As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
CREDITOR
A mortgagee or an agent or assignee of a mortgagee, such
as the servicer, who has filed a complaint in the Superior Court seeking
to foreclose upon a residential or commercial mortgage. If the entity
seeking to foreclose upon the residential or commercial mortgage changes
as a result of an assignment, transfer, or otherwise after the filing
of the foreclosure complaint, the new entity shall be deemed the creditor.
The state, a political subdivision of the state, county, or local
government entity, or their agent or assignee, such as a servicer,
is not a creditor.
VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTY
A property that is not legally occupied by a mortgagor or
tenant, and which is in such condition that it cannot be legally reoccupied,
because of the presence or finding of two or more of the following:
A.
Overgrown or neglected vegetation;
B.
The accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, or mail to
the property;
C.
Disconnected gas, electric, or water utility services to the
property;
D.
The accumulation of hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances
or materials on the property;
E.
The accumulation of junk, litter, trash, or debris on the property;
F.
The absence of window treatments such as blinds, curtains, or
shutters;
G.
The absence of furnishings and personal items;
H.
Statements of neighbors, delivery persons, or government employees
indicating that the property is vacant and abandoned;
I.
Windows or entrances to the property that are boarded up or
closed off, or multiple window panes that are damaged, broken and
unrepaired;
J.
Doors to the property that are smashed through, broken off,
unhinged, or continuously unlocked;
K.
A risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or any
adjoining or adjacent property owners due to acts of vandalism, loitering,
criminal conduct, or the physical destruction or deterioration of
the property;
L.
An uncorrected violation of a Township building, housing or
similar code during the preceding year, or an order by Township authorities
declaring the property to be unfit for occupancy and to remain vacant
and unoccupied;
M.
The mortgagee or other authorized party has secured or winterized
the property due to the property being deemed vacant and unprotected
or in danger of freezing;
N.
A written statement by a mortgagor expressing the clear intent
of all mortgagors to abandon the property; or
O.
Any other reasonable indicia of abandonment.