I got the Ultimate Present this year

[ironeagle2006]

This year was looking like it was going to be one of the worst in a long line of Bad years. Then at the end of last month I get a letter from the County Clerks office where the house that had gone through Foreclosed on by the bank was in. They where wondering when I was going to pay my Past Due Property Taxes. I was like WHAT property Taxes I lost the house to the bank. They went you are so and so right your wife is Mrs so and so correct. I went yes mam to the County Clerk she went we forgot to mail you the Letter the Bank gave us stating that they RELEASED the mortgage and to give you the Deed to the Property. I went I will be there tomorrow to get Certified Copies of my Deed that Letter and the Judgement. She went Good idea. I then called the bank to Confirm all of that. They stated that yes they had Written off the Debt and returned the Property to me.

I still think I am dreaming yet I know it is real. Why because I have the deed to the house in my safe. It states I am the Legal owner free and clear.

 

[lmforbis]

Wow can't get much better.

 

[deejeff0442]

Did you still owe on the house? We lost our house maybe 8 yrs ago. Actually worked out we are now in the country and love.it .built my house with cash as i earned it so no bank is ever taking it.

 

[2quills]

So you're telling me that the bank actually sent the release of lean paperwork to the court?

Did they ever file a substitute trustee deed in the first place when they took the house back?

The deed should have been in your name to begin with.. Maybe the forclosure never got finalized and the court is just looking to get the back taxes still owed.

Something doesn't sound right here.

 

[flower]

This year was looking like it was going to be one of the worst in a long line of Bad years. Then at the end of last month I get a letter from the County Clerks office where the house that had gone through Foreclosed on by the bank was in. They where wondering when I was going to pay my Past Due Property Taxes. I was like WHAT property Taxes I lost the house to the bank. They went you are so and so right your wife is Mrs so and so correct. I went yes mam to the County Clerk she went we forgot to mail you the Letter the Bank gave us stating that they RELEASED the mortgage and to give you the Deed to the Property. I went I will be there tomorrow to get Certified Copies of my Deed that Letter and the Judgement. She went Good idea. I then called the bank to Confirm all of that. They stated that yes they had Written off the Debt and returned the Property to me.

I still think I am dreaming yet I know it is real. Why because I have the deed to the house in my safe. It states I am the Legal owner free and clear.

I hope it all pans out like it sounds. How wonderful for you!

 

[2quills]

That would be a pretty sweet Christmas gift haha.

Hey, man. As it turns out your situation may not be unique. After the real estate crash there were aparently some lenders that were so over whelmed with the sheer amount of forclosures that some of them opted to cut some of their loses.

They either went out of business or opted not to take back the properties or gave them away vs being responsible for the taxes.

Some banks still haven't even foreclosed on some properties from several years ago that people are still living in without paying.

Pretty crazy.

 

[ironeagle2006]

The only Deed at all the County has is the a one I have a Certified Copy off in my safe. I have done multiple Title Searches for liens online helps having a family member in Real Estate that owes me a Few Hundred Favors she pulled the Property Tax Listing to check and it is Free and Clear both on an Address and on a Tax ID Listing.

 

[2quills]

Well the tax listing isn't suprising. My wife is in the same business.

My question really would be, did the bank ever forclose in the first place? If they simply haven't gotten around to it or made a mistake then that can cause some major headaches for you don't the road as they legal could still come back for the house if they ever audit the files and realize their mistake. Some states have no statue of limitations on when a bank actually has to file the forclosure. That could really screw you up later if you go to buy another house.

IF they simply haven't filed it makes perfect sense why the taxes are still listed under your name.

On the other hand if they took the has and put it back in their name and couldn't get it sold fast enough it is possible they deeded the property back to you. But I don't see how they can do that without signatures.

But as long as no one is living there now I don't see what would stop you from moving back in.

 

[beth]

If he has a deed of ownership in his name, then doesn't that make him the clear owner? If the bank was still the owner, then that would be on the deed.

 

[2quills]

If he has a deed of ownership in his name, then doesn't that make him the clear owner? If the band was still the owner, then that would be on the deed.

When you finance a house the deed is automatically set up in your name. So you're the rightfull owner of the property from day one. Bank is on the paper work as the lean holder and the house is collateral for the loan.

Only through forclosure can the bank take the house and put it in their name.

Once that happens I doubt they'd sign it back to them without their knowledge.

What most likely happened is the forclosure was never finalized and the deed has stayed in their name the whole time. States like texas and many others have no statute of limitations saying when a bank actually has to file the forclosure, if ever.

In many cases it's been used as a loop hole for lenders who don't want the property back to avoid paying taxes on it if they don't think they can get it sold in a reasonable amount of time for the money they want. This can drag on for years and turn into a mess for the buyer who is left responsible for the taxes in the eyes of the state, county or court.

Typicall, most banks don't trust people to save and pay their taxes in one lump sum at the end of the year. So there is a trust (escrow account) set up in the beginning. Tax payments are spread out and added to your monthly payment. A portion pays the actual mortgage to the bank and the rest goes into escrow. Taxes are paid at the end of the year out of the escrow account which is supposed to be a seperate entity between yourself and the bank.

The bank could have intentially cut their losses and simply forfeit the property on purpose or it could have been a mistake.

Meanwhile, in the courts eyes, the buyer still owns it and is still responsible for taxes.

 

[beth]

So, how do you find out for sure if the house belongs to you clear? Title search? I'd get a real estate lawyer to clear the whole thing up. Otherwise, you may do renos, or try to sell in the future and spending a lot of money on the house to find out the bank owns it.

 

[2quills]

Basically, what he's done already. It's all public record. If he goes to the county appraisal districts website and types in the adress it will say whos name the house is listed under. It should also have the lender listed. But if his family member did that already and it is truly clear with no lender listed then rightfully the property should be his.

But, there could always be a catch. Sometimes, the county tax collectors office can be many months behind in filing all of the necessary paperwork into their systems from the courts according to what my wife is saying. But I doubt this is the case here since it's been a while.

However, there can still be catches.

In my wife's case she works for a group who are buyers, sellers and lenders all in one.

When she first went to work there she knew she was coming in to fix someone else's mess. These guys hold the leans on over 400 houses in the area.

There were dozens of properties that had been forclosed on and re sold. However, the previous office staff neglected the file new deeds in the new buyers names. So new people were living there while the tax collectors office was unaware of the change. And she spent the better part of her first two years cleaning up the mess and filing the new deeds for the people who were completely unaware they should have been holding the deed to begin with. The lenders (investors) almost got in big trouble for it too had my wife not come in and started auditing every file on every property and already begun correcting it.

I'd check my credit to see if the forclosure ever hit. Find out if anyone is living in the house now. And call the bank and ask to speak with someone in charge to find out exactly what happened and why. Probably contact a realestate/mortgage attorny and ask some questions.

Technically, if the lender made a mistake and filed a Release of Lean, instead of a SubstituteTrustee Deed in lieu of forclosure they could still send their attorneys after the property and ultimately get it in the end. But probably not without some penalties. And they might have to hire their own lawyer to hold the lender liable for the back taxes.

 

[2quills]

From what I understand when a bank takes a house back they don't necessarily file a new deed in the banks name. According to my wife, typically after a forclosure the deed stays in the old buyers name until the house is re sold and a new deed is filed for the new buyer.

The bank doesn't have to file a deed in their name once they get the substitute trustee deed paperwork from the court.

 

[ironeagle2006]

They never Filed at all for a Sub Deed at all. Title search showed only one Deed at all issued in the last 6 Years. When we bought the house. All I have to do is pay my back Taxes a total of 1150 Bucks which I can in March. Also I asked 3 times at the County Clerks and Recorders of deeds what would happen if someone called and asked IF they claimed they owned the house. They said if their names do NOT match yours WE WILL TELL THEM TO POUND SAND. Very small county in IL very Conservative and also very and I mean Very Pro Property Homeowner listed on the Deed. Lets just say these guys REFUSED to grant a TIF to Walmart for a Supercenter in the County Seat and Wally World Still built the Biggest model of Super Center they do. We are the only County in IL with Property Tax Caps frozen at 3% max of House value Only one where if they redo what your Property is worth they better have one HELL of a reason. They threw out a county clerk in this county for stealing 200 dollars in county money. Where my mother lives the County Board spent 400 Grand on a Software program for the Health Department that NEVER worked and the People did not say anything.

 

[2quills]

Sounds more and more like the bank simply forfeit their claim to the property because they didn't want it back.

Congratulations!

I'd probably still contact an attorney for a freef consultation for my own peace of mind. But even if it was a mistake on their part you could probably make things so tough on them that it wouldn't be worth the fight.