Re: Who Owns It?

[Clumping Bamboos]

>Any item under a payment plan basically belongs to the lender or source.

>>Anything can be reposessed if one does not make the agreed-to payments on >>schedule. If it's bought on time, it isn't actually yours until it's >>completely paid off. THat's why you don't get the title to your car unless >>you either pay cash, or until after you have finished making ll the >>payments. >> > > Umm, not exactly. In real estate, there exists two forms of title - > legal title and equitable title. Legal title rests with the mortagee, > and equitable title with the mortgagor. In essence, there are two > owners, until the mortgage is paid off, then the two titles merge in > the mortgagee who then has complete title.

At last, someone with knowledge.

[Finance Guy]

That's not quite the way it works. The bank will foreclose, and sell your home - possibly at auction.

The bank keeps the amount outstanding on the loan plus expenses, etc. The rest goes to you.

Unfortunately, the bank doesn't have an incentive to get the best possible price for the home - all they need to do is get the outstanding loan balance. So, often times, the home end up being sold for far less than it could have brought, either through apathy or dirty dealings.

This is why you're usually much better off selling the home yourself, if you can, prior to foreclosure.

But, the main point is that the bank IS NOT entitled to all your equite just because they foreclose - only the amount they're still owed on the loan.

[Electric Twerp]

Off those fancy hubcaps I'm sure. ;)

[Kris Krieger]

Merlin wrote in news: [e-mail]:

But the reality is that, if you miss payments or, for tha matter, don't pay the taxes on time, you're evicted and lose whatever equity might have been accumulated.

When I lived is SC in the 80's, the same was true of vehicles - you had to pay taxes every year on your car. No tax payment, they take the car.

It's hard for me to think that I truely own something, if paments continue forever (taxes)...