The Controversy Continues On Role Of MERS In Foreclosures

Bloomberg News reports:

• On July 1, a federal judge took away Robert Bellistri’s house in Arnold, Missouri. Bellistri, who bought the house as an investment after it was seized for non-payment of taxes, failed to notify Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. of his purchase, the judge said. A state appeals court last year had ruled otherwise, finding Bellistri didn’t need to tell MERS, a company that lets banks electronically register their sales of home loans so they can avoid trudging down to the county land-records office.

• The case highlights a debate raging in courts on the role MERS has, if any, in home foreclosures. How it’s resolved will determine whether MERS’s involvement produced a defective process and clouded millions of property titles.

For more, see Foreclosure Crisis Triggers Debate on Role of Mortgage Registry.