§ 274-A — Certificate of principal amount unpaid on mortgages of real property

§ 274-a. Certificate of principal amount unpaid on mortgages of real\nproperty. 1. The holder of a mortgage upon real property shall execute\nand deliver to the owner of the real property upon which such mortgage\nis a lien a written instrument setting forth the amount of the principal\nof said mortgage remaining unpaid, the date to which interest has been\npaid, and the amounts, if any, claimed to be unpaid upon said mortgage\nfor principal and interest, itemizing the same, provided, however, that\nprior written demand by registered or certified mail has been made upon\nthe holder of such mortgage by such owner of the real property and that\nsuch owner of the real property shall have executed and delivered to\nanother a written contract to convey, or shall have received a written\ncommitment to make a mortgage loan upon, the real property or an\ninterest therein. The written instrument hereinbefore required of the\nholder of the mortgage shall be a certificate duly executed and\nacknowledged in the same manner as required by law to entitle a\nconveyance of real property to be recorded, except that a bank, savings\nbank, private banker, trust company, savings and loan association or any\nother banking organization, as defined in the banking law, a national\nbank or trust company or any other federally-chartered or\nfederally-regulated savings and loan association or other banking\ninstitution and an insurance company duly organized or licensed to do\nbusiness in this state under the insurance law of this state and the\nstate of New York, or an agency thereof and a political subdivision of\nthe state of New York or an agency thereof may, in lieu of the said\ncertificate, furnish a letter signed by a duly authorized officer, or\nemployee or agent, containing the information required to be set forth\nin such certificate. An owner of real property who shall have complied\nwith the foregoing requirements and who shall not have received the\nwritten instrument from the holder of the mortgage thereon within twenty\ndays after such compliance shall be entitled to petition a court of\ncompetent jurisdiction for an order requiring such holder of the\nmortgage to comply with this section.\n 2. (a) The mortgagee of an owner-occupied, one-to-six family\nresidential structure or residential condominium unit, shall deliver\nwithin thirty days, any mortgage related documents to an authorized\nindividual making a bona fide written demand for such documents. The\nmortgagee shall not charge for providing the mortgage-related documents,\nprovided, however, the mortgagee may charge not more than twenty\ndollars, or such amount as may be fixed by the superintendent of\nfinancial services, for each subsequent payoff statement provided under\nthis subdivision. If the mortgagee fails to deliver the mortgage-related\ndocuments, the mortgagee shall be liable for the actual damages to the\nmortgagor by reason of such failure. In computing actual damages the\ncourt may consider the actual rate of interest on the mortgage debt and\ncurrent prevailing rate or rates of interest on comparable debts.\nHowever, actual damages do not include pain and suffering, mental or\nemotional distress or the like. The replacement costs of a lost\nabstract of title required to be delivered hereunder, may be deducted\nfrom the amount required to satisfy the mortgage.\n (b) When used in this section:\n (i) "Authorized individual" means the mortgagor, the mortgagor's\nattorney, or the attorney representing a banking organization which has\nagreed to make a loan secured by the same real property securing the\nmortgage for which the mortgage related documents have been requested.\n (ii) "Mortgagee" means (1) the current holder of the mortgage of\nrecord or the current holder of the mortgage, (2) any person to whom\npayments are required to be made and (3) their personal representatives,\nsuccessors and assigns.\n (iii) "Bona fide written demand" means a written demand made by an\nauthorized individual in connection with a sale or refinancing of the\nmortgaged property or some other event where the mortgage is reasonably\nexpected to be paid off or assigned. Such demand shall either be\ndelivered personally, or by registered or certified mail, postage\nprepaid, return receipt requested. The demand shall include the names of\nthe mortgagor and mortgagee, the address of the mortgaged property, loan\nnumber, the date of the mortgage or the date it was recorded, the\nmortgage related documents demanded and the proposed payoff date or date\nof assignment of the mortgage, if applicable. If the demand includes a\nrequest for the abstract of title, the demand shall include the\nagreement by the mortgagor to pay for a replacement abstract of title,\nthe cost of which may not exceed the actual replacement cost of such\nabstract of title, in the event that the mortgage is not paid off or the\nabstract of title is not returned within thirty days of the proposed\npayoff date. Such demand shall include the following in capital letters:\n "THIS DEMAND IS MADE UNDER SECTION 274-a OF THE REAL PROPERTY LAW.\n FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS DEMAND MAY RESULT IN SEVERE PENALTIES."\n (iv) "Mortgage-related documents" means:\n (1) the abstract of title for the real property securing the mortgage\nif such document is in the possession and control of the mortgagee. In\nthe event that the mortgage is not paid off, the authorized individual\nreceiving the abstract of title shall within thirty days of the proposed\npayoff date return the abstract of title to the mortgagee or other\nperson so designated by the mortgagee; upon a failure to so return the\nabstract of title, the mortgagee may obtain a replacement abstract of\ntitle, the cost of which may not exceed the actual replacement cost of\nsuch abstract of title and which shall be paid by the mortgagor;\n (2) a payoff statement setting forth the balance of the mortgage,\nincluding principal, interest and other charges assessed pursuant to the\nloan documents, together with a per diem rate for interest accruing\nafter the date to which the balance has been calculated. The payoff\nstatement may, in the event that the statement reflects payments which\nmay have not yet cleared, require the authorized individual to obtain\nfrom the mortgagee a day of payoff verification of the payoff statement.\nA payoff statement requiring day of payoff verification shall include,\nin addition to the address of the mortgagee, the telephone number of the\nmortgagee and, if a banking organization or corporation, the name or\ndepartment, and its telephone number and facsimile phone number. Unless\nthe payoff statement requires a day of payoff verification, a mortgagee\nfurnishing a payoff statement shall be obligated to make its best effort\nto furnish a satisfaction of mortgage upon receipt of the amount set\nforth in such statement unless such person subsequently notifies the\nauthorized individual of an error in the payoff statement. The payoff\nstatement furnished by a mortgagee shall include a name or department in\naddition to the address of the banking organization or corporation for\nuse in connection with preparation of an affidavit under subdivision\nfive of section nineteen hundred twenty-one of the real property actions\nand proceedings law;\n (3) if requested and if the title insurance policy is in the\npossession and control of the mortgagee, a copy of such policy or a\nstatement setting forth the name of the insurer and the number of such\npolicy.\n (v) "Banking organization" shall have the same meaning as provided in\nsubdivision eleven of section two of the banking law and shall include\nany institution chartered or licensed by the United States or any state.\n