Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois
Being that my home is currently in foreclosure I decided to have a forensic audit done on the copies of the loan documents I received at the closing 8 years ago. The results found that during the closing I had signed and dated the �I Wish to Cancel� line on �The Notice of Right to Cancel� page. I was not aware of this at the time, nor was I informed of it at any point thereafter.
I had also requested and received a copy of the mortgage documents from my lender. When checking their copy of the �The Notice of Right to Cancel� page, I noticed my signature and the date had now been lined out and the change initialed (with my initials). Apparently the lender had made these corrections without my knowledge or consent, as these changes do not appear on the copy of the original loan documents I received at the time of the closing.
Is this a violation of federal law/regulations and if so, which one(s)? Is it actionable and can it be pursued while defending the foreclosure action on my home?
Please advise. Thank you very much in advance.
2 Answer from Attorneys
Foreclosure and mortgage documents are governed by state law and not Federal law since it is a contract dispute. Federal law in lender cases only says what laws the states can and can't enact unless it deals with Bankruptcy, Patents, Immigration, or Admiralty law.
Not going over every page of mortgage and loan documents is typical of a closing. Usually it's 'Sign, here, here, and here. He are your keys, goodbye'. Also, you have no defense that the mortgage company changed your signature to initials, as you still agreed to be bound by the term on that page by placing your signature there in the first place.
If you were improperly served, the mortgage company improperly credited payments, or a term in the mortgage or loan agreements was changed after you signed then you would have a defense to the foreclosure. Otherwise the best way to deal with the mortgage company is to get a work out/loan modification.
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