In 2016, the legislature decided that it would be smart to make larger banks and credit unions responsible for maintaining abandoned property before the property was even foreclosed on. In return, for this absurd requirement, the legislature agreed to expedite the foreclosure process for institutions holding mortgages on abandoned property.

Yours truly has always been somewhat skeptical that the fast track reforms would work but, as the first cases under this new statute begin to hit the dockets the early returns are encouraging. In fact, I’m going to highlight a recent case that I would suggest those of you responsible for managing foreclosure activity use as a template as you manage the ridiculous number of obstacles that New York continues to put in the way when it comes to foreclosing on property that borrowers can’t afford. And remember, even if you’re a credit union that doesn’t have to comply with the property maintenance requirements, these cases demonstrate how important it is for your credit union to still follow the appropriate procedures for demonstrating that a mortgage property has been abandoned in order for your credit union to be able to take advantage of this new expedited procedure.

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