All Forum Posts by: Richard Lincoln

I purchased the note from another debt buyer.

I've sent one to trustee's sale with a deceased debtor before. The trust companies follow the trustee sale guarantee guidelines given by the title companies which contemplate deceased debtors. It wasn't really a problem. They said that what mattered was probate status for noticing purposes (i.e. was probate filed? is there an executor? etc.) Since no probate had been filed it didn't have much of an impact. If you buy the 1st and foreclose legit it shouldn't matter whatever happens with the 2nd. They're off title when your foreclosure's done. Though, if title is being transferred in the middle of your foreclosure it would be best to keep your trustee aware of the changes for noticing purposes. Maybe the guy who wins the auction from the 2nd foreclosure sale would want to pay you off. Who knows.

Sometimes people will use the properties as storage units. It can look abandoned but it really isn't. If it seems abandoned check to see that they're not using it for storage. Usually if someone is storing stuff it's semi-organized and they put it all in one area (e.g. the garage) rather than it being strewn about the place like garbage.

Hello,

I'm a note investor. Anyway, I foreclosed on a 2nd and I guess I lucked out because somebody bid at my auction. I didn't think that was going to happen. I had been planning to sell the house after I got a trustee's deed. Anyway, I have this windfall and I'm trying to get it out the door. I've been hitting up my contacts and going through their files and making offers on FCI etc., but I would like to see what's out there. I'm pretty picky about what I buy... mostly non-performing 2nds with good equity coverage in non-judicial foreclosure states. Prefer western states or Texas, single family houses in neighborhoods.

Anybody know places to look?

I'd just do a q/c deed and record it, cross my fingers and hope that it works. Attorneys cost too much.

I would not rely on the 1st lien holder to notify you of foreclosure. Whether or not you're entitled to notice may depend on the law of the jurisdiction where the property is located. Even if you are entitled to notice, suppose that the 1st lien holder forecloses without providing you proper notice. You may now have a legal battle on your hands and a borrower who has no reason to pay you. There are other ways to check. For example, if the note is in a judicial foreclosure state, if the 1st were to foreclose it would likely file a complaint with the local court to initiate foreclosure in the borrower's name. Court records frequently can be searched online at the court's website either for free or for a nominal fee. In non-judicial foreclosure states, foreclosures often require the recording of default notices or trustee sale notices with the local county. Often you can do a name search for the borrower with the grantor/grantee search features to check whether or not any foreclosure notices have been filed against the borrower where the property is located. You can also find out which trustee or law firm the senior lender typically uses for foreclosures. Often which properties are being foreclosed on is made available by the trustee or law firm on a website. Beyond that, there are companies that specialize in tracking foreclosures and maintain lists of properties that are being foreclosed on. You can check their records to see if they indicate that any of the properties you have an interest in are being foreclosed on.

My understanding has been that the impact of recording the mortgage / trust deed or whatever usually serves to provide notice to third parties who otherwise would have no reason to know about the lien. It seems to be something like "well, you bought a property and you got screwed by a lien, but it was your own fault for not looking at the deed records." If the lien was unrecorded but the third party purchaser nonetheless actually knew about it (e.g. the seller told him about it), then this might effect whether or not the lien survives a title transfer. This is complicated law. I believe that it would take much time to figure that out.

This was my first through as well. I don't see that a bank would approve of the loan given the lack of employment history related to being a college student. Banks want to see 2 years, and the LTV was too low for hard money. The only way that I see he could have done it would be with seller financing or help from family. Not that it isn't doable. It's certainly doable, but other parts of the story strain my credulity, like where it says "Henkel kept acquiring new properties near campus. In 2012, he got a deal to buy six new places for only 5% down". No bank or hard money lender does that. A nutty seller perhaps, but I don't see that Henkel could have gotten lucky with seller financing over and over again. The only way the financing makes sense to me is if Henkel's got a guy he can go to who repeatedly approves high leverage loans. I'm willing to bet that guy isn't helping out Tom, Dick, and Harry.

This sounds like the note in Kennewick. I did due diligence on that one and rejected it. The seller's getting wiped out and he's trying to do a panic sale. The senior lien is NOT 170k. That is the unpaid principal balance on the senior lien. There is also unpaid interest and escrow impounds to the tune of, if I recall correctly, around 50k. The 290k estimate of value of the property is also unreasonably high given recent comps in the area. FMV would be between 225k and 250k. The senior is foreclosing on Jan 6th, and it's probably not going to get retail value at the auction meaning that there will not likely be any excess proceeds for you to claim.

The only good thing about that note was that it was signed by husband & wife, (now estranged) and you could sue on the note as the husband works and has assets, at least according to the Wife's bankruptcy schedules (You can find on PACER; The BK was dismissed anyway, but it was still a useful source of financial information on the debtors). However, the statute of limitations in WA is 6 years I since the date of the last payment and the seller doesn't have the payment history, and Ocwen wouldn't give it. So eh.

How you find the deals?