The practice of uncontested foreclosures is set to resume in New Jersey following a court ruling involving Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. The banks were previously challenged for their poor foreclosure performances, many involving “robo-signatures” that resulted in foreclosures without someone inspecting the paperwork. Now it appears the New Jersey court has accepted banks’ promises of remedial measures. RealtyTrac reports the average foreclosure in New Jersey, which requires judicial decree, takes 944 days. For more on this continue reading the following article from The Street.
Bank of America(BAC), JPMorgan Chase(JPM), Citigroup(C) and Wells Fargo(WFC) can resume uncontested foreclosures in the state of New Jersey, a judge said Monday.
According to a Bloomberg report, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson signed an order granting approval to the four lenders after outlining a series of conditions. The banks had to show that they had “established specific procedures for staff to ensure that the information set forth in affidavits/certifications submitted in foreclosure proceedings is based on a personal review of business records.”
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The four lenders were among the six banks whose improper foreclosure practices, dubbed “robo-signing,” came under scrutiny. The banks were accused of signing off on foreclosure documents without personally verifying the information.
All six are in the process of negotiating a settlement with state and federal officials.
New Jersey was among the first states to take action against lenders for their shoddy foreclosure practices, Judge Jacobson noted in her order. The state’s courts received 21,752 new foreclosures in 2006 and 65,222 in 2010 through late December. Only 6 percent of cases were contested last year, meaning 94 percent lacked “any meaningful adversarial proceeding,” according to a court order at the time.
New Jersey, which follows a judicial foreclosure process, meaning a lender has to get court approval to initiate a foreclosure sale. The foreclosure process, from notice of foreclosure action to completed sale, takes 944 days in New Jersey, according to RealtyTrac.
This article was republished with permission from The Street.
