Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey
Deed documentation forgery
we recently were in forclosure. Found a company that does lease/buyback loans. they purchase your property and clear your mortgage and let you lease the property back for 1-3 years until you are financially able to buy it back. Loan closed and everything seemed fine. We are still in the property paying rent to new owner. I recently went onto our county website and seen the new deed in the purchaser name. That is fine. The problem is one of the documents submitted was not signed by us. They must have signed our name to this document. You can plainly see this is not our signature. Also a document that we did sign and had notorized was altered after the fact (not sure if there is much I can do about that.) I need to know if there is anything I can or should do. If they can sign our name to an important document such as a deed transfer, who knows what else they can sign our name to without us knowing. Please advise if there is anything I can do or if I am just over-reacting.
Thank you
Sharon McGlynn
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Deed documentation forgery
It sounds as if you will need to bring a Quiet Title action to set aside any forged documents and documents that were altered after you signed them (do you have a copy of the document that you signed?). You must act as soon as possible in order to preserve your rights.
Many of the companies that offer these "lease/buyback" deals may turn around and sell your property out from under you, and do not really work to clear your mortgage. You would be better off either working the the original mortgage holder who was foreclosing, to, in effect refinance your home, or to refinance through a new reputable lender to payoff the amount needed to stop the foreclosure.
No one can sign your name to a document unless you have given them authority to do so, e.g., if you signed a Power of Attorney authorizing them to do things and sign things in your name. You should have been told what the nature of the document was that you were signing, or at least have been given time to read and understand it before you signed.
Re: Deed documentation forgery
It is impossible to answer your question without knowing exactly what the documents are that you are talking about. You need to take the docs to an attorney and get some advice.
If you would like, give me a call; I am in northern New Jersey. I will be happy to discuss this with you; the telephone consultation will be free.
My contact information can be obtained from the links below, just click on the Attorney Profile link. Let my secretary know you found me through LawGuru.
Disclaimer: Your question and any response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and this law firm. You can not rely on the statements made by an attorney given over the internet. The exact facts of your situation, including facts which you have not mentioned in your question, may completely change the result for your situation.
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