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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision earlier today, which may affect foreclosures nationwide. The ruling voided seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Company and US Bancorp, after the banks failed to demonstrate they held the mortgages at the time they foreclosed on the properties. |
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Massachusetts Justice Robert Cordy, in a concurring opinion, blasted "the utter carelessness" that the banks demonstrated in documenting their right to own the properties. |
Good news Myrl! I learned about "lack of instruments" about a year ago at a short sale course and I think it may have stopped a short sale situation in it's tracks that I was working on.
Lyn - It truly is encouraging for many people facing foreclosure. I'm hopeful, this will be the beginning of similar action by the other states.
Doug and Gloria - I'm hopeful that other states will follow suit. In the past, I have written a couple blogs about troubled sellers requesting their lenders to "produce the note."
Bob - A couple years ago, I sold a Wells Fargo REO. I had concerns during that transaction - especially near the end when it was time to go to escrow to sign papers. The title company was one I hadn't heard of before and Wells Fargo had insisted on our using. Upon arrival, I found an office which had been set up 2 months prior. The furniture wasn't the usual professional looking furnishings, normally seen inside a title company. It was mix-matched and appeared in disarray. There weren't enough file cabinets to hold the files, and files were stacked waist high. They were leaning against desks, walls, etc. In all my years in this business, I never took such care reading documents before my buyer signed them, as during that signing session. I was that concerned. Afterall, title insurance is only as good as the company that issues it.
Myrl ... It's about time that something happened! While there is enough responsibility to pass around ... the carelessness of many lending institutions have done nothing to improve the situation ... just the opposite. I suspect that even in non-judicial states, we due for another round of "digging into the background." Have you noticed, that more and more on short sale listings, the tax records are inaccurate? Not due to the recorders ... but because the change of debt was never recorded ... so now it's a guess which bank you are going to be dealing with!
Jack - I have noticed some really odd rax records the past couple years. They seem to require more digging to get a more accurate picture. What I feel about the banks is those that got us into this mess, have continued to do business in wreckless ways, and have been the ones to benefit from bailouts. All at the expense of just about everyone else.
Myrl ~ Good news to pass along, thank you. I am sure there will be more states and similar judgements to follow.
Terrie - I think there will be many more too. This is just one of the first out the gate.
There are people who really deserve to have their foreclosures scrutinized, and then there are the opportunists. What I worry about with the winning of this court case is it will bring opportunists out of the woodwork.
Elizabeth - I have felt some of those same concerns as you have. However, thus far most of the opportunism has been on the part of banks. All I want is for the banks play by the rules, perform due diligence when reviewing documents, and do their homework prior to foreclosing. If they do that, there will be no opportunism on either side of the fence.
Myrl: I heard this on NPR yesterday and thought, "it's about dang time!" It's about time the homeowner, who contributes most to every improvement and program we have in every city, county, and state gets a break.
Myrl - thanks for sharing this information! It is LONG overdue and let us all hope the beginning of a trend!
How long it will take government to consider and then implement is any body's guess, at least it's a step in the right direction.
Proud to be a Bay Stater! I represented buyers in a foreclosure this past year, and it was their lawyer (whom I had recommended) who insisted that the documentation did not show they had the right to sell. Eventually, they did produce it, but it took a while. Hopefully, this will become adopted nationwide. Thanks for posting, Meryl.
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