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Murrieta: Family in limbo as legality of home purchase in doubt
10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, May 28, 2011
By JOHN F. HILL
The Press-Enterprise
Three months after Charlie and Shauna Zahari bought their first home, the FBI called to say the four-bedroom, Mediterranean-style house was stolen property.
Charlie & Shauna Zahari
The north Murrieta home, the agent explained last fall, had been fleeced from its prior owner as part of a scheme to defraud people who face foreclosure. The previous owner had not yet been located, but, in theory, could resurface some day with a good legal claim to demand her house back.
Charlie Zahari, a materials salesman for Granite Construction, said the family continues to pay the mortgage. They’re stuck in limbo, he said. They can’t sell the house and they can’t stop making payments because they don’t want a black mark on their credit score.
Frank Bellino / The Press-Enterprise
The Zaharis received disturbing news just months after buying their Murrieta home. The home may have been stolen from its previous owner.
“I made it a point to do things right financially my entire life …,” he said. “I did everything right and I got rewarded with a stolen house.”
Karen Tappert, now jailed in Las Vegas, is accused in court documents of advertising herself as a mortgage rescue expert, taking thousands of dollars in payments for her services, then filing phony deeds with county clerks in California, Nevada and Washington to transfer the homes to shell companies she controlled. She was indicted last summer for wire and mail fraud in connection with the alleged schemes.
In some cases, according to a federal indictment by the U.S. attorney’s office in Las Vegas, she rented the properties to other people. In others, she sold them to unsuspecting buyers. Though she has not been charged in connection with the Zaharis’ home, the family said the FBI told them their house was involved in the scheme.
A trial for Tappert, whose residence is not known, is scheduled to start June 14 in federal court in Nevada. Her attorney, Osvaldo E. Fumo of Las Vegas, declined to comment.
The Zaharis bought their home June 18, 2010, two days after Tappert was indicted. At that time, they had never heard her name. They bought the house from a company called LB Marshall, which, as far as they know, was just a post office box in Las Vegas.
According to Riverside County property records, a woman named Susan Mirador bought the house in 2006 for $409,400. Mirador fell behind on mortgage payments, and foreclosure proceedings started in 2008, though the process was never completed.
Mirador could not be located for comment. Charlie Zahari said the FBI agent told him authorities hadn’t been able to get in touch with her.
UNSETTLED
The Zaharis, who have three kids, enjoy the home on the quiet suburban street among the other two-story homes in a community called Murrieta Oaks. Charlie, 31, who grew up in Hemet and was an accomplished baseball pitcher in high school and at Cal State Fullerton, moved his family to southwest Riverside County to work on Granite’s plan to build a quarry outside of Temecula.
The couple spent three years house-hunting. With home prices cheap following the mortgage crisis, cash investors kept swooping in to buy homes they liked. When their offer on the Murrieta home was accepted, they didn’t dare tell their parents until the final paperwork was signed, fearing they would somehow lose the home.
The house is modern, with stainless steel appliances and a massive island in the kitchen. Above the stove is a cabinet where they keep their paid mortgage statements.
Mortgage Documents
They do this out of fear that, one day, a sheriff’s deputy will knock and tell them the house, which they bought with a $30,000 down payment, is not theirs.
“Literally, we don’t know if the sheriff is gonna show up and say you’re evicted,” said Shauna Zahari, 34, who is a homemaker.
The couple hired an artist to paint customized princess- and forest-themed rooms for their two young daughters. Outside, they dug out a spot for a new patio and laid sod in the backyard. The front yard is still mostly dirt with a line of grass about 6 feet wide. The sod was left over from the backyard, and Charlie Zahari had planned to buy more.
But when the FBI agent called last summer, the Zaharis immediately stopped all home improvements, not wanting to put any more money into a house they weren’t sure they could keep.
Fraud is common
The housing market crash and resulting mortgage crisis has proved to be fertile ground for scammers, said Gene Wunderlich, government affairs director for the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors.
Wunderlich is a member of a fraud task force of local Realtors, brokers, property managers and title insurance representatives. The Inland area, one of the hardest hit by foreclosure, has seen its share of fraud, including a $142 million scheme based in southwest Riverside County that pushed 201 homes into foreclosure.
Homebuyers such as the Zaharis would have little chance to protect themselves against this kind of fraud, Wunderlich said.
Frank Bellino / The Press-Enterprise
Charlie Zahari looks at his mortgage information. The family keeps the documents in a kitchen cabinet, so they are handy in case the sheriff comes calling.
“If the paperwork is good enough to fool the title company,” he said, “it’s difficult for just a regular individual.”
Tappert has been indicted for wire and mail fraud involving six houses that federal prosecutors allege she stole from their owners.
While the Zaharis’ is not named in the indictment, letters provided by the family say that the title company, First American Title Insurance Company, believes their home was part of the alleged fraud.
It’s unclear why the Murrieta home is not part of the criminal case against Tappert. The FBI and U.S. attorney’s offices in Las Vegas both declined to comment before trial.
One of the six homes in the case is a 4,500-square-foot home on Gregory Circle in Corona that sold for $1.5 million in 2006. According to the indictment, the home was foreclosed in February 2010 by Recon Trust Company, a subsidiary of Bank of America with an office in Simi Valley.
Soon afterward, a phony deed was filed with Riverside County transferring the property from Recon to an entity called Northwest Properties Associates, which the indictment alleges was controlled by Tappert. The deed was signed on behalf of Recon by a Joseph Michaels, who does not exist, the indictment says.
In March 2010, the home was sold for $490,000.
Neighbors on Gregory Circle, a cul-de-sac of sprawling, gated homes, said the house has been unoccupied for years. Every so often, a landscaping company comes to trim down the weeds.
The five other homes were in Nevada and New Mexico.
WAITING FOR ANSWERS
Since his talk with the FBI, Charlie Zahari has taken on the matter like it’s a part-time job. He doesn’t have the money for a lawyer, and said he can’t get anyone to take the case on contingency because there’s little chance of a cash settlement.
He’s spent hours on the phone, to little effect. Bank of America, which holds the mortgage, has advised the family to keep paying the bills, according to letters provided by the Zaharis.
Bank of America owns two outstanding mortgages on the home. The banking giant purchased Mirador’s loan from her original lender and, later, the Zaharis’ loan from their original lender, according to the letter.
That’s the part that gets Charlie Zahari really mad. The bank apparently didn’t check out the property before it bought the loan, he said. That lack of due diligence is what made the mortgage crisis and the scheme possible, he said.
“The whole mortgage mess was a lack of human interaction,” Zahari said. “That’s what’s happened here.”
Bank of America, in a letter to the Zaharis, said that because the bank didn’t “originate” either of the loans, it was not responsible for making sure the title was clear. The bank, the lawyer noted, was also a potential victim in the case.
Because the Zaharis used a Federal Housing Administration loan, they were required to pay thousands to a title insurance company that was supposed to investigate the title and ensure it was clear. The FBI told Charlie Zahari that, in all other cases, the homes were sold for cash.
First American, the title company, said in a letter to the Zaharis they are investigating.
After months, the family is left in limbo. Despite all of the hours on the phone with lawyers and banks, no answers seems forthcoming, Charlie Zahari said. Until they do, he vows the dirt front yard with the slice of green grass will stay that way, despite what the neighbors, and his wife, might say.
And they’ll continue to pay the mortgage each month on a house they’re not sure they will ever truly own because, as Charlie Zahari said, “we have no choice.”
Reach John F. Hill at 951-375-3738 or johnhill@PE.com
Zahari family,
My name is Jeff Nelson , I have just read the case story on your nightmare from hell, this is so sad. We all @ NPG send our support to your family.
You have one thing on your side, A company can do 100 things right and it goes unnoticed, do one thing wrong and the world knows.
You need to get this web site to a server corporation that hosts key words like BofA, title insurance, house refinancing etc. Then when some one puts in these key words it will pull your site upfront, let’s see how the bankers CFOs like it..
I will go out of my way to tell people about this, and for sure NPG will never bank at BofA.
Take care,
Jeff Nelson
Jeff we thank you for your advice. We are looking into getting our blog to move up in search results. It’s post like yours amoungst other things that will get us there. We appreciate you sharing our story with your community!
I cant get over the fact that Bank of America isn’t smart enough not to put 2 loans on the same house. I read the letter they sent denying responsibility. Pathetic. I hope you take them to the cleaners!
Come on B of A get your act together this is Criminal on how there handling this, and they should just give the Zaharis the house, for all the stress they have caused this poor family.
I to have been waiting for over two years for an answer on my Home Mod, and when I call B of A still has no clue whats going on yet they still send me threatening letters saying If I dont comly with there request, then I will be financially responsible, Boo on B of A and First American Needs to take responsibilty as well
How is this possible? No wonder we are in a mortgage melt down.
It is not fair !! Not Right !!! The Zahari family, or anyone for that matter, should not have to go thru something like this. We bought our home not long ago and we had to sign a zillion papers, very time consuming but we were comforted by thinking that all these documents were needed to make sure the transaction went thru okay.. Thank God it all went well and I can not even begin to imagine how you must feel dealing with this. I agree with Kevin H. The Zahari family should get their house !!!
That is just down right bogis! Someone needs to pay
I did not just read the story but rather live next door to it. How is it that good honest people can be living in fear ( and I see it first hand) everyday and the largest bank in the country does not seem to care about their customer. They do not care about their GOOD customer who is paying for a stolen house. The federal government can bail out our financial institutions for billions of dollars and yet the banks cannot help their hard working customers? WRONG! I cannot get my arms around why good people are punished in a situation they neither created or were aware of but without question are the victim. Home is supposed to be your sanctuary not your prison!
Thanks Alan we appreciate your support!
Tappert is the cause of all of this. I hope they throw the book at her.
Words cannot describe how horrible I feel for your family. Keep fighting!
I don’t think it was just Tappert. If you read the article, a phony deed was signed on behalf of Recon, a subsidiary of BoA, by a non-existent person.
Since the Zaharis paid for the lender’s title insurance, that title insurance company should have found the fake person/signature.
The question I have is, who owns the property? It isn’t the previous resident, who had mortgage trouble and hired Tappert. It surely isn’t Tappert. It can’t be the previous lender, who sold their note to BoA. And BoA is saying they don’t own the property. Is there anyone who has surfaced with a claim to the property?
The mortgage was probably securitized, so that entity owns the property. That might explain why the first foreclosure did not go all the way through, the foreclosure would have required the security to take a loss on the underlying asset value, so the lender (perhaps Countrywide?) dragged their feet. The result being unclear title.
If it were Countryside, that might explain why the title insurance company didn’t work too hard, the mortgage was on BoA’s books regardless.
What a mess, I really sympathize – and the people you call at the banks have zero authority to do anything, so you keep getting the run around. Good luck with this.
It’s all par for the course. Unfortunately good people like the Zahari family has to pay for others dishonesty. I am so sickened by what has happened to this economy. It is completely our fault as home owners, tax payers and middle class workers! First, when the housing market “exploded”, everyone jumped on the band wagon to buy houses they knew they couldn’t afford. Crooked banks slammed them in these exorbitant housing prices anyway. Then the housing market “crashed” and everyone panicked. Thinking they would never be able to get the equity out of their overpriced houses, people started walking away, and leaving these crooked banks to deal with it. My husband and I have never been late on a payment in our lives. We pay $3,000 a month for our house and have for the last 4 years, although difficult at times. I can’t stand it when I hear of people who still have their jobs, and decide to quit paying for their house, to buy the one up the street that is $100,000 less. SHAME on YOU!!! My family has weathered the storm. Although we bought our house at a fairly decent time, we are now only $25,000 over what our house is worth. We have gone to B of A to try and refinance our house only to be denied. It is a tragedy what shady people have done to America. I am proud to have perfect credit and a beautiful house to live in, with the good conscious knowing I did not follow suit and bail out like all the rest! Keep paying Zahari family, your dream home will be yours in the end. Good luck to you!
This is real unfortunate, a family doing everything right to live the American Dream only to possibly have it turn in to a nightmare.You hear about things like this but you never think it will happen to someone you’ve crossed paths with.I went to HS with Mr Zahari.Good luck to the Zaharis.
Thank you for the support Forrest.
Hang in there Zaharis. Keep doing things right. We’ll keep following and spreading the word.
We appreciate the support burns. We’ll keep “steerin it up”.
What a crock! Unfortunately their is a crook behind every corner. Some of those crooks have names like “Tappert” and some have their names pasted all over professional sports stadiums. Classic, American tax payers bail out the banks and they use our money to advertise instead of taking care of the people who take care of them. All the while, displaying the same lending negligence that burried so many people in this country already. I know this won’t really bother B of A, but I have two credit cards that I use for everyday use….guess which account I just closed. Good luck Chuck (aka Slim with the tilted brim)….Go Mules
Your the man Hertz…thank for the support.
The GOOD THING is that this will probably be eventually resolved because the Zahari Family took action to get this story out. If they had not done this, they would have probably got the ENDLESS RUN-AROUND from BANK OF AMERICA and FIRST AMERICAN TITLE.
The BAD THING is the injured consumer who did everything right, had to spend hours and hours documenting and researching, and then work hard to get the story out, which will probably move the TOO BIG TO FAIL INCOMPETENT CORPORATIONS (BANK of AMERICA and FIRST AMERICAN), move them to get off their FAT ASSES to fix what they should have already fixed.
The Banks don’t care about their customers and how Title Insurance responds to legitimate claims is a joke.
I think B of A and First American should pay the Zhari’s for all the time and energy they have put into trying to fix this. Maybe punitive damages are in order too.
B of A? one of them is the manager for the home loan dept, used to be with Countrywide. He pulled some mortgage scams w/his realtor partner. We turned them in to B OF A w/proof. B of A did nothing. This man is still the head of their loan dept. and he pulled several illegal mortgage scams when he was running the former Countrywide Mtg until B OF A purchased/merged w/Countrywide.
B of A supports and endorses crooks like this guy. No one is interested in prosecuting him, even tho we provided documented proof of his scam. No one was looking when he used his title and position to get FHA 30 year fixed loans, and quit claimed them to others the next day. What lies did he put on the LOAN APP? who approved the loan app? he did. He was head of the loan dept. NOW HE IS WITH B OF A, LOCALLY HERE IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY. see what happens when no one cares? he is still out there scamming you.
I cannot believe this. My good friend, and his family stuck in such a shameful situation. As he stated in the story, this man did things right financially his whole life. I know because he and I had hours, day after day to discuss things like this. I can honestly say one of the main reasons he keeps on paying is so he doesn’t throw away all that hard work. We pray for you and the family Charlie, and I offer my assistance. Any foot work, phone calls, emails or research you need done, you have it.
Thanks for the support Will we appreciate it! Even more we appreciate your service for this country. God bless. Z
It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with real estate contracts, but the story clearly states you got title insurance from First American Title Insurance Company. This is usually the condition of any real estate mortgage to protect the lender.
First American Title Insurance Company insured your home’s title. That’s why you paid them. Title insurance was creates JUST for this reason, so that lenders and buyers would be confident in real estate ventures.
The title company screwed up and said the title was clear when it was not.
Unless I’m really missing something here, or somehow you don’t have title insurance even though you used a title insurance company… FIRST AMERICAN owes the money on the home, not you guys.
Bank of America isn’t the bad guy here. They got ripped off just like everyone else. They probably told the Zahari’s to keep making payments to avoid any confusion (foreclosure proceedings or credit issues). The Zahari’s will probably get that money back.
I’m surprised this hasn’t been brought up.
All title insurance does is insure you against a claim or lien made on the property where title is messed up. Title insurance does not go out and clean anything up, that is job of the courts.
My reading is that there has not been a claim or lien against the property.
My bet is that BoA bought the note from Countryside – since BoA acquired Countryside, the title insurance company figured BoA would not sue itself (don’t laugh, it has happened with Wells Fargo), so why bother?
This entire mess just makes BofA look like the greedy giant corporate monster who treats its clients like numbers. If they had an ounce of compassion or care for the people they serve, this entire issue would have been resolved a long time ago. As an investor myself (who has worked with BofA in the past), I really would have a hard time going back to them if this is how they deal with the people they are in business with.
In an industry like theirs, where people have tons of options, BofA should really consider the image they are carving out for themselves. It isn’t too late to fix it, but as this story continues to grow, they are putting themselves at a much bigger risk than losing one loan.
We had problem with the “short sale home” we purchased 18 months ago. Morikahn is correct to state that if First American insured the title then they have a financial obligation to you. If in the future, this home was taken from you, they are financially responsible to reimburse you for your downpayment, all fees plus mortage payments made. I encourage you to obtain a copy of the title contract with First American and you’ll be surprise what’s covered. The insurance covers up to the sale price of your home if for any reason, the title was not cleared (which is in your case as well as mine).
Though my situation was not as dired as yours, it took me over 12 months with the lawyers for First American to obtain resolution to my situation. If you have not filed a claim with them yet, I suggest you do that right away (even though you have not lost your home yet…it’s ok). It took them over 3 months to assign me a contact but once they did, I called, emailed, phoned every other day for 8 months.
BofA is also my mortage company and they did not assist.
Best of luck and be patient.
Thanks for sharing your story with us. We have filed claim with First American. We are not big fans of waiting, then waiting and then waiting some more. We certainly hope to get to a resolution quick.
Thanks again for the support!
I work for an Abstract company and the blame and cost should fall on the Title Insurance Company, they did not do their job. We had had claims made on us (unpaid taxes, liens, etc.) before and that is why we pay thousands for “Omissions and Errors” Insurance. Title Insurance Company’s have to follow the same rules. I quote from the handout we give clients about Title Insurance “Title Insurance is purchased for a one-time payment and it is a safeguard against loss arising from hazards and defects already existing in the title.”
I know you comment you do not have the funds to get an attorney, but there are many out there who do not charge a fee unless they win the case. Make sure you get an attorney whose specialty is property and real estate matters.
One caveat: Title insurance protects the mortgage holder; there is often a second policy to protect the purchaser, the “owner’s title policy”. http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/owner's+title+policy
You may have a problem if you did not purchase such a policy.
Trying to think of ways to get this story out. I know the owner of the website beingmiddleclass.org and she can see who is looking at the site, which now includes folks from the FBI and DOJ and others. I would suggest becoming a member of this site and posting your story there (a summary and a link back to this site). There is no cost, and it is not my site – just thinking this is a good place to post your story.
Good luck.
Why all the vitriol at B of A? Talk about misplaced anger. First American is the screw up here. Their whole reason for being is to CLEAR TITLE and stop a potential fraud.
It’s likely that First American will end up paying for the mess they created by not doing their job.
I feel sorry for the Zaharis that this has happened, but you have an open and shut case of negligence on the part of First American.
That is the reason for Title Insurance. If the insurance company failed in their due diligence, then they must make good on the policy to make the owner whole. Meanwhile the mortgage should be paid as per their agreement. BoA holds 2. That is their problem, not the new owners. Get a good land attorney in your area to represent your interests.
It’s not that simple. Title insurance protects you against a claim or lien against your property.
So if the property is taken away due to a title error, and you have purchased title insurance (not just purchased the required lender insurance), you can be compensated (based on the policy provisions).
If no one files a claim or lien, you are in kind of a limbo, you don’t know if you have any right to the property. I don’t know if there has been a claim or lien filed against the property yet.
When we had all of these bank mergers (WAMU with Chase, Countrywide with BoA), a lot of the players would might have a claim have been combined with the new note holder – it is not clear what they will do.
Truly a sorry state of affairs but this is a situation which more and more consumers will be facing during the next decade as more homes are sold with unclear title.
someone has already correctly pointed out that the best hope for resolution is IF there is an owner’s title policy which will pay to clear the title.
I don’t believe anyone has yet mentioned that you may have to file a ‘quiet title lawsuit’ naming the former owner and anyone else you believe may/might have an interest in the home in order to establish that, in fact, the title is exclusively yours.
I would urge you to find an attorney who is well versed in real estate/property law and/or foreclosure defense to help you with that process. I am aware that you said you have no money for an attorney but since you aren’t spending any more money on the house (or the yard–which I applaud) you really need to find away to get an excellent attorney who can get this done to give you the peace of mind you need to enjoy the home which you have acquired.
I have been teaching classes on title issues for the past few years and the challenge you face could face ANYBODY buying a home which has been mortgaged in the past 10 years. It is not a little, isolated problem. Because of the use of MERS and mortgage securitization literally all the mortgages which have been connected to either of those processes has experienced a break in the chain of title. Buying either a previously foreclosed
property or a short sale only magnifies the risk. Certainly I understand that is a scary thought to anyone who is reading this but I have done nothing but mortgage fraud and foreclosure intervention related research, work and training for the past 10 years. I am not overstating the magnitude of the problem.
Cautions:
If you haven’t bought such a home: DON”T
If you are in default and you are reading this–
DO NOT MOVE OUT–UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
It is almost impossible for your lender to prove title and you can fight a foreclosure–even when you have not paid–if you FIGHT.
for helpful information log onto: http://www.HomeOwnershipMatters.com study the blog.
Mildred (317) 507-5105
@ Matt and others.
It is not misplaced anger at all.
“Bank of America owns two outstanding mortgages on the home.”
Do you see a problem with that? Responsibility anyone?
Furthermore,
“Mirador [the original owner] fell behind on mortgage payments, and foreclosure proceedings started in 2008, though the process was never completed.”
Why was it not completed? Odd isn’t it. Either way…both loans are owned by Bank of America, they need to figure it out.
Bank of America is not a victim in this situation at all. I don’t know how their “lawyer/spokesperson” could keep a stright face with that comment. I’m curious to see how this plays out.
Bottom line: This is 2011, so….The more publicity this story gets, the better the outcome for the consumer. This seems to be the going theme in our modern world.
Good Luck, Z Family! I’m rooting for ya.
Thank you! We appreciate it.
Another story of some shady B of A practices. Coincidence? I don’t think so. But at least these folks got some justice.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/video/bank-of-america-foreclosed-on-by-angry-homeowner-13792146
Its a good thing you had title insurance. Like anything bought thats stolen you will have to give the house back if the true owner wants.
B of A is a joke.
I’m sorry this happened to you.
My deepest, heartfelt sympathies and prayers go to your family and I sincerely hope you guys walk away from this situation into one that is favorable. I stopped doing business with Bank of America several years ago and went with a credit union. At least with credit unions, they recognize the value of their customers. I’m surprised Bank of America FAILED to check to see if the house title was clear….oh wait I’m not because they are incompetent.
Keep fighting! Best of Luck
So sorry to hear this has happened to you. I hope the companies involved will do the right thing to resolve this soon!
This is so crazy! My heart goes out to you and your family. I trust that BofA will do the right thing and re-convey the property to you. As a realtor with 35 years of experience I’m still shocked at what the banks will pull on their customers. I closed on a home, just to have BofA sell it at auction a few days later. Thank got the title company went to work right away and cleared up the problem. A good title company is worth their weight in gold!
I’ve linked to your website from my website. That should get you some more traffic to your site. The best of luck to you and your family and God Bless!
Mindi Landry
http://MindiLandry.com
Thanks for the support and the link. We appreciate it!
My story aired on KUSI June 2009 and it is far from being over.
Please visit my website and join thousands of other homeowners that are being victimized by the banks, title companies, predatory lenders, loan servicers, robo signers, out of state notaries, and greedy investors. Once victimized, there’s no help from the city attorney, district attorney, attorney general or the federal government. Homes are being literally stolen and no one has yet been arrested, prosecuted and sentenced!
I suggest that you view “Inside Job” by Charles Ferguson to get an idea of what the real problem is.
If I can be of any assistance please contact me.
Make certain you have a copy of your OWNER title insurance policy. Read it thoroughly. Fraud is covered. The title for the real property described in Schedule C is insured. That means you are insured or assured that you own it.
This is a perfect example of why homebuyers should carefully select the title agency who does the underlying work to create the owner policy. The very important research stage and due diligence which PRECEDES the closing helps to AVOiD claims.
We are trained in fraud prevention. Good title agents practice with all eyes open. Bad title agents just want to get the deal closed. Title agents who operate under a conflict of interest – such as being owned by the real estate broker – may have a hard time stopping a transaction. Not all broker owned agencies do a less than adequate job but simply having a conflict of interest creates the climate for less due diligence.
Once a homeowner is faced with going through the claims process, it can be long and you must have patience. However, at least you have coverage.
You have to think of this like a house fire. You did everything right but in the end you might lose your house. With title insurance, you’ll receive a financial settlement if your house cannot be saved.
In the meantime, yes, you must keep the mortgage payments going. That is the contractual obligation.
Bank of America is not at fault. There are no standards or practices in place in which a mortgage lender would search it’s servicing portfolio for a property match when they acquire a mortgage loan for servicing. The industry standard is to require a LOAN title insurance policy and the due diligence which underlies that policy ought to have uncovered the other mortgage.
REMEMBER, the homebuyer gets to hire the company who represents the title insurance underwriter. Be choosy when you hire your title insurance agency. Look for experience and conflicts of interest. Ask questions about their search and examination practices.
If they heavily rely upon automated examination, go find someone who uses human judgment and expertise. Look for someone at the helm with at least ten years of experience.
I wish you well and am confident that you will see resolution.
This is evidence of the scams perpetrated by the “mortgage elimination” and “adverse possessor” nitwits! We’ve issued press releases on the various scams to warn the public. These press releases are available at: http://www.mortgagefraudexaminers.com
The Zaharis should bring a claim to Quiet Title. I am a consumer protection attorney in FL I take these cases on contingency- there is a lot of money to be made in them.
If possible we would like to speak with you about how we could approach an attorney to get this on contingency. Please use the phone number on the contact us section. We promise we wont take to much or your time. Maybe you have some one you could refer us to in CA? If you do call please use (760) 410-8131. Leave a message and we will call you right back.
Thank you,
The Zahari Family
To the Zahari family. I feel what is happening to you and everyone else in this country is shameful. BoA will never admit to being wrong. They always place the blame on everyone else. They hire these idiots, low-life scums to do their dirty work and then claim we are not responsible. I pray that one day BoA goes down in the books as one of the biggest failures around. They already know what went wrong. They don’t need to do any investigations. Imcompetence and greed is the problem. With all that said.
What if any research did you (Zahari Family) do on the house? Did you have a title search done to see if the title was clear before you even put an offer on the home? Did you do any research on foreclosures? Certainly you knew or heard that the foreclosures going on in this country were shady if not illegal. I know the lure of cheap foreclosed homes can be overpowering, but you have to realize that there are problems with foreclosed homes. I have told several people to run from foreclosed homes, do not even look at them, stay away from the problems that could arise. I am not attacking you because I truely believe you are a victim here. Hopefully there will be a resolution in your favor, but you are going to have to prepare yourself for disappointment. If you have to look for another home, please stay away from foreclosures and check to make sure that the next home does not have a clouded title before you even put an offer on it. My prayers are with you Zahari Family. Good Luck.
You title company should be on the hook but … do your due diligence. Make them crazy with calls until you are heard. Still limbo is an awful place to be in. These banks are criminal cabals that need to be closed.
Wow! What a story! One of millions to soon follow. My take on this is,…the property you purchased ( for whatever reasons) the foreclosure could not prevail. So, you buy the property and now are involved in this fraudulent mess. Recontrust was originally a company held by Countrywide. As Bank of America took over, records show it is now a subsidiary for them. Check out that Recontrust is not licensed for state and federal laws, to perform duties, in Utahs ruling, around May 19th, 2011. You are only protected if you purchased an Owners Title Insurance Policy. The Lender’s Policy protects the Lender. Lenders do not tell consumers this. The Title Company’s
have all been Growling that they can not be held responsible for any FRAUD. This is all a Kick in the Teeth to all the Mortgagors in this country. There are 65 million homes that have been Fraudulently Conveyed. Big Problem. When Bank of America tells you that they are not responsible, where can this leave you, and where will any recourse for recovering the monies you paid, ever come from. I believe, if and when they find the True Owner, she could win Quiet Title. For some reason, there is not clear Title. I would stop payments ASAP, put all monies in an escrow account, and wait it out. File a Complaint/Lawsuit against all whose names you know, and seek specific damages. You may never get your money back! The imposter seller will be in jail? You can file disputes with each credit reporting agents. You will not get bad credit while in DISPUTE. If you can locate an attorney, he will set up an escrow account for all future payments. They would not see another nickle from me. We all realize it was you that was SCAMMED, but even when you win judgments against people, COLLECTING is another story. Get Moving and file the Lawsuit.
What is the reality that someone will knock at the door to claim this is their home? The bank? I don’t think they have any documentation to support that. The old owner that was going through foreclosure? Unlikely as they would have to hire an attorney to represent them. YOU have a title policy stating YOU own the home. Regardless if it was acquired under false pretense, you are insured. Let the title company and bank work it out. Good luck!
Thank you!
Please go to the Recorders Office and look up Susan Mirador’s Mortgage Documents. Her loan was in 2006, ( a bad time), see if she had a MERS loan. Her loan was only for $409,400, and you paid $490,000 in 2010. Property values plumetted at the end of 2007, so this I don’t understand. Everyone, who was involved in this illegal transaction is responsible. Usually, people benefit from a foreclosure purchase with the values lower. What happened Here?? Please examine the Appraisal closely. Only a Judge will see that your rights are protected. Of course Bank of America, would tell you to keep paying?? This property could be returned to the owner before Susan Mirador, if it;s determined that the loan to Susan was illegal in that (bad time frame) 2006. As stated: File a clain with the Title Ins. as they are obligated under the Contract to defend the Title. Their attorney’s can fight for you. It doesn’t matter if the previous owners never show up or make claims , you will not ever own the home. When there is a problem with Title, the property can not be legally be sold to anyone.My heart is breaking for you, and I do realize you love the home. Just a bad thing that’s running rampant throughout our entire country. The banks made Trillions off of us in the mortgage securization fraud, and we will be paying the price for decades to come. Good Luck, people here care and will continue to care. Mildred left her phone no. for you. She appears very knowledgable. Call her.
You may have Appraisal Fraud! You can sue the Appraiser and Company. I did and just won in Federal District Court in Indianapolis, Indiana. Just can’t see how the property could have gained value (80,000) for the time frame involved here. Americans with loans from the past 10 years have underwater loans, and they can not refinance, cause the home is now not worth what they owe. The same BANKS THAT GAVE THE LOANS WILL NOT REFINANCE. The banks are not your friends. Check into your Appraisal and get your home appraised today. Good Luck
Charlie, this is a perfect way to get your story to the public. Thousands of people are or will experience this as time goes on. You have done an excellent job of documenting everything. I was especially interested in reading your Title Insurance Policy. I know that title companies are using “Exceptions” to free them from fraudulent foreclosure mess and I note that this indeed what they did. Numbers 11 and 13 are quite interesting. 11 excludes the prior owner’s interest and as long as they didn’t get caught no one would have ever noticed. I would bet that most policies being issued today have some form of ’11′ included in the Exceptions. I don’t understand why they made your loan an Exception other than they know darn well it isn’t legitimate. The attorney’s letter was scathing, accusatory and threatening. Makes one wonder why we have to pay several hundred dollars at closing to be treated in such a manner.
Thanks for the support!
Dear Zahari family,
I feel for you!
I wish I could offer you legal advice. Though I am not an attorney, I believe the problem lies with the Title Insurance Company first and foremost. You should be able to find a pro bono attorney (or a law student with a lot of ambition!) to take on your case. Though your effort is admirable in trying to go it alone, they will only respect you and do right by you if they know there’s an attorney involved (they will be afraid of a lawsuit and the bad press that comes with it!) Get them for negligence!
With an attorney involved is a WHOLE NEW BALL GAME!
I found this link that might be helpful:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/study/outlines/html/prop/prop26.htm
Good luck to you and your family! Never, never, never give up!