One thing is for certain, the delay in the court system for processing New York foreclosure homes can help some parties involved considerably. The anxious and likely depressed seller of his family home and the nervous yet determined home buyer can both take advantage of the long timeline from Lis Pendens to the day of the auction sale. The process for inner city property foreclosures typically can last as long as 445 days or around 15 months, outside the city limits just a little less than 12 months. This is a general guideline only, every foreclosure is different, and this estimate assumes no delays, no contested action. Lenders non judicial foreclosures, a faster process, are seldom used in New York.
When no workout plan seems feasible to the lender, and the borrower is 90 days overdue with loan payments, the lender will request an attorney to initiate the foreclosure and demand that the borrower hand over the collateral backing the loan. A Lis Pendens is a public record and the starting gun as far as would be investors in pre foreclosure homes are concerned. Whether the buyer is experienced and acting on his own, or seeking to cover the best in opportunities to buy well through a real estate broker, now is the time he uses to communicate his interest, establish a level of trust with the home owner and gain enough information to determine the buying strategy.
Not all homes facing foreclosure will be attractive propositions. Not all home owners facing the loss of their property and lifestyle will be motivated to actively market their home for sale. Or discuss their circumstances freely. Faced with high inventories of unsold traditional housing all around, the owner, seeing a sale before the auction as a final chance to avoid foreclosure, needs time to sell, even at a discounted price.
Basic information to be evaluated once a buyer knows a particular property is in pre foreclosure must come from the search of title. Foreclosure actions can be brought by any mortgage holder, and until the potential buyer knows exactly how much is owed to all lien holders he cannot calculate the existing equity. Ranking of the liens plays its part in the buyer's strategy, should it be apparent there is no equity, or the loans together are more than what the property would bring at the auction, the buyer can try to negotiate a discounted settlement with the junior lien holders, lowest ranked first, in order to create equity for himself. All this takes time. Here in New York, the home owner has a fighting chance to resolve most of his financial difficulties with a timely sale.
