Robo-Signing and the Foreclosure Relationship
Foreclosure is an extremely serious legal matter. Unfortunately, many people today are suffering from the strain and stress of foreclosure – more than ever before, in fact. Throughout the twenty-first century, a great surge of foreclosures shocked the nation when it proved to be caused by a practice called robo-signing.
Robo-signing is a practice involving the theft of electronically saved signatures in order to place them on other legal documents. The electronically forged signatures can be placed on mortgage documents, affidavits and numerous other articles unbeknownst to the owner of the signature. In the year 2000, Nye Lavalle, an advocate for victims of financial fraud including robo-signing, wrote in his report, “21st Century Loan Sharks”, a lengthy amount of information regarding robo-signing.
Foreclosure is a tough legal process in which an individual who has taken out a mortgage goes into default and cannot make the payments as per the agreement. When this happens, the lender will have to get a local court to order the termination of the contract. In many states, the borrower is given the right of redemption, in which he or she will have a determined period of time to pay back the loan in full, plus interest and legal costs. However, some states do not allow this and the borrower may be completely out of luck.
The victims of the robo-signing issue have mixed feelings about the aftermath. According to several experts, most of the victims will not get their homes returned to them. Some have expressed anger about this result, while others are content to receive a cash settlement. The legal ins and outs of the flap make the question of returning the properties difficult.
Many people are wondering if it is possible for the foreclosed homes to be taken back. However, this gives rise to a question of whether or not someone else has already purchased and moved into the home. Experts opine that only those who were up to date on their payment plans when they were sucked into the scandal will be able to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. However, it is difficult to convince judges to take back foreclosures, due to the complicated processes involved. It is easy to see that even if a foreclosure is unwound, the lender would check to see if there were unpaid balances and reinstate the foreclosure legally.
Foreclosures are indeed harrowing and disappointing experiences for everyone involved. Robo-signing is a dangerous business that can carry along with it some extreme legal consequences in the wake of the destruction it can cause to innocent people. However, it would seem as though a select few will be able to take back what is theirs. It is to be hoped that homeowners will be able to learn from the experience in order to have a successful future.
