Real Estate Investor · West Orange, NJ · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 2 votes
I am looking at a foreclosure that is approaching the sheriff's sale date. The original foreclosure complaint was filed in 2007 and the judgment entered and initial writ issued in 2009. The owners then filed for BK protection (Ch. 7) and received a discharge in 2012. The bank has obtained two writs of execution since the BK ended and the property is now scheduled for a sheriff's sale next month. I am wondering why it has taken so long since the end of the bankruptcy (4+ years) for this property to end up on the sheriff's sale list. Is it just a matter of the bank's (lack of) diligence in enforcing its lien, or are there other post-bankruptcy issues/factors that result in the delay not apparent from the BK or foreclosure court dockets.
I realize every situation is different and the exact reason for the delay may be unknowable, but I am curious to hear your thoughts on possible reasons that I should keep in mind as I pursue a potential deal on this property
@Ryan W.: hard to say without knowing more about the facts. Once in a while, the Bank sometimes decides to "abandon" a property if it decides that there is not enough equity to justify further legal actions. Sometimes there are administrative failures at the bank level (e.g. a bank officer getting fired and the successor not realizing that it had this file open). Do you see any docket activity between 2012 and now? That might help answer your question.
@Chris K. there is equity in the house (a solid $100k as of today due to rising market--maybe only around $40k or so in 2012 when BK action concluded) that was exempted from the bankruptcy estate. The BK docket has been closed since 2012 with no further activity, and the only entries in the foreclosure docket are a writ of execution at the end of 2014 and another near the end of 2016 after the 2014 writ expired. So, someone from the bank "woke up" for at least a little bit in 2014 and again near the end of last year. It is now on the sheriff's sale list. I was thinking administrative failures may be the simplest explanation here. Thanks for your input.