A Long Island woman has just been awarded full ownership of her house — without any debt or liens — because the mortgage records on her home were lost, according to Newsday. After buying her home in 2000, Corliss Gittens became “distraught” to learn that none of the mortgage checks she sent her lender, Homeside Lending, were being cashed, according to her lawyer Fred Brewington. [more]

A tally of the at-risk properties, based on data from the New York City Department of Finance

The New York City Department of Finance has announced that it will notify 24,963 homeowners that they are at risk of having a lien sold on their property to a private collector, if they do not pay off outstanding property-related payments, such as real estate taxes and water or sewer charges. The list, which was also published in today’s New York Post, serves as a 90-day warning for property owners and aims to educate buyers on different payment programs available. About 80 percent of the properties on last year’s 90-day warning list avoided a lien sale, according to government records. Brooklyn led the five boroughs with the most properties on the list — approximately 11,000. Queens trailed in second place, with 7,000 properties at risk. The Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan, meanwhile, saw approximately 4,130 properties, 1,700 properties, and 1,460 properties on the list, respectively. TRD

September brought the steepest rise seen in months in filings by frustrated lenders and claims by contractors on distressed real estate properties in Manhattan, although the numbers still remain below the recent highs. The number of lenders filing mortgage-related liens, generally consisting of foreclosure lawsuits, doubled in September to 15 from August, while the number of contractors filing mechanic’s liens rose to 286 in the same time period, marking a 25 percent jump, according to new data provided to The Real Deal from research firm PropertyShark.com. While the increases in September were substantial, both figures remain below their peak levels seen in the recent down cycle. The greatest number of mortgage-related liens filed in a month was 26 in July 2008, and March 2009 saw the most activity for mechanic’s liens, when 371 were filed in Manhattan, the figures show. more

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