Can a home buyer be the rightful owner a repossessed property if the bank that sold it didn’t have the right to foreclose on the original owner? Recent court rulings in Massachusetts have found that banks must be able to produce the original note to be able to foreclose.
In August, Long ruled that Bevilacqua wasn’t the property’s owner and didn’t have standing to inquire about claims. U.S. Bancorp, which sold Bevilacqua the property in 2006, conducted an invalid foreclosure because it didn’t properly own the mortgage at the time, Long said.
The mortgage transfer to U.S. Bancorp, which oversees the mortgage-backed trust containing the loan, happened after the foreclosure, Long said. All Bevilacqua had was a deed from an invalid foreclosure sale, the judge said.
Judge Long said that he had sympathy for the buyer, but that his claim was against the bank, not against the original owner.
Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/faulty-foreclosure-case-in-massachusetts-high-court-may-hurt-home-buyers.html