ATTN: New York HSBC Borrowers!

If you have a home mortgage in NY state, and the lender is HSBC, listen up!! Apparently, under New York state law, before a lender can foreclose, they must file for what is called a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) within 60 days of commencing the foreclosure process. This is to possibly help homeowners avoid foreclosure. What the RJI does is to hold a judicial settlement conference between lender and borrower to allow the borrower to propose alternate methods to foreclosure on their homes. These could include loan mods or short sales, as well as other alternatives to the foreclosure to assist the homeowner retain the house. The NY state Attorney General has filed suit against HSBC alleging that the bank has failed to file the RJI's in a prompt manner (within the legal time limit), thus hindering homeowners from saving their homes from foreclosure. “Companies like HSBC are brazenly ignoring state law, leaving homeowners across New York stuck in a legal limbo where they can’t even get the legally required settlement conference that could help them keep their homes,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “For homeowners facing foreclosure, time is their greatest enemy. Every day spent waiting for a settlement conference is a day that the lender piles on additional interest, fees and penalties and the homeowner falls further behind.” According to the AG's office, over 300 cases have been identified where this has happened. These 300 cases were located in just four of New York's counties: Erie, Monroe, Suffolk and Bronx. However, if the bank has failed to do so in four counties, one must wonder if it has also done so in other parts of the state. So, the word here is: if your loan is with HSBC and you're having trouble with it, possibly facing foreclosure, you may want to contact the NY Atty. General's office and ask for some intervention on its part. As always, Good Luck.