How to avoid foreclosure in New Jersey

How foreclosure works in New Jersey, step by step

1. Missed payments and the Notice of Intention to Foreclose

   After the federal 120-day wait, and at least 30 days (but not more than 180 days) before filing, the lender must send you a Notice of Intention to Foreclose by registered or certified mail. It must state the amount needed to cure, the date to pay it, your right to cure, and that you can use the court's free Foreclosure Mediation Program and free housing counseling.

   12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f); N.J.S.A. 2A:50-56

2. The lender files a complaint

   The lender files a foreclosure complaint with the Office of Foreclosure and has you served with a summons and complaint. You should receive a written notice that you can ask for mediation, in English and Spanish. The complaint must state that the lender complied with the Notice of Intention rules.

   N.J.S.A. 2A:50-56(f), 2A:50-76

3. Answer within 35 days and ask for mediation within 60 days

   You have 35 days after service to file an answer. If you answer, the case goes to a judge in your county; if you do not, the Office of Foreclosure handles it as uncontested. You can ask for free court mediation up to 60 days after service, with the help of a free housing counselor; after that you need a judge's order.

   R. 4:6-1; N.J.S.A. 2A:50-77

4. 14-day notice and final judgment

   In an uncontested case, the lender must mail you a notice at least 14 days before it asks for final judgment. If you send back, within 10 days, a good-faith statement that you can likely cure within 45 days, the lender must wait at least 46 days. Your right to cure by catching up ends when final judgment is entered.

   N.J.S.A. 2A:50-57(a), 2A:50-58

5. Writ of execution and sheriff's sale

   After judgment the court issues a writ of execution and the sheriff must hold the sale within 150 days of receiving it. The lender must post the upset price at least 4 weeks before the sale and mail notice of the sale to you. You can get up to 2 adjournments from the sheriff, each up to 30 days, without going to court.

   N.J.S.A. 2A:50-64, 2A:17-36

6. 10 days after the sale

   The sale is not final right away. A motion objecting to the sale must be served within 10 days, and the New Jersey courts' self-help page says you have 10 days after the sale to redeem. Without an objection, the sale is confirmed and the sheriff delivers the deed to the buyer.

   R. 4:65-5

7. Writ of possession and moving out

   Once the buyer has the sheriff's deed, it can ask the court for a writ of possession, which the sheriff's office serves and enforces. Plan your move before this point, and ask whether the sale left surplus money for you.

New Jersey foreclosure deadlines to know

These are the periods written into the law. Your own dates are on the notices you received. If a notice and this page disagree, trust the notice and ask a counselor or lawyer.

Your rights as a homeowner in New Jersey

Other New Jersey protections

• Detailed Notice of Intention to Foreclose

  The lender must mail a written notice at least 30 and no more than 180 days before filing, listing the exact cure amount and deadline, your right to cure, legal help options, and the free mediation and counseling programs. If more than 180 days pass without a lawsuit, it must send a new notice.

  N.J.S.A. 2A:50-56

• Right to cure until final judgment

  You can catch up on the default and stop the foreclosure at any time before final judgment is entered, paying the past-due amount plus allowed costs and fees.

  N.J.S.A. 2A:50-57(a)

• Free court mediation with a free counselor

  Owner-occupants of 1 to 4 family homes can use the Judiciary's mediation program at no cost. Lenders must attend with someone who has authority to consider alternatives, and the court can fine a party up to $1,000 for skipping a session.

  N.J.S.A. 2A:50-77, 2A:50-78

• Community Wealth Preservation Program (2024)

  Since January 12, 2024, a homeowner sued in foreclosure (if an individual), next of kin, or a qualifying tenant who has financing may have a right of first refusal to buy the home at the sheriff's sale for the posted upset price, with a 3.5 percent deposit. It applies only to primary residences of up to 4 units, and the homeowner must show a hardship: financial hardship, an illness that stops you from earning income, divorce or separation, the death of a spouse or child, or predatory lending. Before it posts the upset price, the lender may not contact you to ask whether you plan to bid, and it may not delay the sale because you do.

  N.J.S.A. 2A:50-64 (P.L.2023, c.255)

• Fair market value credit against a deficiency

  If the lender sues for a deficiency, you can dispute it, and the court subtracts the home's fair market value at the time of the sale. The lender must sue within 3 months.

  N.J.S.A. 2A:50-2, 2A:50-3

New Jersey mortgage assistance programs

If the home is sold for more than you owe

If the sheriff's sale brings in more than the judgment and costs, the surplus is deposited with the court. Junior lienholders, such as a second mortgage or judgment creditors, are paid first in order of priority, and only then is the former owner entitled to what is left. You claim it by filing a motion with the court asking for an order paying the surplus to you. You do not need a company to do this.

N.J.S.A. 2A:50-37; R. 4:64-3

Ways to avoid foreclosure

Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in New Jersey as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

• Repayment plan
• Forbearance
• Payment deferral or partial claim
• Loan modification
• Reinstatement
• Short sale
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy