Quiet Title abstractors will undoubtedly be interested in a situation out of Utah, where a foreclosure security attorney filed quiet title action for a delinquent homeowner together of a number of defenses to a foreclosure. This kind of processing is routine for many foreclosure defenders, comparable to a litigation attorney moving for summary judgment at the end of presenting a case. Both are rarely determined for by the judge. In this instance, the quiet title was given to the debtor who wound up with residence unencumbered by a mortgage.

In this foreclosure case the foreclosure defense attorney decided not to include MERS as a party to be informed or supported. The logic was that MERS doesn't keep a financial curiosity about the property so isn't eligible to notice. In truth MERS has specifically claimed that it doesn't keep a pursuit in the properties where it serves as nominee trustee. The attorney only capitalized in this prior situation. Title search experts reading this post could be wondering why did not the bank object to the quiet title action. Well in this case, the original 'bank' who arranged the loan was Garbett Mortgage, later given to Citibank FSB, that's trustee was First American. Like many loan plans in the mid-2000′s, the original bank only arranged the purchase, and immediately transferred it off to a bank for money. When Garbett responded to their notice in the quiet title action, they advised the judge that they'd long since transferred the loan.

The trustee First American wasn't in a position to determine who actually possessed the loan. Although they were servicing and collecting payments on the note, they did not own the paper. The title of ownership for the note was done through the MERS procedure. That is exactly how they responded to the court, since First American did not know who held the note. 'The truth of the matter is First American Title doesn't know who the successor of the trust deed is and basically they disavow any curiosity about it,'said the attorney on the situation, Walter Keane. 'Considering the owner of the property [the title companies who have been trustees] failed to dispute the matter, and further given that the original bank promises no further interest, the court nullified the trust deeds prior to establishing any kind of test date,' Formally, the note remains valid as a debt against the debtor. However it is no longer valid as a mortgage against the property (which includes since been sold). Furthermore, a bankruptcy would now manage to wipe out this unsecured debt instrument. Coincidentally, bankruptcy trustees are learning the mortgage stripping strategies employed by foreclosure defense attorneys and using them within their legal requirements to increase property returns to secured creditors. That legal cost includes wiping out the secured position of creditors when possible. What's more interesting for title abstractors is that the county recorder offered strong opinions about the situation, and MERS specifically. His office is characterized by Recorder Gary Ott as a neutral party that permanently shields documents, which can be found for public inspection.

In the past, parties could actually record each purchase or mortgage involving property so clear picture emerges of the title history of a property. 'You can trust what you see at the recorder's office because it is up to this day, everything is in order,' said Ott, 'and you can not see at MERS when it is in order at all. That is the frightening part, and people's homes are something you should not wreak havoc on.' The activities of the previous week indicate a trend towards more weakness for creditors title to mortgages on real estate. Foreclosure defense attorneys have found more methods to destroy the security of creditors title states. At the same time frame, individuals are becoming more emboldened to push these problems extensively and more usually. Cases like this and the current Ibanez appeal choice enhance that tendency.