Release of Mortgage, what does this mean for homeowner and investor

[Chavis Atkins]

Ok, so here we go. I have been running into for the past year homes I find vacant/abandoned, know home is a good rehab project, find out who the owner is (assessors site) plus viewed treasurer site to see who is "paying" the taxes currently and after all that work to the point I actually find this owner, the owner tells me he/she "let the home go into default" or in other words, just walked away from the home with a outstanding balance owed to the lender.

Well, I have come across a home in Merrillville, IN that is a 3 bed 1.5 bath and is in a nice area of Merrillville but in need of real work; be a good wholesale if owned free and clear... took all the steps I know of and found the owner. He tells me that he didn't know his name was still tied to the home in anyway as he walked away from the home 7 years ago... I'M ANNOYED! There is more to all this but in the end the owner says he is willing to cooperate and get me the home for my purposes, whatever that may be.

To the point, I started to do some digging and found out that Lake County Indiana now has a website for folks to use to look up anything in the Recorders office (old way is you either call or go down to the county building). I look up this mans home and it comes up with a list of things that has happened since he bought the home from his grandmother. The main things that caught my eye that was recorded

1. 08-22-2006 there was a "MORTGAGE" from SUREPOINT LENDING ABN FIRST RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE NETWORK INC for 106,250.
2. 09-01-2006 there is a "RELEASE OF MORTGAGE" from WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK for 94k.

There are more things recorded before that but those were the most recent concerning mortgages and you can see everything recorded here

http://www.lcrecorder.com/records/search/result_do...

Any additional info needed, I'll let it be known and I don't need people telling me I shouldn't give information out like what you will find in the link because I trust that by the time someone would try going behind my back to steal this property from me, I will have made something happen by then.

But my question is "What does it mean for me and the owner that a lender has recorded a Release of Mortgage" going forward as I have looked up more homes that I figured to be a lost cause and am seeing this Release of Mortgage recorded?