Real estate

Title
n. 1) ownership of real property or personal property, which stands against the right of anyone else to claim the property. In real property, title is evidenced by a deed, judgment of distribution from an estate or other appropriate document recorded in the public records of the county.

Tax sales. Limits the circumstances under which a tax sale purchaser may terminate the purchase before conclusion and receive a refund of a part of the purchase price. Reduces the amount of the refund. Requires reinstatement and collection of any remaining delinquencies after the terminated purchase. Provides a procedure for searching the records for an alternative mailing address when service of notice of an order for the sale of property for delinquent property taxes is initially unsuccessful. Eliminates an obsolete reference to the dates when a tax sale must be held. Reduces the period before a tax sale may be conducted when property has been offered at sales without success. Prohibits a tax sale purchaser who fails to make payment and complete the sale from participating in the next succeeding tax sale in the county. Permits a tax sale to be conducted by electronic means. Provides that any civil penalty collected because a purchaser fails to pay the bid must be deposited in the county general fund and not the common school fund. Requires a purchaser of property at a tax sale to certify certain additional costs that must be paid by a redeeming property owner not earlier than 30 days after the tax sale. Requires pleadings and motions related to a defense to a judgment and order of sale to be served on the county auditor and county treasurer. Permits a county before August 1, 2007, to use the expedited sale procedures repealed by HEA 1102-2006 for property that failed to sell at a tax sale conducted before 2007.

"If you deal with mortgage security pools, and in particular the foreclosure of mortgages within such a pool, you should read today's interesting article from The New York Times: 'Foreclosures Hit a Snag For Lenders'. The article addresses federal court foreclosure litigation in Ohio and specifically an opinion by Judge Boyko dismissing fourteen cases because the plaintiff (foreclosing entity) failed to prove it had standing to pursue the cases. I located the Judge's October 1 order referenced in the article: .pdf. My colleague Chris Jacobson helped find the October 31 opinion: BoykoOpinion.pdf.

"Owners of houses or mobile homes they construct themselves still must follow Indiana health codes, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today. The appellate court overturned a trial court's ruling that a section of Indiana code exempted certain homeowners from obtaining a permit for septic systems."

"Irvine, California - At Truthful Lending dot Com we believe that the more educated you are about the mortgage and refinance process, the more likely you are to make the best decision. That's why we have a library of mortgage and refinance articles for you to read so that there are no surprises during the loan process and so that you can protect yourself against unscrupulous mortgage and refinance practices."

There's been much back-and-forth over the past few days on various discussion boards about these decisions, especially Judge Boyko's. Some assert that this is evidence of massive documentation deficiencies in the mortgage backed securitization arena. As one commentator alleged in the linked New York Times article, notes may have been "assigned" to more than one loan pool, with no actual written "assignment" ever prepared. Other consumer representatives claim that they've seen instances of what appear to be the mass production of fraudulent assignments, with one claiming that "[w"]e have one woman, with VERY unique name, acting as Notary, officer, and various other positions in six different states for over 20 different companies. Also, dozens of different 'gestations' of her 'mark' which is a simple initial to her first name." That consumer advocate vows that they will wage a scorched earth policy that challenges every bit of evidence of assignment presented, and that "EVERYTHING a lender and their counsel will now do will be questioned in our answers and NOTHING will be accepted as fact until proven up via hard evidence since so many complaints, pleadings, affidavits, and accountings are boilerplate and produced by OTHERS, not the actual LENDER or their servicer, sub servicer or special servicer!"

"The disappearance of more than $900,000 in homebuyers' money has led the state to suspend the insurance license of manager John K. Branam and order King's to stop writing new business at its nine offices in Indiana."

The Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN) is a public-private partnership of community-based organizations, government agencies, lenders, realtors, and trade associations that has devised a multi-tiered solution to Indiana’s foreclosure problem. This statewide initiative includes a targeted public awareness campaign, a telephone helpline, an educational website, and a network of local trusted advisors.

"INDIANAPOLIS -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, one of 12 government-sponsored regional banks, said it will lend $100 million in Indiana and Michigan to financial institutions to assist families facing foreclosure. The money could be used to modify or refinance mortgages. The initiative is called HomeRetain. (Star report)"