No one owns it?

Question

Maybe this is just indicitive of the whole foreclosure mess, but I'm not sure how this happens.  It seems that the property was foreclosed, then sold twice, ending up belonging to a Limited Partnership that does not have a real address??

http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/tri-state_news/Foreclosure-protesters-fill-the-lobby-of-US-Bank-downtown_6772469

What happens to a property such as this?  The county eventually takes possession and sells it at the property auction??  If it has been 4 years, how long does it take?  I don't care about the property, just interested in the process....

Chris Martin · Answer

Indeed. Keep in mind the bank (US Bank in this case) is really not "at fault" per se. People tend to vilify the banks, but unless someone can correlate the operations of these phantom "wholesaler" operations to the bank, the bank is caught up in this just like the neighborhood and the city. What should happen, IMO, is the old owner should be accountable for the upkeep even if they aren't responsible financially to the lender.

If these phantom "wholesaler" operations are related to (or created by) the bank... that's a different story.

Jeff B. · Answer

Chris, 
Reading that thread really opened my eyes to what might be going on here.  I remember reading that thread when it started, but didn't follow it closely enough to finish it out.  It just puzzles me how a large bank (US Bank in this instance) can get caught up in such a shadey deal.  There ought'a be a law against it, LOL!!!!

As I said originally, I'm not interested in the property.  It's out of my area and I'm very focused on a specific type of property.  I was just interested in how a property can fall into such a mess where no one wants to own up to owning it.  After reading your thread, it's a little clearer, but it still leaves me scratching my head.  I really feel for the neighborhood around this property.  They are left with an eyesore with little that can be done with it until the city finally steps in.

James Aldridge · Answer

I am seeing properties like this with ACORN in new orleans. Great properties with super rehab potential locked up inside an enigma...Eventually the liens from the city will prompt action to file for possession by the city, then go up for auction.

Chris Martin · Answer

Ooops. Same grantor and grantee, but different county. The M17S LP entity is not registered with the state. I've seen this before in my state (NC) with a different entity, as I pointed out in this BP topic over several posts. I wouldn't be surprised if the "wholesaler" is the same as in the other topic, where the ownership 'transfer' is not recorded... along with bogus entities, some of these operations seem quite shady at best.

Chris Colvard · Answer

You could always just move a tenant in and claim adverse possession.

This have happened here is the Dallas area.

This is a joke, but it has actually been done.

Stu Holbrook · Answer

Call the county and talk with a clerk, who will be paying the taxes? If US Bank sold the property to the difficult to find "partners" call local realtors. In the end the new owners have privacy rights, the water company is unlikely to be helpful. The situation is much like skip tracing or a real investigation. If you must have this property, as in no other will do, then you can hire a private investigator to find your "silent" partners.

Jeff B. · Answer

County is Hamilton (http://www.hamiltoncountyauditor.org).  County shows U S BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION as the current owner of record (as of 6/1/11).

Stu, the article states that the property has transferred twice since the foreclosure.  That's one of the things confusing me.  It's not recorded on the county site.

Chris Martin · Answer

You can verify the information in the article by looking up the deed transfers in your county (Sanilac) land records. The transfer was this past week per country document that I googled.

Stu Holbrook · Answer

What do you mean sold twice? In sequence or at the same time, both can occur.What does the recorded deed state?