New York is a judicial foreclosure state and the process can take over a year to proceed from Summons & Complaint through judgment and then auction. A homeowner has a right to redeem up and until auction, but unlike many states, there is no right of redemption after Sale (but see Bill proposing to allow right of redemption for up to 1 year post Sale.).

The New York Court of Appeal recently opined in NYCTL 1999-1 Trust v. 573 Jackson Avenue Realty Corp., 13.N.Y.3d 573 (December 15, 2009) that the definitive requirement for redeeming real property during foreclosure proceedings  is the “unconditional tender [to the foreclosing party] of the full amount due” before auction.  This general rule in mortgage foreclosure proceedings also applies to the foreclosure of a tax lien.

However, note that the Courts will exercise their broad equitable powers to void judgments and even set aside sales (extending the homeowner’s right of redemption), where homeowners are seeking to modify or reinstate their mortgages while the lender continues with the foreclosure action. Jimmy Lathrop, Esq., the Director of Foreclosure Intervention at the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, recently discussed in his blog post,  three cases where the court found that the homeowner’s good faith negotiations mandated an equitable solution and a possible complete bypass of RPAPL §1341 which defines the requirements and time frame of the borrower’s right of redemption.