Sponsored by:
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
The "New Jersey Online Foreclosure Sale Act;" permits online foreclosure sales for real property.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the electronic sale of real property at foreclosure, supplementing chapter 61 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending N.J.S.2A:61-1 and N.J.S.2A:61-4.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Online Foreclosure Sale Act."
2. (New section) Any sheriff or other officer or person authorized or required by statute, court directive, or other law to conduct an electronic, online foreclosure sale of real estate, may conduct the sale in accordance with the following requirements:
a. The sheriff or other officer or person may enter into a contract with a vendor to conduct an electronic, online foreclosure sale of real estate, provided that New Jersey law governs the contract and the relationship between vendor and the officer. Any such contract shall detail the sheriffs reasonable requirements with respect to: services; fee amounts; method of charging a fee in the auction, including a sellers or buyers fee; commission or premium charged to a seller or buyer; recovery maximization; marketing; track record in creating competitive auctions that maximize recovery for the benefit of debtors and lenders; record-keeping requirements; and security requirements.
b. The sheriff or other officer or person may enter into a contract with an electronic real property foreclosure service provider through competitive contracting pursuant to P.L.1999, c.440 (C.40A:11-4.1 et seq.), without the need for a resolution by the governing body.
c. An officer, employee, or independent contractor of the vendor shall not participate in the auction.
d. All bids entered during the auction shall be visible to the public online and displayed at the time they are placed. Any maximum bid amounts provided by bidders ahead of the sale shall not be visible to the public or to the sheriff while the auction is in process until the bid is placed.
e. A sellers commission or fee charged to a sheriff or other officer or person by a vendor for conducting an electronic real property foreclosure service shall be deemed a reasonable and necessary taxable expense pursuant to N.J.S.22A:2-8. The vendor shall not charge a fee for the public to view properties for sale.
f. A vendor conducting electronic, online foreclosures may provide services related to transaction settlement and funds handling. A vendor may charge customary and reasonable fees for funds handling and transfer.
g. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, the total of all fees charged by a vendor shall not exceed $1,000 per action. The $1,000 limit pursuant to this subsection shall include but not be limited to, all administrative fees charged by a vendor, including a $50 processing fee, which a vendor shall be permitted to collect at the commencement of the sale as an administrative fee, and a sellers commission or fee pursuant to subsection e. of this section.
(2) Any fees charged by a vendor shall be taken directly from the purchasers deposit with the vendor, and any vendor fees shall not reduce or impact the sheriffs fees pursuant to N.J.S.22A:4-8.
3. N.J.S.2A:61-1 is amended to read as follows:
2A:61-1. a. When any sheriff, coroner, master, executor, administrator, guardian, commissioner, auditor or other officer or person is authorized or required by any public statute or the direction of any court of competent jurisdiction in this State to make sales of real estate, [he] that person shall, unless otherwise specially directed or authorized by law, before making the sale, give notice of the time and place of the sale by public advertisement, signed by [himself] that person, and set up in the office of the sheriff of the county or counties where the real estate is located and at the premises to be sold, at least [3] three weeks before the time appointed for the sale. The notice need not be set up at any other place. The notice of sale shall include either a diagram of the premises or a concise statement indicating the municipality, the tax lot and block and where appropriate, the street and street number, and the dimensions of the premises, as well as the number of feet to the nearest cross street. The notice of sale shall state that the diagram or concise description does not constitute a full legal description of the premises, and shall state where the full legal description can be found.
b. (1) Such officer or person shall also cause the notice to be published [4] four times, at least once a week, during [4] four consecutive weeks, in two newspapers, to be by [him] the officer or person designated[,] as follows:
(a) both printed and published in the county where the real estate to be sold is located, one of which shall be either a newspaper published at the county seat of the county or a newspaper published in the municipality in the county having the largest population according to the latest census[, or] ;
(b) one printed and published in the county and one circulating in the county, if only one daily newspaper is printed and published in the county[, or] ;
(c) one published at the county seat and one circulating in the county, if no daily newspaper is published in the county[,] ; or
(d) both circulating in the county, if no newspapers are printed and published in the county.
The first publication shall be at least 21 days prior and the last publication not more than [8] eight days prior to the time appointed for the sale of the real estate.
Whenever, in the opinion of any such officer or person, the ends of justice shall require it, or the sale being conducted by [him] the officer or person will be benefited thereby, the notice of sale may be published in three newspapers instead of two, as required by [the second paragraph] subsection b. of this section, if there be that number printed and published in the county where the real estate to be sold is located.
The officer or person so advertising in the newspapers shall be entitled therefor, in addition to his other fees, to the sum of $1.50, except where it is otherwise specifically provided.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, if the sale of property is to be conducted in an online, electronic format, the officer or person shall also publish notice of the time and place of the sale online on the Internet website at which the sale will be conducted electronically.
c. If the sale of real estate is conducted electr