HB 1537 Summary

• Reduces timeframe for creditors to file a praecipe (court order) for sheriff's sale from 180 days to 30 days after foreclosure judgment, or allows enforcement authorities with abatement orders to file the praecipe if creditor fails to do so.

• Requires mortgage foreclosure plaintiffs to notify the appropriate enforcement authority when filing a complaint and within 3 days if the action is withdrawn or dismissed.

• Creates new judicial process allowing enforcement authorities to petition courts for abandonment determinations before foreclosure is filed, with creditors required to file foreclosure within 90 days of court's abandonment finding.

• Establishes ten factors constituting prima facie evidence of property abandonment, including boarded windows, broken utilities, visible deterioration, and written intent statements; failure to respond to court order also constitutes prima facie evidence of abandonment.

• Effective July 1, 2013.