Questions, answered

Can my lender keep foreclosing while I am applying for a loan modification?

It depends on timing and on whether your application is complete. Under federal Regulation X, if the servicer receives a complete application more than 37 days before a sale, it generally may not move for judgment or hold the sale until the application, and any appeal, has been resolved.

Moving a foreclosure forward while reviewing a workout, called dual tracking, is restricted by 12 CFR 1024.41. Servicers generally cannot make the first foreclosure filing until a loan is more than 120 days delinquent, and a complete application received before that filing generally keeps it from happening until the review is finished. After a case is filed, a complete application received more than 37 days before a sale generally bars the servicer from moving for final judgment or an order of sale, or holding the sale, unless you were found ineligible and any appeal is over, you turned down the options offered, or you did not perform under an agreement. The rules cover your principal residence, small servicers are exempt from most of them, and an incomplete application does not trigger them.

Get proof of completeness in writing. Servicers must acknowledge an application received 45 days or more before a sale within five business days and say what is missing, so send what they ask for quickly and keep every letter. If a sale is approaching while a complete application is pending, tell the servicer and its foreclosure attorney in writing, and ask a HUD-approved counselor (800-569-4287) or Legal Services of New Jersey (1-888-576-5529) for help pressing the point. Court deadlines keep running during a review, so keep meeting them, and remember your two homeowner adjournments if timing is tight.

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Educational information, not legal advice. Your own court documents control your deadlines; a licensed New Jersey attorney can confirm what applies to your case.

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