Pre-Foreclosure Notice Filing Information - Instructions

A. INTRODUCTION:

The 2009 Mortgage Foreclosure Law requires each lender, assignee, or mortgage loan servicer to file with the Superintendent of Financial Services, within three business days after mailing the 90-day pre-foreclosure notice for residential real property or cooperative apartments, certain information that will aid the Department in assisting borrowers at risk of foreclosure. This includes the name, address and last known telephone number of the borrower, the amount claimed as due and owing on the mortgage, and any other information the Superintendent may require to determine the type of loan product.

The Superintendent may subsequently request such readily available information as may be reasonably necessary to facilitate a review of whether a borrower might benefit from counseling or other foreclosure prevention services.

The information collected shall be used by the Superintendent for the following purposes:

  • to monitor on a statewide basis the extent of foreclosure filings within the state;
  • to perform an analysis of loan types which were the subject of a pre-foreclosure notice; and
  • to direct as appropriate available public and private foreclosure prevention services to borrowers at risk of foreclosure.

The filing must be on a form prescribed by the Superintendent. Information filed under this section is not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law or to certain provisions of the Personal Privacy Protection Law.

B. THREE PART FILING PROCESS:

The Department of Financial Services has developed a three-part filing process.

Step 1 requires a filing within three business days after mailing a 90-day pre-foreclosure notice and is designed to capture the most relevant information necessary to understand the terms of the mortgage and make contact with the borrower. The purpose of this initial step is to provide sufficient information to facilitate outreach efforts by housing counselors to individual borrowers.

Step 2 requires a filing within five business days after filing a lis pendens and will capture more updated information on the original loan. Step 2 filings notify the Department that the filer (plaintiff) has proceeded to file a foreclosure action in court and are valuable in the Department's analysis of the mortgage crisis and in targeting outreach efforts. Step 2 filings are mandatory for loans that have been entered into the system during Step 1.

Step 3 requires a filing within thirty days of entry of the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale. This filing notifies the Department of the date of foreclosure and whether the property was owner-occupied. This information allows the Department to monitor the extent of actual foreclosures across the state and to target future outreach efforts. Step 3 filings are mandatory for loans that received a 90-day pre-foreclosure notice on or after February 13, 2010 and have been entered into the system during Step 1 and Step 2.
C: FILING ELECTRONICALLY:

Individual Filings:

For individual online filings, filers must complete all required fields. Please follow the on-screen instructions. See this flow chart for a visual representation of the required mortgagee information. Once the filing for Step 1 has been submitted through the system with all required fields, a tracking number will be e-mailed directly to the e-mail address you provided for tracking purposes in the first section of the filing. This Tracking number will be required when filing Step 2 and Step 3.

Bulk Filings:

For Step 3, no Bulk files will be accepted. All Step 3 filings must be made using the online system.

D. DATA REQUIRED IN STEP 1:

All fields are required, unless otherwise indicated on the system.

Filing Information

  • Each filing will be assigned a unique tracking number. Please provide the e-mail address where the tracking number for the filing should be sent. Note: The Tracking Number assigned to each loan in the initial filing must be retained and used to facilitate access to the original record and to complete Step 2.
  • Provide Name, Email Address, and Phone Number of the person who is filing Step 1.
  • Provide the day, month, and year the letter was mailed to the borrower. 

Property Information

  • Indicate if the property is a 1-4 family home, co-op, condo, or other. Make your selection based on the legal building classification of the property.
  • Provide full mailing address for the property, including street address, city, zip code, and county.

Loan Information

  • A loan reference number must be provided. This number must be unique within your organization and should not be assigned to any other loan.
  • Provide date of original loan (this is most likely the note date or closing date). If original loan has been modified, provide date of the original loan.
  • Provide amount of original loan. For modified loans, this is the amount of the original loan prior to any modification, write off, principal reduction, etc.
  • Specify the current interest rate.
  • Specify the default interest rate. (If none, use current interest rate.)
  • Specify the current monthly payment.
  • Indicate if the current monthly payment includes escrow for insurance, taxes, or PMI. You are not required to specify amounts.
  • Indicate if the loan is investor owned.
  • If the loan is investor owned, indicate whether it is securitized.
  • If the loan is securitized, specify whether the trust permits a loan modification.
  • If modification is not permitted, cite the specific section or paragraph of the Pooling and Servicing Agreement that contains the prohibition on modifications.
  • Select the type of loan. (First Lien or Jr. Lien)
  • Select Loan Category (HELOC, HELOAN, or Other)
  • Select the loan term.
  • Select loan detail. (Fixed Rate, ARM, Payment Option Adjustable Rate, etc.)
  • Select frequency of reset if the loan is an Adjustable Rate or Payment Option Adjustable Rate loan.
  • If the loan has been modified in the past 12 months, please indicate if the modification was under the HAMP program or a non-HAMP modification. You are not required to provide specifics of the modification.
  • Specify how long the loan has been delinquent.
  • Breakdown of the amount due and owing to bring the loan current into three categories:
    • Delinquent contractual payment (including principal interest, taxes and insurance if part of contractual payment)
    • Late fees
    • Other (including but not limited to escrow advances, insurance advances, attorney fees, property preservation charges, taxes and PMI)

Borrower Information

  • Provide name, address, and last known telephone number for the primary borrower on the loan.
  • Provide an alternative telephone number and e-mail address if readily available. A key objective of this section of the law is to acquire information to facilitate a process where housing counselors can easily contact homeowners directly. Therefore, any additional contact information will support outreach efforts.
  • If there are additional borrowers on the loan, please provide name, address, and contact information.

Entity Information

  • Provide business name and business address of the applicable entities as per the flow chart. Include the name, phone number, and email address of the contact person.

E. DATA REQUIRED IN STEP 2 (where Step 1 was filed on or after January 1, 2014)

Step 2 filings are due five business days after a lis pendens filing. Data required in Step 2 include updates for any information that may have changed since the original filing, including changes in servicer information. This information will allow the State to monitor and analyze foreclosure filings in the State and target its foreclosure outreach efforts.

F. STEP 2 (where Step 1 was filed before January 1, 2014)

A different Step 2 filing is required when Step 1 was filed before January 1, 2014. It is similar to the Step 2 filing before January 1, 2014, but also contains 2 additional questions regarding securitized loan modifications.

G. DATA REQUIRED IN STEP 3

Information required in Step 3 includes the date of entry of the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and whether the property was owner-occupied at the time of the judgment.

H. RESOLUTION

To assist the Department in monitoring the extent of foreclosure filings within the state and performing related analyses, lenders, assignees, or mortgage loan servicers are required to report resolutions reached on or after January 1, 2014 that are short of a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale. A "Resolution" tab has been added to the filing system where a drop-down menu containing various resolutions is provided. Reporting of such resolutions is required regardless of whether the dispute has already proceeded to a foreclosure filing, and must be made within 35 days of the resolution.

I. UPDATES

A filing may now be updated as needed. To update a filing, select the "Updates" tab at the top of the home screen in the filing system. Search for the existing filing you would like to update, click the "edit" button next to the filing, and choose the step of the filing you would like to update. You may update all fields with the exception of the borrower's last name and the zip code of the property.

J. QUESTIONS

Questions relating to the filing process should be e-mailed to [email protected]

All filings for Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 of the 90-day pre-foreclosure notice filing process can be submitted to the Department of Financial Services via the Online Filing System