Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Can I have missing notes dismissed from total morgage due?

3rd party working for private funder altered docs during our withdrawls for existing home and new construction. We made good faith payments while private funder was attempting to correct the errors.

Private funder dies.

Estate can not produce some of the notes. Estate refuses to provide a payoff amount excluding the missing notes.

Can we have the missing notes dismissed?


Asked on 3/07/06, 9:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Can I have missing notes dismissed from total morgage due?

Is there a deed of trust associated with this loan? Or a mortgage or some other recorded intrument? This would be usual. While notes themselves aren't placed on the public record, the security instrument (deed of trust or mortgage) should be and almost always is recorded in the county where the property is located, and would show the total amount due.

In either case, if the amount in dispute is large enough to warrant, I can see this dispute ending up before a judge, either based on your suit for fraudulent alteration of the notes or the lender's suit for full payment or judicial foreclosure (or, if there is a deed of trust, you may be facing a default notice and foreclosure by trustee's sale).

Other than the hope that there is one (or maybe more than one) recorded instrument that would be proof of the amount lent, this looks like a dispute that should be handled through mediation under the guidance of attorneys for both parties who have experience in real estate finance.

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Answered on 3/07/06, 11:27 am


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