NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10745
SPONSOR: Rules (Weinstein)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property actions and
proceedings law, in relation to required prior notices
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 1304 of the
Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL), as amended via a
prior chapter, to include reverse mortgage transactions in the defi-
nition of Home loans for purposes of residential foreclosures and
related notices.
Sections 2 and 3 amend paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 6 of
section 1304 of RPAPL, as amended via prior chapters, to include reverse
mortgage transactions in the definition of Home loans for purposes of
residential foreclosures and related notices.
Section 4: Sets an immediate effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Reverse mortgages are not currently included in the protections afforded
residential foreclosures, including receipt of pre-foreclosure notices
and entitlement to mandatory foreclosure settlement conferences.
Practitioners have been experiencing a rise in reverse mortgage foreclo-
sures. Recent media coverage has confirmed this uptick in residential
foreclosures against homeowners with reverse mortgages. The coverage
also highlights the exploitation by lenders of the vulnerabilities of
the elderly. See "Taking out a reverse mortgage ruined my life" New York
Post, July 23, 2016; and "New York Launches Reverse Mortgage Probe" New
York Post, July 29, 2016.
Because reverse mortgages are taken out by senior citizens, without the
equal protections of our laws, elderly, and largely vulnerable homeown-
ers, have few protections when faced by foreclosures filed by well-re-
sourced lenders. All homeowners should have the same protections of our
foreclosure laws, including those that have reverse mortgages. This
measure would fill the current gap in our laws.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill, 2016.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately, with amendments to take effect on the same date as amend-
ments to the related RPAPL subdivision take effect pursuant to section 6
of Part Q of chapter 73 of the laws of 2016.