Warranty Deed Fraud - Posted by Chris

Real Estate Investing Real Estate Law
1

Posted by William Bronchick on October 27, 2003 at 19:38:57:

He did commit fraud, but you’ve got a practical issue - the new buyer’s potentially superior ownership.

The race-notice recording rule is that the deed must be recorded FIRST by a BONA-FIDE buyer.

To be bonafide, the buyer must have:

  1. Paid value
  2. Have had no actual or constructive knowledge of a previous transfer
  3. Record first in good faith

If you can prove any of the 3 to be untrue, you would defeat his ownership.

Time to do some investigation…

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Warranty Deed Fraud - Posted by Chris

Posted by Chris on October 27, 2003 at 17:26:26:

I took a house sub 2 that was preforeclosure (my partner did)…all the appropriate paperwork was signed including warranty deed… seler received $2,500.plus paid money to bring loan current (total $9400).I found out today that the seller…sold the house to someone else…deed was recorded before mine (dont ask how that happened)…

Didnt the seller committ fraud??? What are my options??

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Re: Warranty Deed Fraud - Posted by Jack

Posted by Jack on October 29, 2003 at 21:59:34:

If the facts are as you presented them, then it is clearly fraud. You may not be successful in getting title, you probably won’t be successful in getting the $2,500 back, but you will most likely get the money back that you paid to mortgage holder. Get an attorney, file a law suit for unjust enrichment, record a lis pendens against the property. You should be able to get an in rem judgment against the property for the $6,900.

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Re: Warranty Deed Fraud - Posted by Brenda

Posted by Brenda on October 27, 2003 at 20:37:19:

Interested in the timing just to avoid the same mistake. When and how did you learn that there was already another deed recorded?