How Do You Find Out If Somebody Really Owns A Home

[Gerry_in_Reno]

Hello,

It's been awhile since my last posting on this fine forum.

I'm very concerned about a matter, and hopefully, someone can help me.

I'll be as brief as possible!

I have a friend who is seeing a male individual who is currently married. This male is living in a house currently owned, according to county records -- I have copies of the deed, tax accessor info, everything filed for this home -- by his wife and her mother (50/50). The mother's share was recently put into a family trust. This male individual claims to my female friend that 50 percent of the home was given to him last year. Is this doubtful, considering nothing is showing up at the recorder's office showing this male owning any percentage of the property? In addition, this male signed what amounted to a quit claim 5 years ago, of which I have a copy, disclaiming all interest in the property, signing it over to the wife/her mother when the home was transferred from the builder.

Also, this male individual claims to be refinancing for a larger loan to pay off bills, using his income on the application. The wife does not work. How can this be possible given this male individual is nowhere on the current deed?

Furthermore, this male claims that certain docs haven't been filed with the county, and that he claims to have them in his possession. Is this even possible?

Finally, this male claims to be making the mortgage payments and that this proves he has interest in the property.

I understand this is a bit confusing, but my intuition is telling me this male individual is not being honest.

Thank you

Gerry

[525601minutes]

this may not be true in your state...

In CA if a person signed a quit claim and it was recorded with the county and you can not find any record of the property being recorded back to him then it is VERY VERY doubtful he has any ownership in the property. Just because he pays the mortgage does NOT mean he has a claim in the home. You can be on the note and owe the bank money and still not have any interest in the actual deed of trust. Hope that makes sense. Tell your friend to trust your gut!

[Gerry_in_Reno]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply. My gut feeling told me something was obviously wrong.

The male individual claims he has documents that, for some reason, have never been recorded in Nevada. My county makes it easy to search for ALL real estate records. His name is on no recorded documents whatsoever since giving back his claim to the property 5 years ago. Apparently, the wife and her mother wanted him to have no share. Unfortunately, he still claims secret docs and that he was given half the house last year... with no recordation!! Not to mention his claim to be refinancing without even being on any deed or the original mortgage of 5 years ago!!

Thanks

Gerry

[525601minutes]

A quit claim signed but not recorded is worthless - unless maybe the signer died right after and didn't have time to get it to the recorder's office - like they were killed in a car crash on the way there

[Gerry_in_Reno]

this may not be true in your state...

In CA if a person signed a quit claim and it was recorded with the county and you can not find any record of the property being recorded back to him then it is VERY VERY doubtful he has any ownership in the property. Just because he pays the mortgage does NOT mean he has a claim in the home. You can be on the note and owe the bank money and still not have any interest in the actual deed of trust. Hope that makes sense. Tell your friend to trust your gut!

Hi,

I was told in the last few days that someone can't be on the mortgage unless they're on the deed as well, for the financial institution's safety, but being on the deed and not on the mortgage is possible. Can you clarify??

Thanks

[seniorjudge]

Q: I was told in the last few days that someone can't be on the mortgage unless they're on the deed as well, for the financial institution's safety, but being on the deed and not on the mortgage is possible. Can you clarify?

A: I own a house. I want a loan. The bank says, "Your credit is lousy. We need more signers." I get my mother, my second cousin once removed, the paperboy, the guy who delivers the marijuana, and some guy down the road who is not right in the head, to all sign the mortgage along with me. The bank is happy. I am happy. We all go home.

[seniorjudge]

Q: How Do You Find Out If Somebody Really Owns A Home?

A: You have a title company run a report on the property.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Or just go down to the country registry and do a search by block/lot number to see who has the most recently recorded deed to the property. Don't always search by just surname as ownership can be through aliases, trusts, corps, etc.

Older deeds aren't always in the computerized records though(and some counties may not be computerized in some areas) so be careful and ask for help when searching indexes and paper archives to investigate a chain of title.

[Gerry_in_Reno]

Thanks for the feedback!

What if you are nowhere on the recorded deed AND nowhere on the original mortgage, can you still refi? I don't see how someone can refi if they aren't on the deed or even on the mortgage.

The guy I'm referring to signed a quit claim 5 years ago back to his wife/her mother AND was NEVER on the original mortgage! He's claiming to be refinancing. We don't believe him. I have copies of all the current documents.

[Gerry_in_Reno]

Q: I was told in the last few days that someone can't be on the mortgage unless they're on the deed as well, for the financial institution's safety, but being on the deed and not on the mortgage is possible. Can you clarify?

A: I own a house. I want a loan. The bank says, "Your credit is lousy. We need more signers." I get my mother, my second cousin once removed, the paperboy, the guy who delivers the marijuana, and some guy down the road who is not right in the head, to all sign the mortgage along with me. The bank is happy. I am happy. We all go home.

Okay, but what if it isn't your house in the first place??

What if you're NOT on the deed??