Finding the Lienholder?

Question

Hello -

Foreclosed & abandoned home in my Knoxville neighborhood, been vacant 5+ years now and is deteriorating quickly.  Tree fell on the roof several years ago, county removed the tree, but the roof has been open.  Raccoons have set up a frat house in the attic, the yard is overgrown, etc.  Original lienholder is listed as First Financial Corporation, which tanked in the subprime crisis.  First Financial was bought by National City Corp. & Merrill Lynch, which were subsequently bought by Bank of America and PNC Financial Services.  I have contacted ALL these companies and no one seems to hold the lien on this house.

How can I unravel this mess and figure out who indeed owns the home, and then get someone to take responsiblity for the upkeep and subsequent sale of the home?  The home has become a fire hazard and neighborhood eyesore in what is a nice residential neighborhood.

Thanks for the insight!
	
	Pixie

Account Closed · Answer

Pixie:  I'm not sure you are looking for the right info.  If the property went through foreclosure and reverted to the lender, there is no longer any lien on the property and there is no lien holder. You say the the loan isn't paid off.  But there is no loan balance after a foreclosure.  You don't need any info the former owner has about the lender.

MERS is an electronic recording service that has nothing to do with ownership.  Contacting them will get you nowhere.

You need current owner info.  In this case the owner would be the foreclosing lender and/or whomever bought the lender or controls them now.  If you called the lender and asked for lien holder info, you asked for the wrong information.

If you want to write to me off the board, I can look up the property info and see what I can find through my data services.  I might be able to find a contact for who controls and owns Franklin's assets.  My email is in my signature.

Pixie Hall · Answer

What a bunch of good suggestions!  At lunch I went to the county registrar of deeds to do some sleuthing.

Lender is First Franklin, a division fo National City Bank out of San Jose, CA

(Wikipedia indicates First Franklin was bought by National City Corp & Merrill Lynch, which was in turn bought by BOA & PNC Financial Services)

Also listed was MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registry System), P.O. B 2026, Flint, MI 48501   Would it be worth it for me to contact MERS?

The owner was an older lady who lost her job, tried to work with the bank, tried to sell it herself, then bailed to FLA.  I internet stalked her and I think I found her -  wrote her and asked her for the lienholder info, but no response.  She only owned it 2 years so I know it's not paid off.

5 years worth of back taxes are owed (~$3500 or less), as well as a lien by the county for $666 for mowing.

I have a two-fold interest in this.  Yes, getting the property fixed back up, but am also considering it as an investment.  What is sketchy is not only the foreclosure issue, but back taxes. As I understand it, if you buy a property for back taxes the mortgage company has a year to buy it back - does this sound correct?

Regarding contacting local government - I've been contacting codes, county commissioner, and county mayors office for several years.  They informed me the property will be sold for back taxes in late 2014.

So....there you have it.

Any more thoughts or insight?

Thanks everyone, ya' all have been amazingly helpful

Rick H. · Answer

Pixie - when I re-read both your posts it appears that you are only looking for resolution of the problem property, not necessarily to purchase it, am I correct?

Matt Devencenzo suggested that you make local real estate investors aware of the property and perhaps they will research, acquire and rehab it.  That might be the easiest course of action for you.

Another approach is political: put pressure on local code enforcement, city managers, city attorneys, aldermen, et al. You pay taxes, presumably vote, know people, are vocal and ought to make use of your gift for gab.

Lastly, if you're not a real estate investor, maybe this could be your initial foray into becoming the fixer queen of Knoxville.  Then you'll become an expert and can post here on BP as an expert. I like that possible outcome.

Steve Babiak · Answer

There is supposed to be an "Assignment of Mortgage" or something similar recorded with the county recorder upon each sale of a loan. But those sometimes don't happen when there is a merger or acquisition of the lender. And it could be a loan within MERS where the ownership changes are maintained within MERS.

If this goes on long enough, eventually the property gets sold due to the unpaid property taxes. I would suggest looking into that.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

Who does the county show as the owner?  Some bank may just have mortgage/lien, and not be the owner.  The current note holder may Not be the last mortgage holder you find in the public doc.s.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

Do a search here on BP for "missing owners", you may find some helpful ideas of creative ways to find the missing owner.

Have you looked at the tax assessor's site to see if the tax mailing address has been updated? It may not have been, but there is always that possibility.

Also call code enforcement and have them tag it if not done so yet. Again it may not spur anyone into action, but if the owner does receive a notice it may be enough to get them to begin actions to correct the issue. Or the city, if they determine it needs immediate action for safety, may take some actions like mowing and just securing the property that they will bill the owner for. Again won't completely solve the problem but may make the situation better until the owner does finally resolve the complaints.

Finally reach out to a local REI and let him know about the property. Some investors sort of specialize in finding missing owners using skip trace and other methods, and may be able to find them and purchase the property, which they will get rehabbed and solve the issue you're experiencing.

Account Closed · Answer

A complete search cost more the $29.95. Who charge you that price?

Joe Gore

Pixie Hall · Answer

I did an online search for $29.95 , and the result was First Franklin Financial Corporation. ( I mistyped that original company in my post - it's First Franklin Financial Corporation, not First Financial Corporation, my apologies.)

Is the title updated each and every time the mortgage is sold to a new company?

Account Closed · Answer

Pay a title company to do a title search.

Joe Gore