Questions, answered

What is a final judgment of foreclosure in New Jersey?

It is the court's order that fixes the total amount owed and authorizes the county sheriff to sell the home. It is a late stage, but it is not a sale or an eviction, and you still live in the home lawfully.

Before the judgment is entered, the lender files a motion for final judgment, which is served on you and generally gives you a chance to object to the amount claimed. In uncontested cases the Office of Foreclosure reviews the papers and the judgment is entered without a hearing. The total includes unpaid principal, interest, and allowed fees and costs, and a writ of execution then sends the case to the sheriff to schedule a sale. The judgment also changes the math: the Fair Foreclosure Act right to cure by paying the arrears generally runs only up to entry of final judgment, and after that, keeping the home usually means paying the full judgment amount.

Check the amount against your own records as soon as the motion papers arrive, because disputing it is much harder once judgment is entered. Then check your county's sheriff sale listing to see whether a sale date has been set, and pick a plan while the sale is still weeks away: selling the home before the auction, filing Chapter 13 with an attorney's help, pursuing a workout your servicer is still willing to review, or using your adjournments to make time for one of these. If the home has equity, protecting it comes first, since an auction often brings less than an ordinary sale.

The free two-minute assessment turns general answers into your specific next step.

See My Options, Free

People also ask

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

Independent, and paid by nobody

We take no referral fees, no commissions, and no advertising money from anything on this site. Every cash buyer, nonprofit and government program listed is independently owned and operated with no connection to us. The one exception is Corcoran Sawyer Smith x Builders Resource Center, a brokerage the people behind this guide have an ownership interest in, which is labeled as a related business everywhere it appears so you can weigh it accordingly.

help@njforeclosureguide.org

We read every message and reply within one business day.

290 W Mt Pleasant Ave, Suite 2210, Livingston, NJ 07039By appointment only.

Take the Free AssessmentWorked with us before? Leave a review

Free, no obligation, nothing to sell you. We are not a law firm, a lender, or a real estate brokerage, and nothing here is legal advice.

Free counselor800-569-4287My free plan →