This assistance interprets § 265-a of the Real Residential Or Commercial Property Law (" § 265-a"), which was embraced as part of the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act ("HETPA"). Section 265-a was adopted in 2006 to handle the growing across the country problem of deed theft, home equity theft and foreclosure rescue frauds in which third party investors, normally representing themselves as foreclosure experts, strongly pursued distressed homeowners by guaranteeing to "save" their home. As noted in the Sponsor's Memorandum of Senator Hugh Farley, the legislation was meant to resolve "2 main kinds of deceptive and violent practices in the purchase or transfer of distressed residential or commercial properties." In the very first situation, the homeowner was "misinformed or tricked into finalizing over the deed" in the belief that they "were simply getting a loan or refinancing. In the second, "the homeowner intentionally transfer the deed, with the expectation of temporarily leasing the residential or commercial property and then having the ability to buy it back, but soon discovers that the deal is structured in such a way that the property owner can not manage it. The result is that the house owner is evicted, loses the right to purchase the residential or commercial property back and loses all of the equity that had been developed up in the home."

Section 265-a consists of a number of protections versus home equity theft of a "house in foreclosure", including supplying house owners with details necessary to make a notified choice concerning the sale or transfer of the residential or commercial property, prohibition against unfair contract terms and deceit