Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I bought a house with my wife at the end of last year. Seller paid for FHA required repairs, each of which are not code compliant. Looking at a form labeled " WAIVER AND RELEASE REGARDING PROPERTY CONDITION AT CLOSING " (NPDC Form Waiver-02/12/02) I noticed that I had the original form, with only my wife's and mine signatures and the wrong address written in. On the page labeled " AFFIDAVIT AND INDEMNIFICATION AS TO DEBTS AND LIENS", to be witnessed I believe by a notary and signed by the seller (FANNIE MAE) the county is listed as San Diego, but the house we purchased is in Los Angeles county. The rest of the form is blank, including:
1.REO#
2.Every place for witness and seller to sign
3.Lender's name
4.Loan no.
5. REO Case No.
6.Fannie Mae Loan #
Title company won't give me a copy of document signed by both parties.
QUESTIONS:
A. If the above items 1-6 were added later, and that document has missing information filled in with signatures by seller and witness, does that make the document a forgery?
B. Does the form become a defective form, with no legal bearing?
C. What should I make of this thing because it's not a contract until both parties sign and I don't have a copy of the contract?
Thank You Massively
1 Answer from Attorneys
You are looking at more than one form as if they were one form. The property condition form is Form 4. The debts and liens form is a different form. Form 4 only has signature lines for the buyers. The form with the missing information and signature lines for the seller is a separate form. If you have construction defects in FNMA sold home subject to FHA repairs, you need to take your whole escrow package to a lawyer in person and have it sorted out for you.