Posted on 12/17/2010 7:52:52 AM PST by FromLori
A funny thing happened to DeBary resident Russ Vas Dais as he was about to buy a foreclosed home: He learned the bank selling him the house didn't actually own it.
Fannie Mae had foreclosed on the property but, in an apparent paperwork problem, never took ownership.
"It was quite shocking to learn the bank didn't have title to it," said Vas Dais, who had worked in the real-estate sales and appraisal business for 18 years. "I just felt that there are a lot of incompetent professionals who aren't paying much attention. … We were trying to boost the economy by purchasing a foreclosed home, and we're getting punished for it."
Distress sales, long the darling of bargain hunters, have become the subject of so many legal missteps in recent months that buyers may be getting squeamish. News of illegally signed loan documents, of lenders pulling suspect cases off court dockets, and of title problems such as Vas Dais's appear to be dampening sales. Regular, old-fashioned home sales, meanwhile, are on the rise.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
Don’t delve into Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, that’s where so many gubbbermint jobs bees kreatud
There was a time when such would be considered Larceny and, you know, be a criminal prosecution.
We’ve become a banana republic thanks to banana ben and his crony’s.
True, but the previous owners can’t prove they owned it either. I figure then it comes down to the old adage “Possession is 9/10 of the law”. I can’t believe we’ve come down to this with home ownership now...
Expect title insurance rates to go up considerably. You might not even be able to get it on houses with a post 2008 foreclosure on the record.
FIND THE FORECLOSED HOMES IN YOUR TOWN.
1) Go to http://maps.google.com/
2) Type in an address (e,g., 6315 SE Steele St Portland OR)
3) Your options are Earth, Satellite, Map, Traffic and More. Select “More”
4) The drop down menu gives you a check box option for “Real Estate.” Check it.
5) The left column will then give you several options (You may have to select “Show Options”)
6) Uncheck the “For Sale” box.
7) Check the box marked “Foreclosure” (Should be the only box you check.)
8) Zoom Out. You’ll be surprised how many of the homes for sale are actually foreclosures or preo-foreclosure sales.
9) Zoom out even further to see the magnitude of foreclosures nationwide.
We just closed on an REO property yesterday. The title company gave the usual “We guarantee title from all KNOWN claims but nothing for unknown claims.” The bank actually gave us additional indemnification from all unknown claims including any and all claims arising from the foreclosure to include improper court filings and procedures. We have a financial guarantee that if a court were to give the property back to the owners we get all monies back and a really nice bonus. That is how sure the banks are that these claims are going nowhere.
That describes much of the US economy these days.
>We’ve become a banana republic thanks to banana ben and his crony’s.
Hey, it’s not JUST their fault.
Consider that the supreme court *spit* has declared that larceny is A-OK so long as it has the “government stamp of approval” known as ‘eminent domain.’
While the 5th Amendment says that “eminent domain” is to be for public use, the court determined that the “projected” increases in received taxes constitutes such a “public use.” {This means that EVEN IF you pay all your property-taxes and your land may, in some way, be taxed at a higher rate by some development thereon that the government can take your land and hand it to someone who will enact that development... and considering that out Corporate Tax rate will soon be the highest in the world this suggests that removing you in favor of some corporation would generate higher taxes and therefore be valid.}
Thanks Lorianne that’s a great tool I had no idea there was one that was nationwide like that.
My advice would be buy a property that’s not foreclosed if you can. There could be problems for years that could haunt buyers with those homes.
“...a lot of incompetent professionals...”
The very definition of the West Wing...and of their sorry “leader”.
Apparently fraud is ok, so long as it’s the bank doing it.
” True, but the previous owners can’t prove they owned it either. “
If I understand the situation - this also applies to home sales that *aren’t* foreclosures...
The paper trail, if it exists at all, for so many mortgages is so muddied/bent/folded/spindled/mutilated that nobody knows who holds the mortgage, who can discharge the note, and who can convey title....
Title insurance is getting more expensive now, and, eventually, may become a thing of the past.....
The banks aren’t sure they are going nowhere, but they are sure they are headed nowhere without guaranteeing these titles in order to liquidate their holdings.
After all..the big banks are still too big to fail and they have a backstop of the USG..plus maybe Fannie and Freddie(also USG).
So thank us taxpayers for guaranteeing this transaction for you. You’re welcome..thanks for investing your hard earned money.
Also..if you are selling your house and have a clean clear title with no foreclosurers in the history..or you have no mortgage; then your house should be worth more than the foreclosed house next door.
Excellant point. I bought a place from an estate here in Florida. Not for an investment becuase Florida real estate still has a long ways to drop. Just needed a second home due to family. I paid cash, clear title and no probs. If folks look they can find good estate deals for pennies on the dollar.
And in Florida do not believe a word a realtor or lawyer says! LOL
The banks tore up the paperwork and turned it into a electronic document so it could be made into financial instruments.
Its a mess
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