Liens on foreclosed home without deed filed

[SweetGeorgia]

We lost our house to foreclosure in July; as of now the new owner (not the bank, just an investor) has not filed the deed. So any search would show that we're still the owners. The new owner has made some improvements and put the house on the market.

But he apparently hasn't paid the HOA (and we hadn't paid since 02/08). The HOA filed a lien recently - it's not a huge amount. Won't the new owner have to pay that before he can transfer the deed when he sells?

I ask because we're about to file bk, but in the meantime we've accumulated a judgment (not related to the property). I am wondering whether that plaintiff can also file a valid lien on the house (or would our bankruptcy invalidate a lien already filed). I know it will make no difference in our situation, but I would be a little tickled if the investor had to pay off our judgment. He was a much bigger jerk than the judgment creditor was.

[StartingOver08]

This is interesting. Was your home actually foreclosed or did it sell to an investor at the foreclosure auction/sale or before the auction? Are you sure the deed has not been recorded into the new buyer's name? There has been ample time to do so if the sale occured in July.

If the deed is still in your name this will create an issue in your BK because it is an asset because it has never been transferred out of your name. Did this buyer pay cash for the property? If so, there is no lien on it and the Trustee may actually want the house for the estate. If there is a new mortgage on the property from the new buyer, the new lender would have required the buyer to own the property to issue the loan, so the new buyer must have paid cash. In any event, make sure you bring up this complication to your attorney.

[SweetGeorgia]

Thanks for responding! Yes, apparently a guy with a bunch of cash bought the house on the courthouse steps. I know that a Foreclosure Deed was created, because I pestered the real estate agent about it and I got a copy of the cover letter the bank's attorney sent with the deed (that should have been recorded).

As far a bk is concerned, I'm not worried that it looks like an asset (we were underwater anyway). However, the debt would throw our business:personal ratio off.

Still, I think our attorney and the court can figure out what happened, and there must be a way of verifying the sale even without the new owner's cooperation. It's occurred to me that he may well be hiding assets for whatever reason (spend cash on house, then delay recording deed - it looks like he has neither cash nor property).