All Forum Posts by: Tom Gimer
Tom Gimer has started 14 posts and replied 3445 times.
Post: Owner’s title insurance - to get or not?
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
@Carlos Ptriawan @Jay Hinrichs Residential ground leases in Maryland (Baltimore City mainly but also surrounding counties) are typically 99-year leases renewable in perpetuity, meaning as long as the rent continues to be paid the lease is automatically renewed for 99 more.
No pay or slow pay and you can loose your leasehold property.
You can "redeem" the ground (well except for "irredeemable" ground rents, but those are quite rare and another story) by buying out the owner of the fee simple interest a cap rate formula based upon the date the original lease was created. So to buy out an $84 annual lease created in 1900 you would divide the rent by 0.06 = $1400. A ground rent redemption deed is executed and recorded, extinguishing the ground rent and making the land fee simple... the fee and leasehold interests having been "merged".
There is an entire industry surrounding ground rents: buying/selling (often in bulk), servicing, collecting, ejectment actions for non-payment, GRR deed prep, etc. There are actually 2 chains of title on leasehold properties... one for the leasehold interest (transferred by assignment) and one for the fee (transferred by deed).
Post: Appellate Division overruled foreclosure tax law
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
When you get a decision like this followed by appeals it is no-mans land for title insurers. They'll just so "no thanks" until the law is settled and then evaluate new business policy in that context.
The good news is that a change in the law would only affect future and pending sales... the bad news is OP is pending.
Post: Owner’s title insurance - to get or not?
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
@Jay Hinrichs @Peter Walther You two should pull some Maryland ground leases from the 1800s and get back to me about how much you love the handwriting. It can be guesswork.
Post: Closing a Refi Loan (Weird Situation)
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
@Devin Dull If you do nothing you should expect to become the defendant in a lawsuit for a constructive trust and have your account frozen, among other things.
Post: New construction forclosure auction
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
Quote from @Jennifer T.:
Quote from @Randall Alan:
There are a lot of ins and outs to what you are thinking about trying to do. First, and foremost, my guess is that it is highly unlikely that the only lien on the house is for $170,000. (It's always possible I suppose)... but in foreclosures, there are frequently second lenders who may or may not be listed in the auction paperwork. It really starts off with figuring out who is filing the foreclosure. For instance, if there were two lenders between the lot, and the house, and the foreclosure is just one of those trying to recoup their costs, you might not see the other lender listed at all in the foreclosure paperwork. But if you got the property for the $170,000, a more senior (earlier) mortgage would remain attached to the property. So if there was a $600,000 house loan still floating around out there, you would own the house for the $170,000 (if it sold for that), but the property would still have a lien by the other lender wanting payment for their $600,000 loan; and if you didn't pay, they would then turn around and foreclose on YOU! So be careful... there are a lot of intricacies with all of that.
That specific scenario would never happen due to the concept of lien priority. First mortgage must take precedence over second mortgage. So even if you default on your second mortgage, and the second mortgagor forecloses on your property then sells it at an auction, the first mortgagor has to get fully paid from the sale first. Then the second mortgager will get whatever is leftover (if any).
So strategically, as the second mortgagor, it is only likely to foreclose on a home if there will be money left in excess of the first mortgage.
Thus, as a buyer of a foreclosed home, all mortgages will be wiped out after the sale and you will never be surprised by another "hidden mortgage".
This is inaccurate. The first mortgage holder is not even a party to the subordinate lien foreclosure action and thus the first lien is unaffected.
The internet (and BP) is full of stories from people who overpaid at the foreclosure of a junior (second trust, HOA/COA lien), etc... not realizing they were then taking title subject to the senior.
Post: Owner’s title insurance - to get or not?
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan:
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan:
Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan:
Quote from @Peter Walther:
do you mean the digital plant to be located digitally in US servers but the one that can access the database is located in Philipines ?
Not sure i am having lunch with my Escrow officer and Development rep today will ask ?
sure why not, I would guess the Manila guy is the one that would search the entry. Very sophisticated operation indeed.
There're few online web also that recently can display the deed and title back to 20 years.
a lot of counties have some of this info on line as well.. Like for us in Oregon our customer service department when you ping them either call or e mail and ask for a TRIO.. within 30 minutes you get an e mail back with copy of the assessor tax page showing tax info etc.. A copy of the plat map and a copy of the last recorded Deed on the property so you can see who sold it and when and for how much.. And of course this is free to agents and those doing business with the title company regularly. U simply cant get this kind of service back east or in markets that are attorney closing states.
Hey! Not true!
I can pull that information in a few minutes (in several east coast jurisdictions) for good customers.
Post: Where to find list of pre-foreclosures?
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
@Steven Barr I would be searching the land records for “lis pendens” filings which typically coincide with the first foreclosure filing in many jurisdictions.
Also deed of appointment/ notice of appointment of substitute trustee. These are filed when a foreclosure law firm is retained and substituted in for the prior trustee(s). That’s a good early clue of default.
Post: Owner’s title insurance - to get or not?
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
@Carlos Ptriawan Ah… I understand.
It depends on the jurisdiction. East coast you will typically find a land records division in each county. In Maryland there are 23, Virginia 95, West Virginia 55, Delaware 3, and so on. DC being tiny has a single recorder of deeds database. The documents are digital (pdf, tiff, etc.) public records… everybody can get access (some states/counties charge fees).
Somebody will need to chime in about other parts of the country. Our footprint is expanding west so I’ll be needing to learn a ton of information about new states.
Fixing a title issue from 1874 likely requires a lot of work*… the original parties (other than gov’t) are almost surely unavailable. Estates may need to be opened or re-opened, successor entities may need to be included, perhaps all current owners of adjacent properties might need to be brought in. There is/are often a new instrument(s) (quitclaim deed, confirmatory deed, easement, etc.) executed and recorded. That’s generally how things work but the actual resolution required really depends on the nature of the title defect.
*In some cases a title insurer will simply “insure over” an old defect.
Post: Lease language - Tenant is paying half rent monthly, half rent annually
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449
Tenant is the ex-wife. Ex-husband is the guarantor of the lease.
In some states accepting pre-paid rent is not permitted. In that case either create an escrow account for the lump some and draw from it monthly OR 12 post-dated 1/2 monthly rent checks provided by the guarantor at signing would seem to work.
Post: Finding a Wholesaler
- DMV
- Posts 3,497
- Votes 3,449