Just when you thought we were out of the housing crisis weeds of ’07—think again.  Apparently when an abundance of people buy homes they can’t afford and predictably fall behind on their payments, the judicial foreclosure process becomes log-jammed.  Enter our latest housing crisis nemesis: the statute of limitations.

Lenders must generally file a foreclosure action prior to the expiration of the state specific statute of limitations.  This means that once a borrower has defaulted on their mortgage payments and the lender has accelerated the debt, the lender has a statutorily defined time period in which it may bring an action in foreclosure.  But what if the initial foreclosure action, filed within the limitations period, is dismissed for technical reasons?  Must the lender file the second foreclosure action within the same limitations time period that began running on the date of the original default and acceleration?  Some New Jersey and Florida courts think so, which can be a terrifying result.Continue Reading Foreclosure Attempt Blocked? What You Should Know Before the Clock Hits Zero