Posted on: 18th Feb, 2009 09:20 am
Hi,
My wife divorced her ex-husband at the end of 06. As part of the amicable agreement everything was split up and only the house had to be dealt with. It was originally going to be sold and the equity split between them but he then decided to keep it and buy her out. The divorce concluded and they went to the mortgage broker (not the mortgage companies) offices where the following was MEANT to have happened.
He was to sign his new mortgage that he had applied for.
They were to close down the old mortgage paid in full.
She was to sign a quit claim handing over her rights to the deed.
He would transfer to her an agreed sum.
She left the office apparently free of all remaining ties to her ex. Cut to last wednesday when she was served with a summons of foreclosure on the property! Apparently her ex has not paid since July 08 and the company is foreclosing on the property. She had no idea any of this was happening or that she had anything to do with the house anymore. On looking at the copies of the documents she has from that day it appears that her husbands new mortgage had her name on it even though he said she was not on the application and she didn't sign any application. When they were both given a pile of papers to sign that day the following actually happened unknown to either of them (who admittedly SHOULD have looked at the docs...lets face it though...who expects to be signing a new mortgage with an ex husband after you have divorced and not applied for one in the first place).
So on the day she actually:
Signed papers with her name on pertaining to the new loan on the property
DID NOT sign the Note
Did sign a quit claim removing her from the deed
Did sign to accept the money that was to be her share of the equity.
Did sign to close down the old mortgage paid in full.
So she is on the mortgage, not on the note and not on the deeds.
It would appear that if her ex is telling the truth that he did not add her details to the application, that the title company added her themselves to give him sufficient credit to be eligible for the load. It is certainly true that what was being signed on the day was not explained to either of them. Only one witness was present during the signings and therefore only on witness signature is on the copies my wife has...yet on the filed papers there are two witnesses (one for a person who wasn't there). My wife's copies were not notarized and apparently the filed ones are….this appears to have been done after she left the office. The documents were changed after she received her copies to replace an incorrect section saying she and her ex were man and wife and it was apparently initialled by my wife. He copies do not show this and it is likely the initials are not hers
He has no money to bring the property up to date on payment. He did speak to the company after a few missed payments and asked for a deed in lieu but the refused on the grounds that he did not live in the house anymore after taking a job in another state.
I'm after advice/info on three areas:
How on earth can her name have been legally put on the mortgage papers when she did not apply for it?
What options do we have to avoid foreclosure. Out attorney says we are limited in what we can do and although papers are being sent to apply for a deed in lieu they may not allow it to go ahead, preferring to continue with full foreclosure.
Considering that she is not on the note we have been advised the mortgage company can not pursue her for any loss between house value and mortgage value, but we are worried what effect it will have on her credit. Any idea’s. She currently has a very good score and we can’t see anything on her report about the current mortgage.
We live in Florida and the house is in Florida.
All advice welcome. Thanks.
My wife divorced her ex-husband at the end of 06. As part of the amicable agreement everything was split up and only the house had to be dealt with. It was originally going to be sold and the equity split between them but he then decided to keep it and buy her out. The divorce concluded and they went to the mortgage broker (not the mortgage companies) offices where the following was MEANT to have happened.
He was to sign his new mortgage that he had applied for.
They were to close down the old mortgage paid in full.
She was to sign a quit claim handing over her rights to the deed.
He would transfer to her an agreed sum.
She left the office apparently free of all remaining ties to her ex. Cut to last wednesday when she was served with a summons of foreclosure on the property! Apparently her ex has not paid since July 08 and the company is foreclosing on the property. She had no idea any of this was happening or that she had anything to do with the house anymore. On looking at the copies of the documents she has from that day it appears that her husbands new mortgage had her name on it even though he said she was not on the application and she didn't sign any application. When they were both given a pile of papers to sign that day the following actually happened unknown to either of them (who admittedly SHOULD have looked at the docs...lets face it though...who expects to be signing a new mortgage with an ex husband after you have divorced and not applied for one in the first place).
So on the day she actually:
Signed papers with her name on pertaining to the new loan on the property
DID NOT sign the Note
Did sign a quit claim removing her from the deed
Did sign to accept the money that was to be her share of the equity.
Did sign to close down the old mortgage paid in full.
So she is on the mortgage, not on the note and not on the deeds.
It would appear that if her ex is telling the truth that he did not add her details to the application, that the title company added her themselves to give him sufficient credit to be eligible for the load. It is certainly true that what was being signed on the day was not explained to either of them. Only one witness was present during the signings and therefore only on witness signature is on the copies my wife has...yet on the filed papers there are two witnesses (one for a person who wasn't there). My wife's copies were not notarized and apparently the filed ones are….this appears to have been done after she left the office. The documents were changed after she received her copies to replace an incorrect section saying she and her ex were man and wife and it was apparently initialled by my wife. He copies do not show this and it is likely the initials are not hers
He has no money to bring the property up to date on payment. He did speak to the company after a few missed payments and asked for a deed in lieu but the refused on the grounds that he did not live in the house anymore after taking a job in another state.
I'm after advice/info on three areas:
How on earth can her name have been legally put on the mortgage papers when she did not apply for it?
What options do we have to avoid foreclosure. Out attorney says we are limited in what we can do and although papers are being sent to apply for a deed in lieu they may not allow it to go ahead, preferring to continue with full foreclosure.
Considering that she is not on the note we have been advised the mortgage company can not pursue her for any loss between house value and mortgage value, but we are worried what effect it will have on her credit. Any idea’s. She currently has a very good score and we can’t see anything on her report about the current mortgage.
We live in Florida and the house is in Florida.
All advice welcome. Thanks.
Hi Muddle,
After your wife divorced her ex-husband and transferred the property to him, didn't he refinanced the property? I guess he did not refinanced the property in his name, as a result of which your wife's name remained on the mortgage. She received the notice of foreclosure as her name is still on the mortgage docs. If the lender forecloses the property, her credit will be badly effected. It will lower her credit score by 250 points. As far my knowledge, the lender may even ask her to pay the deficient amount resulting from the foreclosure.
If your wife wants to avoid foreclosure, she can either go for a short sale or a deed in lieu foreclosure. A deed in lieu foreclosure will lower her credit score by 250 points. If she goes for a short sale, her credit score will be reduced by 75-100 points. Apart from this, there are various other ways to avoid foreclosure. Check them out in the given link:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/foreclosure/17ways-avoid.html
Take Care
After your wife divorced her ex-husband and transferred the property to him, didn't he refinanced the property? I guess he did not refinanced the property in his name, as a result of which your wife's name remained on the mortgage. She received the notice of foreclosure as her name is still on the mortgage docs. If the lender forecloses the property, her credit will be badly effected. It will lower her credit score by 250 points. As far my knowledge, the lender may even ask her to pay the deficient amount resulting from the foreclosure.
If your wife wants to avoid foreclosure, she can either go for a short sale or a deed in lieu foreclosure. A deed in lieu foreclosure will lower her credit score by 250 points. If she goes for a short sale, her credit score will be reduced by 75-100 points. Apart from this, there are various other ways to avoid foreclosure. Check them out in the given link:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/foreclosure/17ways-avoid.html
Take Care
That is the crazy thing. He did refinance, the old loan was closed down (she has the doc to prove it) and he had filled in an application for a new loan...she did not enter her details on it and neither did he. She did not sign the application yet on the forms presented to them on the day his new loan had her name on it too and she unwittingly signed them...BUT her signature is not on the note. There is no record of the mortgage or the missed payments on her credit record right now.
If she is not on the note and apparently not responsible for the financial losses as a result of the forclosure will she be as badly effected?
If she is not on the note and apparently not responsible for the financial losses as a result of the forclosure will she be as badly effected?
Hi Muddle,
If your wife is not on the mortgage note, then she will not be held responsible for the mortgage payments. In that case, though the property is foreclosed, her credit score will not be ruined.
I think you should consult a mortgage attorney who will look into the mortgage note as well as property deed in order to check out what exactly the matter is. The attorney's advice may help your wife to come out of this situation.
Thanks
If your wife is not on the mortgage note, then she will not be held responsible for the mortgage payments. In that case, though the property is foreclosed, her credit score will not be ruined.
I think you should consult a mortgage attorney who will look into the mortgage note as well as property deed in order to check out what exactly the matter is. The attorney's advice may help your wife to come out of this situation.
Thanks