Homeowners Find Way to Avoid Oregon Foreclosure Listings

The same month that President Barack Obama announced his foreclosure prevention plan, an estimated 3,600 distressed homeowners in Oregon received foreclosure listings notices last February.

Oregon foreclosures rate was ranked among the top 10 in the country in February. Data released by RealtyTrac showed that Oregon got the ninth place in terms of the highest number of homes in foreclosure listings.

On the bright side, the 3,600 homes in February’s Oregon foreclosure listings were lower by 20 percent over the 4,500 recorded in January.

And distressed homeowners have also found a way to delay their properties’ inclusion on foreclosure listings. They learned that by asking banks and lenders to produce a note proving their ownership of home mortgage, they could delay the foreclosure process.

Some banks and lenders can show proof that they own the mortgage loans on repo homes. However, most of the time, banks and lenders are unable to produce the necessary documents that will show their ownership of the mortgage.

This strategy has become popular among homeowners who want to save their properties from foreclosure listings. But experts pointed out that this strategy is not unfailing and could be costly to pursue.

Some homeowners may find that banks and lenders have learned to counter this strategy by filing a lost instruments motion.

University of Iowa associate professor Katherine Porter cited results of a study which showed that many banks and lenders are losing documents necessary for foreclosure.

She said that 40 percent of cases involved banks and lenders that failed to attach copies of promissory notes. These promissory notes are evidence that consumers own the debt to banks and lenders.

However, Oregon is different from other states when it comes to the foreclosure process. Foreclosures in the state are usually between the bank and homeowner and do not involve courts.

Portland lawyer Rich Parker said that under Oregon law, if the homeowner wants to require banks and lenders to produce proof of mortgage ownership, he has to bring the case to the court.

And suing a bank or lender can be expensive for someone who is also struggling to pay his mortgage.

Parker said that in one of the cases he handled, the judge rejected the request of a homeowner for the bank to produce the necessary documents to prove that it owns the mortgage.

If this happens, the foreclosure process continues.

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