Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin is calling for the Legislature to create a special tribunal to deal with homeowners’ concerns about foreclosures, following Friday’s ruling by the state’s highest court that puts into question the ownership of thousands of properties repossessed by lenders.
Lawmakers should recommend that the state’s Land Court appoint a judge to oversee hearings for owners of foreclosed homes who are worried about the validity of their property titles, Galvin said. A tribunal could also address questions from financially troubled homeowners about whether banks have the legal right to seize their properties, he said.
“There is a lot of uncertainly out there,’’ Galvin said of the foreclosure crisis. “We can’t let this sit here for months and fester.’’
The proposal follows a Supreme Judicial Court ruling that upheld a Land Court decision invalidating two Springfield foreclosures because the lenders could not prove they held the property titles at the time they took back the homes.
Friday’s 6-to-0 decision is expected to increase pressure on major US lenders to prove they own mortgages before foreclosing and gives people seeking to keep their homes additional reason for legal action. As a result of the ruling, lenders will have to redo the paperwork for an undetermined number of foreclosures. In cases where someone was wrongly foreclosed upon, banks could be forced return a property to its former owners.
From: http://ping.fm/U7MNb
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