Section 54:5-98.1 - Information prominently displayed, property owner rights, foreclosurea. In actions commenced pursuant to subsection a. of R.S. 54:5-86, the holder of the tax sale certificate shall provide to the owner of the property, in writing, with the summons and complaint for foreclosure, information prominently displayed in bold face type that states that the owner of the property being foreclosed has the right to demand, in writing to the Superior Court before the date that the final judgment is entered, that the foreclosure proceed to a judicial sale as in the manner of the foreclosure of a mortgage or an Internet auction of the property, through the office of the county sheriff.In the event that all costs and reasonable attorney's fees are not recovered through the judicial sale as in the manner of the foreclosure of a mortgage or the Internet auction through the office of the county sheriff, the holder of the tax sale certificate shall have a first lien paramount to any other lien on any surplus funds and shall be entitled to apply to the Superior Court to recover any unpaid costs or attorney's fees. The attorney shall be required to record a Statewide judgment lien for the outstanding attorney's fees.
b. In the event that the owner, or the owner's heirs, has demanded a judicial sale as in the manner of the foreclosure of a mortgage or an Internet auction through the office of the county sheriff, the holder of the tax sale certificate, whether a municipality or third-party investor, shall be entitled to a first lien on any surplus funds that are deposited in the Superior Court by the sheriff, in the amount of 10 percent of the surplus funds, to cover administrative costs related to the foreclosure action, not to exceed $5,000.c. As used in this section, "surplus funds" shall have the same meaning as set forth in R.S. 54:5-87.Added by L. 2024, c. 39,s. 6, eff. 7/10/2024, app. to any tax lien for which the right of redemption has not been foreclosed as of the effective date of this act. This act shall have no effect on any foreclosure action in which a final judgment has been entered prior to the effective date of this act.