New York foreclosure regulation just got a little stricter. And that’s not a bad thing.
A new rule set forth by the New York Courts requires lawyers who assist banks with foreclosures to submit a signed statement attesting that they took reasonable steps to confirm the accuracy of the underlying documents. This essentially shifts some of the liability for any mistakes to the lawyers. It’s an attempt by the New York Courts to deal with the “robo-signing” problem on the front end rather than the back end. And it views the lawyers as gatekeepers on the process.
Of course, the lawyers representing banks and mortgage lenders may not appreciate this new rule. But given all that’s happened as well as the role of some law firms in contributing to the foreclosure scandal, it’s going to be hard for those lawyers to convince the rest of us that such a rule is not needed.
Hopefully this new rule will be the first step in helping to restore integrity to the legal processes involved in foreclosure. Because if no one trusts the system, then the wheels start to come off. Of course, this also doesn’t resolve the problem either. The rule will not be applied retroactively. There’s still a lot of mess to sort out. And more and more parties are sticking their nose into the issue, including State Attorneys General in nearly every state, the White House, the Department of Justice and the banks’ bondholders among others.
If you’re dealing with New York foreclosure issues and have questions about how the current foreclosure situation might affect you, please feel free to contact me for a free initial consultation.
Contact Bruce Weiner, Esq.
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