Am I correct in the loan position?

I am learning to find out the foreclose loan position. I purchased a title report in www.onlinedatareports.com ($28/annually). I am not sure about the quality of this website.

The current owner own this house since 1996. The report listed three loans:
First Loan Amount: $1,000,000, recorded in 2005, Lender A
Second loan amount: $300,000, recorded in 2009, Lender B
Third Loan amount: $115,487, recorded in 2022, Lender C

Amortized Loan To Value: 30%

Under Foreclosure section, the latest Notice of Trustee’s Sale Recording Date was in 02/02/2024
Default Amount: $778,553
Auction Opening Bid: $785,782
Original Loan Amount: $300,000
Lender Name: B

Can I get a conclusion that this foreclosure is from the 2nd loan since the lender name and original loan amount is same as the 2nd loan? I don’t understand why the default amount $778,553 is way more than the 2nd loan. Does it include the first loan?

I think I am wrong. The trustee reference # (02/02/2024)in the title report is different from the Trustee sale # in the upcoming auction.
I have no clue to find out the loan position at all.

Loan position is simply first in time is first in line. So the loan (or lien) with the earliest date, and the lower doc number (if two on same date) is the first, and so on. There are some exceptions, like a purchase money first having seniority over earlier liens, and subordination agreements (an agreement between two loans to swap positions), but for the most part first in line will get you to the right answer.

Using PropertyRadar’s Transaction History (which orders all the loans in liens by date then doc number, with notices for a loan under that loan) is a great tool for visualizing the history. Plus when you verify the history at the county you can add missing documents, edit documents to update whether or not a reconveyance was found, etc. It was designed exactly for this use case.

As for the question above, the original amount sure makes it appear to be the second. If you look at the notice of trustee sale it will give the date and document number of the original loan which makes it easy to confirm.

Hi Sean, The PropertyRadar say’s the foreclosure is for 1st loan dated 10/30/2003. But the county recorder has two Trust of Deed dated 08/16/2002 and 10/17/2002. The loan amount of 08/16/2002 and 10/30/2002 loan amount is very close but under different bank. I guess the 10/30/2003 is a refinance of the 08/16/2002. How can I make sure that I don’t need to worry about the 08/16/2002 loan?
The 10/17/2002 should be a second loan.
Thanks!

Will a refinance change the loan position? How do I know the later trust of deed is a refinance of a previous loan or not?

Yes, the refinance changes the position. It is always “first in time is first in line”, unless there is an exception like a subordination agreement. If you want to provide the address or RadarID, I’d be happy to take a look.

Hi Sean,
The address is:
15350 Calle Enrique Morgan Hil, CA95037.
Bellow is the picture I took from county recorder website. There are two loans ahead of 17447623( 10/30/2003, loan amount $416,000, America’s wholesale Lender ):

164223882 (08/16/2002, loan amount $420,000, Washington Mutual)

16542187 (10/17/2002, look like a $50,000 home equity line, GreenPoint Mortgage Funding)

17001949 ( I don’t know the details of this).

Thank you very much!
Best,
Claire

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

Hi Sean,
Attached is a title report I ordered from ProtitleUSA.

Thank you!

Best,
Claire

Hi Sean,
The address is:
15350 Calle Enrique Morgan Hil, CA95037.
Bellow is the picture I took from county recorder website. There are two loans ahead of 17447623( 10/30/2003, loan amount $416,000, America’s wholesale Lender ):

164223882 (08/16/2002, loan amount $420,000, Washington Mutual)

16542187 (10/17/2002, look like a $50,000 home equity line, GreenPoint Mortgage Funding)

17001949 ( I don’t know the details of this).

Thank you very much!
Best,
Claire

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

(Attachment 1146677.pdf is missing)

Hi Sean, I am confused. According to your previous comment, If the original 1st big mortgage is refinanced, it might become 2nd or third loan after the previous small amount 2nd or home equity line. If the foreclosure is from the home equity line, the winner does not need to worry about the original big amount 1st loan since it is now behind the home equity line. Is that correct?

If a mortgage is refinanced, the original loan should be paid off. How can I tell the original loan is gone?
Thanks!

In your picture from the county, note the reconveyance, document number 17486080, dated 11/21/03. If you look at that document you will see that it says that the original 1st mortgage, document number 16423882, dated 8/16/2002 has been fully “reconveyed”, meaning the title has been returned back to the owner, or more simply the loan has been paid in full.

If you look in PropertyRadar, that confirms our estimate that the original first had been reconveyed. By further reviewing those county records you can confirm the rest of our transaction history, and add any documents, like this reconveyance, that we are missing, like I did with that reconveyance here:


After you add the document, you can edit it to select the parent document (loan) that was reconveyed, so that the reconveyance shows up under the loan.
Once you are satisfied that everything matches you can simply evaluate which loans have not been reconveyed, and based on their order you can confirm their position.

Hi Sean,
Thank you! How about 16542187, the $50,000 home equity line which is earlier than 17447623? If refinance will change the loan position, does this mean 16542187 is the 1st and 17447623 is second?
Thanks!
Claire

Yes, 16542187 would now be the first unless you find a reconveyance for it. Our algorithm shows it as likely being reconveyed, and I expect you will find one for that loan.