Posted on: 15th Mar, 2013 09:33 am
Hi,
My wife's father passed away a little less then 10 years ago, and he had bought a property (I think in the late 60's early 70's) that he had left in a trust to his 2nd wife (my wife's step mother), with the stipulation that she could own and use it until either she passed away or no longer wanted it and then the property would go to my wife and her three sisters. Now fast forward to about a month ago, my wife recieves a call saying that her step mother (which they are not on the best of terms) no longer wants to deal with the home and that she is transfering it to her and her 3 sisters. So, the process of the Deed Transfer began and it is currently being recorded at the county registers office. Now my wife and her three sisters want to turn around and sell the home and they already have a listing agent involved (although it is not listed yet since the recording has not been confirmed with the county yet). In addition there is the matter of the mortgage. There is not a tremendous amount owed, and I think my wife and her sisters were thinking they could either sell the home quickly and then pay the mortgage debt in full with the proceeds or that they could continue making payments to the mortgage company for a month or two (on her step mothers behalf) until it's sold and then pay it in full. Now to make matters more difficult we do not have the loan number, which I would assume we would need so we can continue to make the payments or to pay it off in full. As a result my wife is really scared that the house will go into forclosure as a result of this small balance owed when the home is worth significantly more. We have tried to contact her step mother with regards to the loan number, but unfortunately have not been successful with getting the information. Also, the loan was originally with GMAC, but now we believe it is with Ocwen as GMAC sold most of their mortgages to them just about a month ago. We have tried calling them to explain the situation and find out how to proceed and they won't even talk to my wife about it, since they don't recognize it as her loan. As a result of everything going on my wife is very stressed right now, as she is the only one of the three sisters in the area where the home is located, so the majority of the responsibility has fallen to her despite her other sisters attempts to be helpful. So, I am writing this in hopes that I might get some advice and answers on how it would be best for my wife and her 3 sisters to proceed with this situation and avoid forclosure.
I would be grateful for any assistance you can provide and thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Bryan
My wife's father passed away a little less then 10 years ago, and he had bought a property (I think in the late 60's early 70's) that he had left in a trust to his 2nd wife (my wife's step mother), with the stipulation that she could own and use it until either she passed away or no longer wanted it and then the property would go to my wife and her three sisters. Now fast forward to about a month ago, my wife recieves a call saying that her step mother (which they are not on the best of terms) no longer wants to deal with the home and that she is transfering it to her and her 3 sisters. So, the process of the Deed Transfer began and it is currently being recorded at the county registers office. Now my wife and her three sisters want to turn around and sell the home and they already have a listing agent involved (although it is not listed yet since the recording has not been confirmed with the county yet). In addition there is the matter of the mortgage. There is not a tremendous amount owed, and I think my wife and her sisters were thinking they could either sell the home quickly and then pay the mortgage debt in full with the proceeds or that they could continue making payments to the mortgage company for a month or two (on her step mothers behalf) until it's sold and then pay it in full. Now to make matters more difficult we do not have the loan number, which I would assume we would need so we can continue to make the payments or to pay it off in full. As a result my wife is really scared that the house will go into forclosure as a result of this small balance owed when the home is worth significantly more. We have tried to contact her step mother with regards to the loan number, but unfortunately have not been successful with getting the information. Also, the loan was originally with GMAC, but now we believe it is with Ocwen as GMAC sold most of their mortgages to them just about a month ago. We have tried calling them to explain the situation and find out how to proceed and they won't even talk to my wife about it, since they don't recognize it as her loan. As a result of everything going on my wife is very stressed right now, as she is the only one of the three sisters in the area where the home is located, so the majority of the responsibility has fallen to her despite her other sisters attempts to be helpful. So, I am writing this in hopes that I might get some advice and answers on how it would be best for my wife and her 3 sisters to proceed with this situation and avoid forclosure.
I would be grateful for any assistance you can provide and thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Bryan
The step Mother needs to get involved, and tell the mortgage company it's okay to talk your Wife. Otherwise they're not allowed to discuss the mortgage with anybody else. Optionally, the step Mother can provide you with the monthly mortgage coupon, and you could continue to make the payments until the home is sold. Either way, the step Mother needs to assist.
Raymond, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, and help my wife and her sisters. We are truly blessed to know there are good people out there willing to take a moment of there time to share their knowledge with us.
We now have a loan number, which was given to my wife by her step mothers lawyer when he handed her (my wife) a Notice of Default, which still has not been filed according to our (to be) listing real estate agent. So, I am assuming that this NOD was more of a warning of non payment before the actual one gets sent in to the Trustee, but not 100% sure. So, we have that, but our real estate agent has been trying to use the escrow company (that he is friends with) with the loan number to find out the delinquent amount owed (so they can get it current again) and or a payoff amount, but Ocwen won't provide any information regarding the loan to even the escrow company. I know you said that we would need to have my wife's step mother contact Ocwen and give them permission to speak with her about the loan, but we also recently found out that the Mortgage was not transfered to my wife's step mother upon her husbands (My wife's fathers) death, and therefore the mortgage company will not discuss it with my wife's step mother either. She lives in the same house where the payments were always sent to her husband (My wife's father) and she just kept making payments against it over the last almost 10 years, and the renters would keep it from costing her money out of pocket and she just kept it going. However, around September of last year she stopped collecting rent because the heater was broken and the tenant refused to pay, and she didn't fix it. So, we have an idea of how many months she did not collect rent, but really are unsure of how long she has not paid the mortgage. We have tried getting information from her through her lawyer, but it has been slow going and my wife's stepmother mostly hangs up on my wife if she tries to get information directly. So, things are really messed up. Also, even if my wife and her sisters paid an amount to clear the monthly payments owed and make it current, another concern is when the payoff is finally made in full that the title information would be sent to the original address, since Ocwen refuses to discuss it with anyone we have no way to change it. My wife and one of her sisters is thinking a real estate lawyer might help to resolve these issues quickly, while the other sister is feeling like they have not exhausted all of their options. In the mean time the June 1st FHA change is rapidly approaching and once that happens the market will most likely not be as favorable.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice you can provide me with on this subject as my wife feels lost and she is trying so hard, and I think she is mostly affraid of letting her other sisters down.
Thank you again for your previous response and I appreciate any continued efforts you provide.
Sincerely,
Bryan
We now have a loan number, which was given to my wife by her step mothers lawyer when he handed her (my wife) a Notice of Default, which still has not been filed according to our (to be) listing real estate agent. So, I am assuming that this NOD was more of a warning of non payment before the actual one gets sent in to the Trustee, but not 100% sure. So, we have that, but our real estate agent has been trying to use the escrow company (that he is friends with) with the loan number to find out the delinquent amount owed (so they can get it current again) and or a payoff amount, but Ocwen won't provide any information regarding the loan to even the escrow company. I know you said that we would need to have my wife's step mother contact Ocwen and give them permission to speak with her about the loan, but we also recently found out that the Mortgage was not transfered to my wife's step mother upon her husbands (My wife's fathers) death, and therefore the mortgage company will not discuss it with my wife's step mother either. She lives in the same house where the payments were always sent to her husband (My wife's father) and she just kept making payments against it over the last almost 10 years, and the renters would keep it from costing her money out of pocket and she just kept it going. However, around September of last year she stopped collecting rent because the heater was broken and the tenant refused to pay, and she didn't fix it. So, we have an idea of how many months she did not collect rent, but really are unsure of how long she has not paid the mortgage. We have tried getting information from her through her lawyer, but it has been slow going and my wife's stepmother mostly hangs up on my wife if she tries to get information directly. So, things are really messed up. Also, even if my wife and her sisters paid an amount to clear the monthly payments owed and make it current, another concern is when the payoff is finally made in full that the title information would be sent to the original address, since Ocwen refuses to discuss it with anyone we have no way to change it. My wife and one of her sisters is thinking a real estate lawyer might help to resolve these issues quickly, while the other sister is feeling like they have not exhausted all of their options. In the mean time the June 1st FHA change is rapidly approaching and once that happens the market will most likely not be as favorable.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice you can provide me with on this subject as my wife feels lost and she is trying so hard, and I think she is mostly affraid of letting her other sisters down.
Thank you again for your previous response and I appreciate any continued efforts you provide.
Sincerely,
Bryan
When your wife's Father Passed away, Title to the property would have been properly resolved if his Estate had gone through Probate. It sounds like that didn't happen. Did he leave a Will, or have a Living Trust? If "no", his Estate needs to go through the Probate process so his assets are properly and legally divided. Probate takes a while, and won't be completed by June 1st, so you're going to need to get an Attorney involved. I suggest looking for an Attorney that specializes in both Real Estate and Estate Planning. Good luck, Bryan.
Raymond,
Thank you for your expert advice.
My wife now has her father's death certificate along with the living trust, which shows who the successor of the home was suppose to be (her step mother) upon her fathers death, and it appears that things are now starting to come together. The only thing left that we believe we still need, is a "Authorization to Release Information" signed by her step mother to allow us to discuss the mortgage account with Ocwen. Does that sound right, or are we missing anything?
Also, am I correct in assuming proof of the Living Trust and the intent of the individual that created the Trust is enough to forgo probate?
I really appreciate your efforts to help us, you have been very kind.
Sincerely,
Bryan
Thank you for your expert advice.
My wife now has her father's death certificate along with the living trust, which shows who the successor of the home was suppose to be (her step mother) upon her fathers death, and it appears that things are now starting to come together. The only thing left that we believe we still need, is a "Authorization to Release Information" signed by her step mother to allow us to discuss the mortgage account with Ocwen. Does that sound right, or are we missing anything?
Also, am I correct in assuming proof of the Living Trust and the intent of the individual that created the Trust is enough to forgo probate?
I really appreciate your efforts to help us, you have been very kind.
Sincerely,
Bryan
The Estate still has to go through Probate, Bryan, even if the deceased person had a Will or Living Trust. But the Probate process should be a bit easier, because he didn't die intestate. The Probate process will distribute the Estate as per the Living Trust, unless somebody disputes the Living Trust. I recommend hiring an experienced Probate Attorney to get you through the process. Probate should have happened soon after he died.
Wishing you success!
Wishing you success!