of the industry post COVID and post foreclosure moratorium.
Foreclosures are back with more of a roar in states that are not judicial states like New York. New York, on the other hand, has a longer timeframe on a “normal” amount of foreclosures now that the process is restarted in the courts. We are observing from data at the conferences and our local Westchester County Clerk public records that while the timeframe is still relatively long, the number of filings is rising. People are no longer protected by government pandemic era safety measures, and while those facing inability to pay aren’t going to lose their house tomorrow, they need to understand that their lenders are sending lawyers to file on their behalf with no lack of gusto.
Lenders know that it can take a year or more to foreclose on a delinquent mortgage. They are therefore getting the process started as soon as they can to minimize their own wait if at all possible.
It’s not happy news for those facing hardship, but options exist and I encourage you to be proactive in contacting your lender and getting educated about your options. If you are anywhere near Westchester or Fairfield County, we can help you assess your options with a consultation.
Unless you are in the shadow inventory of 5 year old or older defaults, the chance that you have equity and options is fairly high.
