Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: Appeal Bond in Foreclosure Case

To answer your first question you must look to NY CPLR 5519(a)(6) which states,

"(a) Stay without court order. Service upon the adverse party of a notice of appeal or an affidavit of intention to move for permission to appeal stays all proceedings to enforce the judgment or order appealed from pending the appeal or determination on the motion for permission to appeal where:

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6. the appellant or moving party is in possession or control of real property which the judgment or order directs be conveyed or delivered, and an undertaking in a sum fixed by the court of original instance is given that the appellant or moving party will not commit or suffer to be committed any waste and that if the judgment or order appealed from, or any part of it, is affirmed, or the appeal is dismissed, the appellant or moving party shall pay the value of the use and occupancy of such property, or the part of it as to which the judgment or order is affirmed, from the taking of the appeal until the delivery of possession of the property; if the judgment or order directs the sale of mortgaged property and the payment of any deficiency, the undertaking shall also provide that the appellant or moving party shall pay any such deficiency."

Therefore, you will have to make application for an undertaking (bond) to be fixed by the Supreme Court. Since you have lived on the property for 3 years without making a mortgage payment and since the amount owed on the mortgage is $500K, I suspect that the amount of the bond will exceed $200K.

To answer your second question, if title transfers before the appeal (or stay), you would lose your rights to the house and the new owner would have the right of eviction.

Mike.