Real
Cases in Real Estate
is a weekly update on real estate law, with legal principles illustrated and
explained by lawsuits from around the country. The topics are wide-ranging for
appeal to a broad spectrum of readers including lawyers, homeowners, investors
and the general public. Andrea Lee Negroni, a Washington DC
attorney and legal writer with 25 years of experience in financial services and
mortgage law, contributes the case summaries.
Followers of
Real Cases in Real Estate will learn and be entertained by lawsuits
involving nuisance, trespass, zoning violations, deed restrictions, title
insurance, public utilities, mechanics liens, construction defects, adverse
possession, foreclosure and eviction, divorce and marital property rights,
tenants' rights, and more. Real Cases in Real Estate uncovers the
unpredictable, amusing, and sometimes outrageous disputes between next-door
neighbors, contractors and homeowners, condo boards and residents, real estate
brokers and homebuyers, and zoning administrators and developers.
Each fully
cited case summary highlights the essential law of the case and explains the
principal legal theories and concepts relevant to the outcome. Plain language
treatment makes Real Cases in Real Estate accessible to lawyers and
laymen alike.
Whether you
follow real estate law professionally or as a hobby, you'll find something new
and useful every week in Real Cases in Real Estate.
Updates
for the Week of February 22d, 2012
Lender cannot acquire a security interest in husband's one-half
undivided interest in property if wife mortgaged the property by introducing a
forgery into the chain of title.
The Brocks took out a home loan
to buy a residence in Suwanee, Georgia in 1987. Jerry Brock gave his wife money
each month to make the mortgage payments, but she didn't always make the
payments. As a result, the loan went into default several times and the lender
filed foreclosure notices. Joyce avoided foreclosure once by borrowing money
from a friend to bring the loan current, and another time by working out a
payment plan with the lender. When she defaulted under the payment plan, she
sought out a mortgage broker to refinance the mortgage, but did not tell her
husband Jerry about the refinance. She got the refinance loan by presenting a
quitclaim deed from Jerry to her, with a forged signature.
When Jerry learned his wife had
spent more than $200,000 without his knowledge, he filed for divorce. That's
when he learned about the foreclosure proceedings, the forged quitclaim deed
and Joyce's refinance loan. Jerry Brock sued his ex-wife and the refinancing
lender to quiet title to the property. The lender claimed it had a security
interest in the entire property, based on its status as a bona fide purchaser
for value. Generally speaking, "a bona fide purchaser for value is protected
against outstanding interests in land of which the purchaser has no notice."
Tenants in common may convey
their interests in property without the consent of the other tenants, but "one
holding property with another person as tenants in common cannot convey or
affect that person's interest without his or her consent." Thus, Joyce could
encumber her own one-half interest in the property without Jerry, but she could
not encumber his one-half interest. Since a forged deed is a "nullity," even a
bona fide purchaser for value cannot acquire good title based on a forged deed.
Therefore, even if the lender making the refinance loan to Joyce had no notice
of the forged quitclaim deed, it could not acquire an interest in Jerry's
half-interest because of the forgery.
Brock v. Yale Mortgage Corp., 287
Ga. 849, 2010 Ga. LEXIS 647 (Ga. 2010) [enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers].
....
Lexis.com subscribers can explore/search Real Estate Law resources on Lexis.com or access any of these Mathew Bender Real Estate Law publications:
Non-subscribers can purchase Property Law
treatises/resources and Mathew Bender publications from the LexisNexis Bookstore
Non-subscribers can purchase Real Estate Law
treatises/resources and Mathew Bender publications from the LexisNexis Bookstore
For more information about LexisNexis products and
solutions connect with us through our corporate
site.