As defined by a NYC criminal defense Atty, Joseph Potashnik:
“An equity skimming scheme involves taking title to a property subject to an existing mortgage that is in default. The buyer makes the seller believe that the purchase is real; the seller?s equity interest or other value in real property is converted to the buyer who then fails to make payments, diverts the equity, and leaves the seller with a loss.”
The mere collecting of rents and not paying the mtg of a property that one owns is NOT equity skimming. I personally see it as theft, but no one had coronated me King yet.
Need help w/info for Brooklyn, NY - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on August 09, 2010 at 14:25:00:
I have a family member in a difficult tenant situation in NY. She is one of 3
roommates. One of her roommates leased and paid for entire apt. for the
entire year up front.
They are one month into their lease and they received something on the door
about a foreclosure. They asked the leasing agent about it and she said it
simply “wasn’t true.” No offense to leasing agents but I’ve seen them lie and
/or be totally uninformed before.
The roommates are young adults, none of whom understand what they
received and do not have any copies to show me. Can someone point me to
any online court or recorder info where I can check the status of a possible
foreclosure.
Do you know exsacly what the paper said? Maybe they are in default as of now and it is to soon to assume anything? Speak to the owner directly, or demand a letter from the owner. Go to NYC Department of Finance and look up the property on public records or if that does not help call 311 and ask them. Hope this helps bye
I am in Upstate NY.The Lis Pendons is filed at the county.I can’t help with how to find it because where I am I just go to the county myself and pull it up.A foreclosue in New York state typically takes over 1 year to complete.In the past the foreclosure was typically started after the third payment was missed,but now the banks seem so overwhelmed no way to estimate.I would not be surprised to see Thanksgiving 2011 before the bank gets the house assuming they are on a schedule typical of upstate.What the landlord has done is called equity skimming nowdays and this is a very liberal state.I think the District Attorney may be willing to help.
Equity Skimming… just because a property owner is collecting rent and NOT paying the mtg, doesn’t equal equity skimming. The “intent” is the issue. One has to have purchased the property with idea of collecting rent and NOT paying the mtg payment and equity skimming is usally limited to the first year or slightly more of a mtg or new ownership.
So if an owner falls into default, has owned the property for a couple of years or more, and is still collecting rents and doesn’t pay the mtg payment, it may not be a criminal event and it may not be equity skimming. As much as I personally think it should be, those are simply the facts, Ma’am.
Re: Need help w/info for Brooklyn, NY - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on August 10, 2010 at 13:53:34:
Thanks for the link IB. I was able to check property records and recorded
docs for the property. But I am unsure how foreclosure in NY works. I
thought it was judicial, so wouldn’t I need to check courts to see if
anything is filed? Truly working out of my zone when it comes to
foreclosures in other states. Kristine
This is a very liberal state.Personally I believe the owner should be able to collect the rent until he no longer owns it but in this case it sounds like the owner collected a years rent knowing he was behind on the payments.I believe this fits the definition of equity skimming.What I do not understand is do folks think the tenant should be able to live for free? or just where should the rent go?It certaintly is not in the best interest of the neighborhood for a house to go empty for an extended length of time
Yes it’s judicial and should be online. However, I’m not that faimiliar with ny state. Have you checked www.netronline.com ? I’m going to email you with another resource that may be of more assistance(competes with creonline).
