New Jersey Foreclosure Law
- Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes
- Non-Judicial Foreclosure Available: No
- Primary Security Instrument: Mortgage
- Timeline: Usually 90 days
- Right of Redemption1: Yes
- Deficiency Judgments2 Allowed: Yes
Lenders in the state of New Jersey may foreclose on a mortgage in default using a judicial foreclosure process. Privately conducted mortgage foreclosure sales are not allowed in New Jersey.
Judicial Foreclosure
A judicial process of foreclosure requires that the lender file a lawsuit and attain a court order to foreclose on a particular property. This type of process is generally used when no power of sale is present in the mortgage or deed of trust. A power of sale is a clause found in a deed of trust or mortgage that authorizes the sale or transfer of land as outlined by the terms of that clause.
Judicial Foreclosure Procedure
The foreclosure process begins with the lender filing a complaint in the Superior Court. Constructive notice can be given by recording a lis pendens (suit pending) with the clerk or register of the county where the property is located.
Once the lender wins a judgment to foreclose, whether in part or in whole, by a writ of execution, the sheriff or another officer will conduct the sale. The foreclosure notice is then posted in the county office where the property is located; posted on the property in foreclosure; and published in two (2) newspapers. The lender is also required to notify the borrower at least ten (10) days before the foreclosure sale.
A lawsuit for a deficiency must be filed within three (3) months from the date of the foreclosure sale. The deficiency is limited to the difference between the fair market value of the property and the balance due on the loan.
The borrower has ten (10) days after the sale in which to object to the sale and/or redeem the property. If the borrower objected to the sale, redemption remains an option until the court rules of the objections to the sale, which could take longer than ten days.
Also, if the lender sues the borrower for deficiency, this effectively reopens the foreclosure sale and provides the borrower with the right to redemption. A deficiency gives a borrower the right to bring an action to redeem the property within six (6) months after the lender’s deficiency judgment is rendered. However, persons who answered the deficiency suit, disputing its amount, and lost may not redeem.
1 A borrower’s right to reacquire property lost due to a foreclosure.
2 A personal judgment against the borrower for the remaining balance on the loan after a foreclosure sale.
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