New York Foreclosure Help: Know Your Timeline, Know Your Equity
The earlier you act, the more options you may have.
New York gives homeowners more process than almost any state
Every residential mortgage foreclosure in New York goes through court. There is no non-judicial track. On top of that, New York layers on two protections that most states do not have at all: a 90-day pre-foreclosure notice and a mandatory settlement conference.
The result is one of the longest foreclosure timelines in the country — commonly two to four years from the first missed payment, and longer downstate. That is time, and time is the resource most homeowners in trouble actually need.
The 90-day notice comes first
Before a lender or servicer can sue, it must send you a 90-day notice under RPAPL 1304. The requirements are exacting: registered or certified mail and separately by first-class mail, in its own envelope with nothing else in it, in at least 14-point type, sent to the property and to every other address of record.
It must state what you owe, that you could lose your home, that you have 90 days to cure, and it must list HUD-approved housing counseling agencies serving your area. This is a condition precedent — a defective 1304 notice routinely gets foreclosure cases dismissed outright. Keep the envelope.
The settlement conference is mandatory
Once the case is filed, the court must hold a settlement conference within 60 days after proof of service is filed with the county clerk. It applies to residential foreclosures where you live in the property.
Both sides are required to negotiate in good faith, and the court must advise unrepresented homeowners of their rights and assess whether they qualify for appointed counsel. Show up. This conference is where loan modifications, forbearance and realistic exit plans actually get negotiated in New York.
After the sale, and the 90-day deficiency rule
New York has no post-sale redemption period. Your right to reinstate runs only until final judgment, and the equity of redemption is extinguished at the sale.
On deficiency, New York is protective: the lender must move within 90 days after the deed is delivered, and the court fixes the property's fair market value — the deficiency is the debt minus the higher of the sale price or that court-determined value. If no motion is made within 90 days, the sale proceeds are deemed full satisfaction of the debt and no deficiency can be recovered.
What this means if you are behind in New York
The Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, effective at the end of 2022, tightened the six-year statute of limitations and ended the practice of discontinuing and re-filing to restart the clock. Combined with the 1304 notice and the settlement conference, New York homeowners have real leverage — but only if they engage with the process rather than avoid it.
The long timeline also means New York equity keeps building while a case is pending. Knowing what the property is worth, and what a sale on your own terms would net, changes what you should be asking for at that settlement conference.
A note on what this page is
This is general information about how the foreclosure process works in this state. It is not legal advice and it is not a prediction about your loan. Timelines vary by lender, by servicer, by county and by the specifics of your file, and the law changes. If you are facing foreclosure, a conversation with an attorney licensed in your state about your particular situation is time well spent — and a confidential review with us costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
Understand your value. Know your equity. Review your options.
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