Silent Title: Not a Silver Bullet
The newest financial elixir to appear on the American scene is the quiet title concept. Many consumers are under the impression that a quiet title action will get them a free home. Could not be farther from the truth. Why would I know? Because I wrote a continuing legal education credits workshop for lawyers.
The workshop has been approved in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Nevada. I have conducted workshops across the country on this topic and have had the opportunity to speak with homeowners facing foreclosure, real estate investors, mortgage professionals, and attorneys. After understanding what the concept really is, everyone gained a better understanding.
Silent title is designed to minimize litigation. Plain and simple. When you file this type of action, you are bringing a lawsuit against anyone who has a registered interest in your property. When you compare a foreclosure defense lawsuit to a quiet title, the difference is day and night. The current legal system encourages homeowners to seek the advice of attorneys to represent them in foreclosure. But, and this is a big BUT. If the attorney is not experienced in securitization, assignments, auto signatures, notary fraud, and many other facets of what really happened, he will be lost in court.
Well, now you feel comfortable because your brother-in-law found you a good lawyer who understands it. Here is the scenario that has occurred throughout the country. The well-intentioned lawyer represents him in court, but what is he really doing? He is trying to drag out the foreclosure process. Paying a lawyer monthly instead of the bank generates a cheap rent for you. But, you MUST continue to fund your attorney’s efforts. At the end of the day, when the lights go out, the lawyer walks up to him and says “we won.” you won what? You earned a dismissal without prejudice. This means that the opposing attorney simply tells the judge, “See you next month, because we’ll be back.”
Now you get the image. The foreclosure defense is based solely on your financial ability to pay attorney and court costs.
Now, let’s take a look at what a silent title action is. In this type of action, you simply become the plaintiff and not the defendant. This is an important move. In a foreclosure defense action, you are the defendant. But let’s reverse the scenario. Let’s put the ball on the opponent’s two-yard line and you’ll get him into the end zone. All you need is an attorney who understands this implementation of the law.
A lawsuit is filed against anyone who has a registered interest. How do you find this out? You have done a title search and it will reveal who has a registered interest or link. I know of an example here in Southwest Florida where an attorney and real estate broker paid a bank $153,000 cash for a house in a foreclosure sale and the bank DID NOT OWN THE HOUSE. Knowing who has a registered interest is the real purpose of a quiet title action. Once you have notified the party(ies) that you have a registered interest, this is where the ice thickens.
They MUST PROVE to the court that they have an interest in your property. This has nothing to do with how much is owed. A quiet title action is heard under contract law and not under wrong law. Therefore, the amount of the debt is NEVER debated or disputed. The argument is who has an interest that is verifiable. YES, he told the judge, “Your Honor, I have a certified check to pay off my loan.” “Can you tell opposing counsel to return my original promissory note to me when I pay this debt?” It will never happen because the note was used as a financing mechanism when your loan was sold on Wall St. I can go on and on on this topic, but I wanted to touch on the logic of this topic.
Once served, the defendant(s) MUST respond within twenty days or, in some jurisdictions, thirty days. Yes, some homeowners have won a quiet title lawsuit and gotten the property for free. BUT, that’s weird. A good quiet title action will weed out the real interested parties, giving you the opportunity to sit down at the table and negotiate with the real lender. This saves thousands of dollars in litigation costs when dealing with fictitious lenders, service companies and others who don’t have “skin in the game” or as the legal field refers to “no position”.
Respectfully, Regis Sauger Author/Speaker