2023 New York Laws › RPP - Real Property › Article 8 - Conveyances and Mortgages › 274-A - Certificate of Principal Amount Unpaid on Mortgages of Real Property.

§  274-a.  Certificate of principal amount unpaid on mortgages of real
property. 1. The holder of a mortgage upon real property  shall  execute
and  deliver  to the owner of the real property upon which such mortgage
is a lien a written instrument setting forth the amount of the principal
of said mortgage remaining unpaid, the date to which interest  has  been
paid,  and  the amounts, if any, claimed to be unpaid upon said mortgage
for principal and interest, itemizing the same, provided, however,  that
prior  written demand by registered or certified mail has been made upon
the holder of such mortgage by such owner of the real property and  that
such  owner  of  the  real property shall have executed and delivered to
another a written contract to convey, or shall have received  a  written
commitment  to  make  a  mortgage  loan  upon,  the  real property or an
interest therein. The written instrument hereinbefore  required  of  the
holder  of  the  mortgage  shall  be  a  certificate  duly  executed and
acknowledged in the  same  manner  as  required  by  law  to  entitle  a
conveyance  of real property to be recorded, except that a bank, savings
bank, private banker, trust company, savings and loan association or any
other banking organization, as defined in the banking  law,  a  national
bank   or   trust   company   or   any   other   federally-chartered  or
federally-regulated  savings  and  loan  association  or  other  banking
institution  and  an  insurance company duly organized or licensed to do
business in this state under the insurance law of  this  state  and  the
state  of  New York, or an agency thereof and a political subdivision of
the state of New York or an agency thereof may,  in  lieu  of  the  said
certificate,  furnish  a  letter signed by a duly authorized officer, or
employee or agent, containing the information required to be  set  forth
in  such  certificate. An owner of real property who shall have complied
with the foregoing requirements and who  shall  not  have  received  the
written instrument from the holder of the mortgage thereon within twenty
days  after  such  compliance  shall  be entitled to petition a court of
competent jurisdiction  for  an  order  requiring  such  holder  of  the
mortgage to comply with this section.
2.   (a)   The  mortgagee  of  an  owner-occupied,  one-to-six  family
residential structure or residential  condominium  unit,  shall  deliver
within  thirty  days,  any  mortgage  related documents to an authorized
individual making a bona fide written demand  for  such  documents.  The
mortgagee shall not charge for providing the mortgage-related documents,
provided,  however,  the  mortgagee  may  charge  not  more  than twenty
dollars, or such amount  as  may  be  fixed  by  the  superintendent  of
financial  services, for each subsequent payoff statement provided under
this subdivision. If the mortgagee fails to deliver the mortgage-related
documents, the mortgagee shall be liable for the actual damages  to  the
mortgagor  by  reason  of  such failure. In computing actual damages the
court may consider the actual rate of interest on the mortgage debt  and
current  prevailing  rate  or  rates  of  interest  on comparable debts.
However, actual damages do not include pain  and  suffering,  mental  or
emotional  distress  or  the  like.    The  replacement  costs of a lost
abstract of title required to be delivered hereunder,  may  be  deducted
from the amount required to satisfy the mortgage.
(b) When used in this section:
(i)  "Authorized  individual"  means  the  mortgagor,  the mortgagor's
attorney, or the attorney representing a banking organization which  has
agreed  to  make  a  loan secured by the same real property securing the
mortgage for which the mortgage related documents have been requested.
(ii) "Mortgagee" means (1) the  current  holder  of  the  mortgage  of
record  or  the  current  holder of the mortgage, (2) any person to whom
payments are required to be made and (3) their personal representatives,
successors and assigns.
(iii) "Bona fide written demand" means a written  demand  made  by  an
authorized  individual  in  connection with a sale or refinancing of the
mortgaged property or some other event where the mortgage is  reasonably
expected  to  be  paid  off  or  assigned.  Such  demand shall either be
delivered  personally,  or  by  registered  or  certified  mail, postage
prepaid, return receipt requested. The demand shall include the names of
the mortgagor and mortgagee, the address of the mortgaged property, loan
number, the date of the mortgage  or  the  date  it  was  recorded,  the
mortgage related documents demanded and the proposed payoff date or date
of  assignment  of the mortgage, if applicable. If the demand includes a
request for  the  abstract  of  title,  the  demand  shall  include  the
agreement  by  the mortgagor to pay for a replacement abstract of title,
the cost of which may not exceed the actual  replacement  cost  of  such
abstract of title, in the event that the mortgage is not paid off or the
abstract  of  title  is  not returned within thirty days of the proposed
payoff date. Such demand shall include the following in capital letters:
"THIS DEMAND IS MADE UNDER SECTION 274-a OF THE REAL PROPERTY LAW.
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS DEMAND MAY RESULT IN SEVERE PENALTIES."
(iv) "Mortgage-related documents" means:
(1) the abstract of title for the real property securing the  mortgage
if  such  document is in the possession and control of the mortgagee. In
the event that the mortgage is not paid off, the  authorized  individual
receiving the abstract of title shall within thirty days of the proposed
payoff  date  return  the  abstract  of  title to the mortgagee or other
person so designated by the mortgagee; upon a failure to so  return  the
abstract  of  title,  the mortgagee may obtain a replacement abstract of
title, the cost of which may not exceed the actual replacement  cost  of
such abstract of title and which shall be paid by the mortgagor;
(2)  a  payoff  statement  setting  forth the balance of the mortgage,
including principal, interest and other charges assessed pursuant to the
loan documents, together with a per  diem  rate  for  interest  accruing
after  the  date  to  which  the balance has been calculated. The payoff
statement may, in the event that the statement reflects  payments  which
may  have  not  yet cleared, require the authorized individual to obtain
from the mortgagee a day of payoff verification of the payoff statement.
A payoff statement requiring day of payoff verification  shall  include,
in addition to the address of the mortgagee, the telephone number of the
mortgagee  and,  if  a  banking organization or corporation, the name or
department, and its telephone number and facsimile phone number.  Unless
the  payoff statement requires a day of payoff verification, a mortgagee
furnishing a payoff statement shall be obligated to make its best effort
to furnish a satisfaction of mortgage upon receipt  of  the  amount  set
forth  in  such  statement  unless such person subsequently notifies the
authorized individual of an error in the payoff  statement.  The  payoff
statement furnished by a mortgagee shall include a name or department in
addition  to  the address of the banking organization or corporation for
use in connection with preparation of  an  affidavit  under  subdivision
five of section nineteen hundred twenty-one of the real property actions
and proceedings law;
(3)  if  requested  and  if  the  title  insurance  policy  is  in the
possession and control of the mortgagee, a copy  of  such  policy  or  a
statement  setting  forth the name of the insurer and the number of such
policy.
(v) "Banking organization" shall have the same meaning as provided  in
subdivision  eleven  of section two of the banking law and shall include
any institution chartered or licensed by the United States or any state.