| Time Center Building 4600 Estate Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00802-3405 |
| Premier Title Company, Inc. |
| (340) 776-0777 (340) 776-8664 fax |
"The mortgage was paid off." Or was it really?
Despite our information age, the fact is that some "paid off" mortgages never get
registered as having been paid off. So when a homeowner goes to sell the
property, the title search may turn up a previous mortgage that the seller never
knew existed. At least on paper, then, it looks like the property has two mortgages
that need to be paid off, and that can hold up the sale.
How can this happen? The reasons are many, but the most common is a slow,
incorrect, or nonexistent filing by the previous mortgage holder. In this situation,
the title professional has to determine if the prior mortgage truly was paid off or, if
it wasn't satisfied, how to pay it. Either way, the issue needs to be resolved before
the house can be sold.
Records Mistakenly Showed Two Mortgages.
Here's an example. Back in the 1980s, the savings and loan industry experienced
the collapse of numerous institutions. One Midwest institution held thousands of
current and "satisfied" mortgages at the time of its failure. This paper was picked
up by various other financial institutions during the dissolution proceedings, yet
some of the mortgage records had been either incorrectly filed or incorrectly
registered.
When the homeowner decided to sell the property, the title professionals search
revealed land transaction records indicating that the first mortgage the
homeowner thought had been satisfied through refinancing had not been
registered as having been paid off. Thus, it "appeared" that the home was
carrying two mortgages - the original loan and the current mortgage.
Diligent Title Search Revealed the Errors.
The title professional knew about the savings and loan's problems and paid
careful attention to any title searches that referenced that particular institution.
They then verified the true mortgage holder (lender) and owner of each of the
properties and secured a clear title - all without the seller, buyer, real estate
professional, or lender having to do anything.
Title professionals do this kind of behind-the scenes work every day to uncover
and remedy any issues that might affect the title.
| A Division of Kevin F. D'Amour, P.C. |
| What are some common title problems? |
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| Recipient of the Stewart Title 2006 "Leading Agent" Award |