I am intersted in a property in auction.??After I checked the recorded and found ?one of its onwers has died.? Can I still buy it in auction?
Thanks.
Yes. The new owner is most likely the “estate of” the now deceased owner. And the estate has an obligation to make the mortgage payments and bring the loan current if (as is evidently the case) the loan is in foreclosure. Most lenders will be a bit understanding if the death was ‘recent’ and postpone the sale to give the estate sufficient time to settle financial affairs. The lender will ideally also be in communication with the executor to work out a non-foreclosure solution. But I did observe one instance when a major lender foreclosed (loan went to trustee sale) just 15 days following the owner’s death. The deceased owner had also lost her husband (co-owner) a year earlier. This was a situation where there was substantial equity in the property, and when the surviving son (executor) learned about the trustee sale, he promptly sued the lender … and the lender rescinded the sale before they had issued the trustee’s deed upon sale. ??
Check also how title was held on that property … This would show in the DOT going to sale and any subsequent deeds. If the title is joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS), then the surviving owner now (as 100% owner) has full responsibility for the loan/payments. And ‘yes’ … it can still go to trustee sale notwithstanding the recent death of one owner. Although lenders sometimes will give ‘more time’ (i.e. postpone) if the death was recent.?