Facing Foreclosure in New Jersey? Your Options

Can you still save your house from foreclosure in New Jersey?

Often, yes. New Jersey is a judicial foreclosure state: the lender must go through the Superior Court, and the law gives you chances to catch up, negotiate or sell at almost every step. Do these this week.

1. Call a free housing counselor. The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) offers free HUD-certified counseling to owner-occupants of one to four unit homes who are behind or close to it, even before a lawsuit. Call 609-278-7508 or use NJHMFA's counselor list.
2. Do not ignore court papers. Being served starts two clocks: 35 days to answer and 60 days to request mediation.
3. Apply to your servicer for help. A complete application sent more than 37 days before a sale stops most servicers from holding the sale until they decide on it (small servicers are exempt).
4. Get legal advice. Legal Services of New Jersey (732-572-9100) can point you to a regional office if you qualify, and most county bar associations run a lawyer referral service.
5. Know your equity. Get an agent's price opinion and a written cash offer to compare options with real numbers.

How does foreclosure work in New Jersey, step by step?

1. Notice of Intention to Foreclose. Under the Fair Foreclosure Act, the lender mails this by registered or certified mail before suing. It must state what you owe, your cure date, that you may sell or transfer the house, where to find legal and financial help, and that free counseling and court mediation are available.
2. Complaint and summons. The lender files with the Office of Foreclosure, part of the Superior Court Clerk's Office in Trenton, and serves you. You can still cure after the case starts, but you will also owe the lender's allowed court costs and attorney fees.
3. Your answer. A contesting answer sends the case to a judge in your county (the filing fee is $175, and you can ask for a waiver). With no answer, or no contest, the case stays with the Office of Foreclosure.
4. A final chance to cure. Before asking for a default, the lender must send one more letter giving you a chance to cure.
5. Final judgment and writ. If the default is not cured, the court enters final judgment, and a writ of execution tells the county sheriff to sell the house at auction.
6. Notice of sale. The notice must be mailed to you in an envelope plainly marked as a sale notice, and the upset price (the lender's minimum) must be posted on the sheriff's website.
7. The sale and the 10 days after. The winning bidder pays a 20 percent deposit, and you have 10 days to redeem or object through the court. The buyer still needs the deed and a court writ of possession before anyone can be removed.

What are the deadlines at each stage?

What free help is there in New Jersey?

Both of these are free to homeowners.

• The Judiciary's Foreclosure Mediation Program. A neutral mediator helps you and the lender look for a workable deal. You qualify if the house is your primary residence and a one to four family home in an active mortgage foreclosure, all borrowers take part, you are not in bankruptcy and you work with a counselor. File the Mediation Request Statement (form CN 11270) within 60 days of being served. After that you need a court order. Mediation does not cover tax liens or condo and homeowner association liens, and it does not stop the lender from moving ahead.
• NJHMFA housing counseling. Counselors help with a budget, an action plan and talks with your lender: 609-278-7508. For Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties, NJHMFA lists Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling, NJ Citizen Action, Clarifi, Navicore and Consolidated Credit Solution.

For questions about your case, the Office of Foreclosure's line is 609-421-6100. Staff can explain procedures but cannot give legal advice.

How do you delay a sheriff sale in New Jersey?

• Ask the sheriff. State law allows five adjournments: two at your request, two at the lender's and one if both agree, each up to 30 days. A court can order more for cause. Each county has its own form and fee.
• Ask the court. After your two adjournments, you can file a motion in the Chancery Division, General Equity Part in your county to stay the sale, for example for mediation (form CN 11277, with a $50 fee).
• Talk to a bankruptcy attorney. A bankruptcy filing pauses the sale until the bankruptcy court says otherwise.

Buying your own home at the sale

A law signed in January 2024 created the Community Wealth Preservation Program. If the home is a primary residence owned by an individual, the homeowner, next of kin or a tenant with financing or cash lined up can claim a right of first refusal to buy it at the upset price in the sale notice (or the final starting price, if lower). You claim it before bidding opens with a 3.5 percent deposit and have up to 90 business days to pay the rest. The program is being challenged in court, so ask your county sheriff early for the current steps.

What are all your options, including keeping the house?

Most of these have nothing to do with selling to us, and a counselor can help you weigh them for free.

The federal courts warn that you can still lose the home in Chapter 13 if you miss new payments. Forgiven debt from a short sale or deed in lieu can be taxable, so ask a tax professional.

What happens to your equity at a sheriff sale?

Equity is what the house is worth minus everything owed on it. At a sheriff sale you have no say in the price.

The lender's attorney can bid up to its upset price, which the Burlington County Sheriff describes as the judgment, interest, attorney's costs, sheriff's fees, advertising and commissions. Surplus exists only when an outside bidder pays more. It pays junior liens, such as a second mortgage, first, and the rest can go to you. The sheriff sends it to the Superior Court's Trust Fund Unit, which can take up to two months in Camden County, and you must apply for it. Consumer Affairs says you can often apply yourself for under $100, and warns about companies that take up to 75 percent.

If the sale brings less than you owe, the lender can sue you for the rest. Selling first flips all of this: you choose the buyer and the price, the closing pays the lender and other liens, and what is left is yours.

How does selling before the sheriff sale work?

You can sell any time before the sale, as long as the sale pays off the judgment or the lender approves a short sale. The Burlington County Sheriff notes that owners may sell to pay the judgment and keep any proceeds.

1. Get the payoff in writing. Ask the lender's attorney for the full payoff through your closing date, and have a title company check for tax, water and sewer liens and judgments.
2. Compare ways to sell. A listing can bring more if the house shows well and there is time. A cash buyer buys as-is and can close quickly.
3. Protect the timeline. If closing lands after the sale date, use your adjournments and ask the lender's attorney to agree to more. No one can promise extra time, so leave room.
4. Close. The title company pays the judgment and other liens, the sale is called off, and you receive what is left.

Straight talk about price: a cash, as-is offer will usually come in below what the house could bring after a full renovation and a traditional listing. That gap pays for the repairs, the buyer's risk, months of carrying costs and a closing that does not depend on a bank approving a mortgage. In return you skip repairs, cleaning, showings and commissions, and the risk of a financed buyer falling through right before the sale. We pay all the closing costs, and your written offer shows exactly what you walk away with before you sign.

How Vivid can help

Vivid Properties is a local, family-owned company based in Philadelphia that buys houses directly for cash across South Jersey, including Camden County, Burlington County and Gloucester County. Send us your sale date and we will make a fair written cash offer, usually within 24 hours, with no fees from us and no agent commissions. You pick the closing day, and a real local person answers. If mediation, a modification or a listing looks like the better move, we will say so. Ask for a cash offer.

How do sheriff sales work in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties?

Each sheriff runs its own calendar and paperwork, and sale notices are now posted on county websites.

Camden County

Sales are the first and third Wednesday of each month at noon in the Camden City Council Chambers, 2nd floor of City Hall, 520 Market Street. Your two adjournments run up to four weeks each and cost $28 each. Ask in a notarized letter, or have your attorney send a certified letter. You have 10 consecutive days after the sale to redeem, and you must ask in writing for the redemption amount. Sheriff's Sales Division: (856) 225-5531.

Burlington County

Sales are Thursdays at noon in the County Administration Building, 49 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly. Notices run for four weeks on the county's Public Notices page, and the sale happens in the fifth week unless adjourned. Ask for your two adjournments one at a time, in writing. Sheriff's Office: 609-265-5127.

Gloucester County

Sales are every other Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Ceremonial Courtroom 201 of the County Courthouse, 1 N. Broad Street, Woodbury. Request adjournments in person with the Defendant Adjournment Form and $28 each, in exact change or a money order. Sheriff's Office: 856-384-4603.

House in Pennsylvania instead? See sheriff sales in Philadelphia and PA. Inherited the house? See selling an inherited house in New Jersey.

Common questions

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your situation, talk to a New Jersey attorney or tax professional.