Notification to Parish/County?

[shanmarie]

Hi, We received our discharge in March for Ch. 7 bankruptcy. We relinquished our house in the bankruptcy. It was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina (we lived in SE Louisiana). So, does the mortgage company automatically notify the parish/county of the change in ownership to get us off the mortgage deed? Who notifies the parish/county of this? No one tells you how to handle this type of thing. Reason I need to know is because the parish (county) is rebuilding and planning to put a lien on property that is considered blighted, ours is on that list, and I don't want a lien put on our names when we don't legally own this property. I can't tell them what to do with the house or property, whether to demolish or not, because I don't own it legally, and their demolition forms require legal authorization and permission of both owner and mortgage holder, not just owner. Should I send them a letter telling them, or do you think they've already been notified by the mortgage company when this change of ownership occurred earlier this year? Should I just let the mortgage company handle it since its legally their house, not mine?

By the way, I got a tax bill for the house, am I bound to pay this considering I don't own it anymore?

Anyone with info. to help, please advise. Thanks.

[SinkingFast]

Generally speaking,............ Even tho you gave up the house in BK, until the Lender goes thru a formal court process, you're still the owner of record on the Deed.

We need to look into Foreclosure Law in Louisianna to give you a better answer.

Maybe there will be special considerations due to Katrina that factor in as well.

[shanmarie]

Thanks SinkingFast. I have no idea if there are special circumstances for us, but doubt it. I suppose I'll know when I receive foreclosure papers in the mail from the mortgage company? Or will they notify me at all?

[SinkingFast]

Louisianna Foreclosure Law requires the Lender to notify the Debtor and advertise the Sale at least twice. Once the Sale is completed, the Deed changes hands. The Lender does not have to go thru an En Rem process to get your name off the Deed of Trust. Typically, it takes from 6-9 months for a Foreclosure to proceed in Louisianna.

Since you gave up the house in BK, the Lender may not have had to notify you of a pending Foreclosure Sale.

Do you know if your Lender has held the Sale of your property yet??

If the Lender has not sold your property yet, then quite possibly you are still liable for it. At the point the Deed of Trust changes hands is when you are no longer responsible.

I'd suggest you contact the attny that filed your BK about this matter.

[shanmarie]

Thanks so much, SinkingFast. Your help is very much appreciated.

[shanmarie]

Oh, and no, I don't know if they advertised anything or held the sale of the property. I'll contact my bk atty and see if he can find out. At least now I know what to ask him and what he needs to do. You are a wealth of information.

[shanmarie]

Update: Attorney said it's VERY unlikely I'd retain any liability with respect to the properties and I will probably never hear anything else about it. Basically, he said that in legal terms via our bk schedules we said we didn't want it and now so has the trustee. If there is still anything left to be hashed out, it will be between the parish/county and the mortgage co., we are out of it completely. Soooo, that's good news.

[Minnymouth]

When my home was seized I was no longer responsible for property tax or insurance from the day it was seized by the Trustee...... they became his responsibility.... should be the same in surrendering I would think.....

I was responsible only for the time period of that year that I had the home....

[SinkingFast]

Update: Attorney said it's VERY unlikely I'd retain any liability with respect to the properties and I will probably never hear anything else about it. Basically, he said that in legal terms via our bk schedules we said we didn't want it and now so has the trustee. If there is still anything left to be hashed out, it will be between the parish/county and the mortgage co., we are out of it completely. Soooo, that's good news.

Yeah!! Glad you got the answer you needed, AND it was the one you wanted to hear. So many of us have "unexpected" expenses dropped in our laps every day. UGH!!

Congrats, Shanmarie!! You can rest easy this weekend!!