Toward a More Equitable Balance: Homeowner and Purchaser Tensions in Non-Judicial Foreclosure States
Abstract:
We are now facing the fifth year of the fallout from the subprime mortgage meltdown. The economic crisis gripping the United States began when large numbers of homeowners defaulted on poorly underwritten subprime mortgage loans. Through securitization, the process of utilizing mortgage loans to back investment instruments, Wall Street funded subprime originations in excess of $480 billion in each of the peak years — 2005 and 2006, thereby fueling the potential hazards should the underlying loans tank.
There is growing evidence that the parties to securitization deals handle and transfer the legally important documents that secure the resulting investments — the loan notes and mortgages — in a careless and, at times, fraudulent manner. Consequently, the foreclosing parties frequently do not possess the right to foreclose and the resulting sales may be unlawful. Defective sales harm homeowners when they lose their homes to the wrong party. Moreover, they could use the extra time afforded by a delayed or jettisoned foreclosure to find another solution, such as a loan modification or short sale. Wrongful foreclosures affect another important group, the purchasers. If title to the property is flawed as a result, those parties potentially buy nothing and can transfer nothing. Clear title to real property in the United States may be in jeopardy. The problem is most acute in non-judicial foreclosure states because doctrines of finality do not apply and state law may permit post-sale challenges.
In another article, Property Title Trouble in Non-Judicial Foreclosure States: The Ibanez Time Bomb?, 4 Wm. & Mary Bus. L. Rev. (2013) (forthcoming), available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1968504, I analyzed recent decisions from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in which the court voided sales where the foreclosing party did not possess a valid assignment of the mortgage. I summarized the foreclosure law of Massachusetts and compared it to the law in four other non-judicial foreclosure states to assess whether these opinions might be persuasive to courts in those states. I then drew conclusions as to the probability of post-sale title defects and challenges to title that purchasers could face.
In this article, I continue that discussion by exploring the rights and interests of homeowners and purchasers. I suggest specific legislative solutions that more evenly balance the interests of homeowners, purchasers, and the property recordation system.
Paper below…
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4closureFraud.org
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Toward a More Equitable Balance: Homeowner and Purchaser Tensions in Non-Judicial Foreclosure States
He will…..Help us all. …….. Crim does not pay.
same here! they forged my signature and used our identity! CA RE Broker Jill Pfieffer ruin my life, Altisource is in city of sandiego records already and eminent domain is getting closer…fraud committed writing forged deeds by Argent-Ocwen LLC-WF-Homeq-Wachovia-BNC-FLGSBK-robosigner Joan H Anderson-Chase Bank, total is=$2million+! We wanted to press charges against the wrong doers but the DA sent instead the Mental Unit to my home as a surprise visit..thank God I was not alone! since Dec 2010 we have been declaring our mortgage fraud to the authorities but corruption is to big in my opinion and that’s a shame. We encounter a home owner taking sleeping pills during the day..he lost his home..the whole family lost their home at once..like a domino effect..7 homes, 7 families in a row! how sad., and Yes, homeowners are quite depressed because we don’t have any future at all in the job market at least in my case. the constant letters that I received from Ocwen is to tell me that they have reported me already to all the credit bureau and I won’t be able to rent anywhere…Marcus Momin from Ocwen told me that we mexicans deserve to be homeless…we receive calls from India-Ocwen Altisource with intent to intimidate…they are trained to be vicious..just to hurt your feeling and make feel bad about yourself…these “debt collector” that for some reason they believe they are the “BANK” when in FACT their ARE NOT! like Ocwen Financial dba Ocwen Loan Ser. LLC–where was RESPA for us?..and where is now?…We are helping our community with all these forged deeds that are floating around now, I am not the only one in this sick and cruel mortgage fraud…but instead of being depressed, I will keep writing to people that care and don’t care about me and my family-widow+ children at home—-people that care and don’t care :Kamala Harris -Bob Filner-DA Bonnie Dumanis-MAyor Jerry Sanders-CVPD Bejarano-Mayor Cox- and all the Banks involved. I will fight for my rights, A HUGE crime has been committed in my life, identity theft is punishable by the law… according to the FTC..and the FBI—let’s see how many get arrested, at least here in my Chula Vista City..homeowner are feeling scared with eminent domain…and I don’t blame them, it’s a shame that this happened in the United States also. I lived in Mexico in the 80’s and our president Lopez Portillo nationalized EVERY Bank and they took all our “american dollars” and in return they gave us “nuevos DEVALUATED pesos” I never imagine that I would be going through a financial crisis here in “America”..the land of dreams…what a shame. God help us all!