Lenders' Problem Of Proving Promissory Note Ownership In Foreclosures Continues

In Sarasota, Florida, a recent column in the Herald Tribune describes the story of a local couple facing foreclosure that illustrates the problem some lenders are having proving in court that they have right to bring a mortgage foreclosure action, because of an inability to present proof of ownership of the promissory note secured by the mortgage.

• Though there was apparently good cause to foreclose, and though Wells Fargo was represented by a Tampa firm that specializes in mortgage cases, Judge Paul Logan has dismissed the case. Why?

• [The homeowners' attorney Nina] Perry hadn't claimed the couple had made the payments or soon would. She said that the plaintiff hadn't been able to show it had the right to sue, because there was no proof it owns the mortgage. Such proof isn't always easy now, when so many mortgages have been packaged as securities and sold and resold in bulk to various financial institutions that are often confused themselves about what they own.

• Perry says the Bradenton case isn't necessarily over. The foreclosure could be filed again, with new evidence or maybe with a new plaintiff. But in the meantime, the owners haven't been kicked out and it may have become a better time for the right plaintiff -- if found -- to choose to make a deal.

For more, see Proving who owns a mortgage isn't easy.

For posts that reference the failure of some mortgage lenders and their attorneys to prove ownership of the promissory note when starting foreclosure actions, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, and Go Here. missing mortgage foreclosure docs gamma