The New York Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act

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The New York Governor finally signed into law the New York Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA) which may allow thousands of NY homeowners to dismiss their existing foreclosure lawsuits and possibly eliminate the mortgages on their homes.

FAPA overturns the NY Court of Appeals’ decision in Engel, which allowed mortgage lenders to suspend the 6-year statute of limitations in which to start a foreclosure action, and allowed the banks to file multiple foreclosure actions or pursue a homeowner for years on a mortgage that the bank could not legally enforce.

The good news is that FAPA will be applied not only to new foreclosure actions, but to existing foreclosure actions that have been pending for years, or where the bank has started and discontinued multiple foreclosure actions against a homeowner.

Additionally, a bank that starts a foreclosure action to auction off the home will not also be able to seek a money claim against the homeowner.

If the homeowner can successfully use FAPA to dismiss the foreclosure action, then the homeowner could also pursue a Quiet Title Action against the bank to eliminate the entire mortgage off the home.

Please call our office for a free consultation to determine if your foreclosure case can be dismissed under FAPA.