Posted by Todd (MO) on March 02, 2001 at 12:17:51:
“A man may fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”
- J. Paul Getty
Owner contesting REO, anyone else been there? - Posted by oscar
Posted by oscar on March 01, 2001 at 21:56:49:
Hello all,
I just “purchased” a house through auction (a lender foreclosure) and the day after I put my money down, the trustee called me and said the owner will contest the sale, and has legal action against the auctioneers because a “receptionist” told him the auction was the day after its actual date. So it looks like my property will not make it through ratification and I simply have lost all the time (and some money for title search & etc) on this property.
Has anyone been in this position, and if so any recommendations???
Thanks!
The secret to being a successful dragon slayer… - Posted by Irwin(CA)
Posted by Irwin(CA) on March 02, 2001 at 15:13:24:
is to very carefully select your dragons.
Both Ben & Merle are right… - Posted by ken in sc
Posted by ken in sc on March 02, 2001 at 08:17:47:
Merle is right in that if the actual owner is trying to keep their house and meet their obligations I would never fight. Even if I invested some money. I invest in ads that don’t work and other things. That is just business.
However, I once had a bank that tried to challenge me legally after I was the high bidder at a foreclosure sale and had already put down a 5% deposit and spent other money. Now this was a bank and not the (former) owner. Like Ben, I did hire my attorney and fight that battle - and won! Thus, this deal just cost $1200 in legal fees more than I expected. It was still a good deal and that lawyer learned that I would not just lie down and take it. I think he was bluffing too.
I guess what I am saying is that fighting a former owner is not only bad style, but a loser in court as the judge will be sympathetic to them. So choose your fights carefully.
Re: Owner contesting REO, anyone else been there? - Posted by Troy M
Posted by Troy M on March 02, 2001 at 06:48:03:
Been there, and there’s nothing really for you to do, except watch for the property to come back to sale another time. The fight is not yours to take up (nor would you want to).
Troy M
Welcome to my month…(long) - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on March 02, 2001 at 06:26:19:
I recently took title to a nice house through tax foreclosure. A few days after judgment, I got a call from an attorney saying he was going to try to vacate the judgment. (Some people BEGIN the fight AFTER the judgment!)In NJ there are two “specialists” in this area. The one I spoke to said to fight it to the death, don’t negotiate. He said the key is to prevent the judge from being sympathetic to the property owner, therefore you need to do some due diligence, dig up town records, do a real estate asset search, have there been prior defaults, foreclosures, bankruptcies,?, Does he own other properties and are those payments in default? Can you prove that his sob story (whatever it is) is BS and he has a history of manipulating the system through bankruptcies, etc. Also the fact that you are an innocent third party getting screwed is BIG, you are a bona fide purchaser who is now being aggrieved because of the former property owner. The judge in a court of equity is going to be hesitant to screw you. I can personally attest to this strategy because as soon as I informed the former owner’s attorney that we would fight this tooth and nail, HE CAVED IN! He conceded that his case
was going nowhere and he would not file a formal challenge. HE WAS BLUFFING! If I hadn’t called his bluff, I could have walked away from a six-figure profit. I would fight it until hell freezes over.Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
Re: Owner contesting REO, anyone else been there? - Posted by Merle E Woolley
Posted by Merle E Woolley on March 02, 2001 at 06:19:17:
What would we do?
Take our lumps and start on the next one. Actually, we see it as a good thing when the home owner is able to keep the house. Sales of two of the properties we planned to bid on this week were cancelled at the last minute. And yes, we had invested time and a little money into the research.
You have a choice. Invest more time and/or money in this property or put the same time and/or money in another one. Which is most likely to give you a good return on your investment? Learn to invest your time and money in those opportunities with the greatest potential returns.
Congratulate the home owner. He/she is one of the minority today. They are trying to make it. That is their right and their responsibility. When they signed the mortgage, they made a commitment to pay it. Sounds like they are trying.
Merle
It ain’t over till it’s over…nt - Posted by Charles Steed
Posted by Charles Steed on March 01, 2001 at 23:10:00:
.
There is another side to this Merle… - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on March 02, 2001 at 07:31:31:
Merle, I respect your consistent “high road” approach and yes, there are some legitimate hard luck people who through illness, job loss or circumstances beyond their control find themselves losing their home. I agree, these people deserve some sympathy and a break.
However, I have come across some of the sleaziest, most manipulative system abusers you can imagine. One readily comes to mind, we purchased a tax lien on the home of a guy who had not paid a dime of his mortgage or taxes in TEN YEARS! He utilized every trick in the book; bogus countersuits, multiple bankruptcies, perjury. This guy was a professional system abuser. He spent more time and money on attorneys and delay tactics than he would have in paying his debts. He countersued his mortgage holder, not a big bank but a private lender who had the misfortune of being ensnared in this guy’s web. Then when he ran out of excuses he would blame his attorneys, filing ethics complaints and legal malpractice claims. My lien thankfully was paid by the private mortgage holder and he took over the foreclosure, so I got out clean. The mortgagee is the guy I feel sorry for, he is already so far under water as a result of advancing tax payments, supporting this bum for ten years, and paying exorbitant litigation costs, that he may never fully recover. Last I heard this guy was STILL in the house. Forgive my sarcasm Merle, but I will not be congratulating him any time soon. He and his ilk are the reason MY property taxes are at an all time high.
Thanks for responding to my question - Posted by Oscar
Posted by Oscar on March 02, 2001 at 19:00:25:
Thank you all very much for your responses!! The owners is actually claiming that he didn’t know his house was being foreclosed on while he was “out of town”. But the thing is, he doesn’t actually live there anymore after his divorce. He said a few interesting things like, I didnt open my mail (to see the foreclosure notices), and the one that kills me is that what did he expect to happen when he didnt make his payments??? I guess the toothferry was supposed to make them! Thanks again!
Re: There is another side to this Merle… - Posted by Merle E Woolley
Posted by Merle E Woolley on March 02, 2001 at 18:53:58:
I appreciate your thoughts, Ben. And, Yes, I have too ran across the types of people you mention. In this post, nothing was said to indicate he was dealing with one of these. He said the owner was misinformed about the sale date and thus trying to do something about it. I intended my remarks in response to his situation.
As far as the guys you refer to … I guess we can either try to change them, get even, or do our best to avoid them. It’s been my experience that the most profitable of these is avoidance. When that cannot be done, minimize the involvement. Weigh the potential loss you might incur by walking away against the potential profit you might make by devoting the effort to another project. So often, these things can be like a leaky bucket … no matter how you put into it, it still leaks out the bottom.
Oh, and by the way, I would not congratulate your person either. That was meant for the person who somehow managed to pull himself out of serious trouble and deal with his responsibilities. I’d like to see more of them. We could find another way to make money.
Have a GREAT day!
Merle