SOMEONE SNUCK A LIEN ONTO MY MORTGAGE..WHAT CAN I DO????

Question

I hope someone knows what I can do in this situation. I have a first and second on my home and have to foreclose. I'm upside down on my mortgages and cannot sell for what I owe. The lender said they would've considered a Deed in lieu of foreclosure if my second mortgage didn't have the lien against it. I asked them what they meant. They told me that someone had a pool insurance lien on my second and was asking for a 25% contribution($7,000.00) in order to remove the lien. I think it meant 25% of the loan value which would be about that amount. The thing is... I have never owned a pool or bought pool insurance. My second mortgage is about 5 years old, and the only way I can think of is if the lawyers closing the second mortgage snuck this in the back door without me knowing. This is preventing me from possibly getting out of this without a foreclosure on my record. I cannot find out who they are... except that my mortgage company can see it on my mortgage, but cannot tell who has the lien. How can I find out who it is? Is this legal? Can somebody really do this and get away with it? How can anyone justify pool insurance on me when I've never owned a pool??  I hope someone has an answer for me. Thanks!

Greg E · Answer

I don't think you have your facts straight here.

The first mortgage will not do a deed in lieu because there is a second.  If they accepted a DIL they would own it subject to the 2nd whereas if they foreclose the second will be wiped off title.

The reference to "pool insurance" may in fact be a mortgage insurance policy insuring the second mortgage holder.  The 7K may be what they are willing to take to release the 2nd mortgage.  That is just a guess based on the information you posted.

Jon Holdman · Answer

Tim,
I think you're a little confused.  You can't place a lien against a mortgage.  A mortgage is a lien against a property.  It sounds like someone has placed a line against your property, third in line after the first and second mortgage.

This may refer to some sort of pool other than a swimming pool.

You can find out the details fairly easily.  This is a public record.  You don't say where you are, but many counties have their records online.  You may be able to search you your address to find the original deed and mortgages as well as this third lien.  If not, go to your county courthouse and find the recorder's office and ask them for help.  All properties have some sort of ID number, called a parcel number, parcel id, or assessors parcel number or some such.  Once you have this, the searches are usually easier.  You might find it on the original paperwork from when you bought the property.

Another alternative is to contact a title company and have them look up the info.  I'd start with the one that issued the title policy when you bought the property.  A real estate lawyer is another alternative.  But, both these guys will look the property up in the public records.

Once you have a copy of the actual lien, you should be able to contact the lienholder and find out why you own them money.

Jon