Thousands of Americans who have skipped years of mortgage payments and are still living in their homes may get to keep their homes without ever having to pay another dime thanks to a legal quirk, the New York Times reported today. The reason, lawyers for homeowners argue, is that the cases have dragged on too long. There are tens of thousands of homeowners who have missed more than five years of mortgage payments, many of them clustered in states like Florida, New Jersey and New York, where lenders must get judges to sign off on foreclosures. However, in a growing number of foreclosure cases filed when home prices collapsed during the financial crisis, lenders may never be able to seize the homes because the state statutes of limitations have been exceeded, according to interviews with housing lawyers and a review of state and federal court decisions.
