Agonizing new question for buyers of foreclosures: Do I really own my home now?
Sorry for the hype, but I think it's justified here.
The next shoe is poised to drop in the ever expanding foreclosure mess.
And this time, the shock waves could hit average buyers and small time investors alike who took a chance and bought bank-owned homes or condos. Or at least they thought they were owned by the bank.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial ruled last month that banks can't foreclose if they don't own the mortgage.
Now the SJC is back again. This time state's highest court is getting ready to hear a potentially landmark case which deals with whether the buyer of foreclosed condos in Haverhill ever really held a valid title to the property, Bloomberg reports.
Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the implications of this one.
A lower court ruling in August found the buyer in Haverhill never really had title to the condos because U.S. Bancorp didn't actually own the mortgage itself when it foreclosed.
While some make call this a paperwork mistake, the Massachusetts Land Court took a different view, arguing the bank foreclosed on the home before the mortgage had been properly transferred into its possession.
Ironically, the case came about after the Haverhill buyer had gone to court to clear up potential title issues.
The SJC is slated to hear oral arguments in April, according to the Bloomberg article I linked to above.
All told, there have been tens of thousands of foreclosures just in Massachusetts alone over the past few years. There were more than a million nationwide in 2010.
Stay tuned.
