Curing a Mortgage Default In New Jersey

A mortgage default occurs when a homeowner fails to make a required monthly mortgage payment. The mortgage loan agreement provides various remedies to the lender. The lender can impose late fees and even file a lawsuit to take back the property, to “foreclose” the owner’s interest in the property. Since lenders make their living on interest earned and not property taken back, they encourage alternatives. A lender can “modify” a loan thereby creating a new monthly payment. Usually this is done by calculating a new repayment plan, over a new extended period, incorporating the unpaid paid payments. As an incentive, lenders will usually reduce the interest rate on the loan making the new payment more affordable.

There are government programs that will “loan” a homeowner the past due payments, paying the lender directly, and tacking a mortgage onto the back end of the loan, like a second mortgage. Other lender options are for the homeowner to “short sale” where the home is sold for less than the amount owed on the loan. The lender accepts the remaining proceeds and releases the homeowner from paying the balance owed. Lastly, a lender can accept a deed transfer from the homeowner to the lender, this is known as a “Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure”. A mortgage defaulted can be cured. The important thing is that a homeowner has rights and the lender may be more willing to settle than you think. I have been representing New Jersey homeowners who have these kinds of issues for 25 years. Call me today for your free consultation.