Anyone know the story on 2137 Christian?

**Gladys** · 08-05-2011, 04:45 PM

That is just a horribly blighted building. Anyone know what the deal is? I know there is a way to find out who owns it.

**Lolly** · 08-05-2011, 05:24 PM

Why even bother, just take pics and follow the instructions here:

L&I Cranking Up Enforcement of Vacant Properties | SOSNA | South of South Neighborhood Association

**ofeibush** · 08-05-2011, 05:33 PM

The building is stuck in litigation....our client's purchased it and immediately began renovations. A nice old lady came by shortly after renovations commenced and stated she owned the building. We researched the issue in light of some additional paperwork she provided and discovered this to in fact be the case. The guy who sold the property forged the deed.

Title company will not defend the property until a suit is filed, so we are paying the lady to sue us...surreal. The party who sold the property has since been jailed but we haven't had much progress on moving this forward.

Just an ugly situation all around that will probably take another year to clean up.

**Gladys** · 08-05-2011, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by ofeibush

The building is stuck in litigation....our client's purchased it and immediately began renovations. A nice old lady came by shortly after renovations commenced and stated she owned the building. We researched the issue in light of some additional paperwork she provided and discovered this to in fact be the case. The guy who sold the property forged the deed.

Title company will not defend the property until a suit is filed, so we are paying the lady to sue us...surreal. The party who sold the property has since been jailed but we haven't had much progress on moving this forward.

Just an ugly situation all around that will probably take another year to clean up.

did your client get their money back? That's amazing. and all through that time the building will house god knows what. (is it house something or what all i can think of is haus... and that's not it.)

That's just awful all the way around.

What does it mean "Title company will not defend the property"? Pardon my ignorance. But if the lady has the correct deed i don't yet understand.

**Grad hospital** · 08-05-2011, 06:26 PM

Title insurance is a brilliant business model. Sell insurance that never pays even on the most blatant cases of fraud.

Title insurance is worthless.

**ofeibush** · 08-05-2011, 07:15 PM

It's an absolute mess. The lady has a deed, and in fact has a mortage she is paying on the home every month. Her signature was forged on the sale of the home. My client has nearly $200,000 invested in the property and while he also has a deed, he can't do anything with it.

The title company insured the "title" of the property. In short, it agreed to prevent this sort of thing from happening by guaranteeing that each party previous to this transaction (chain of title) had the legal right to sell the home. The title company guaranteed that the seller (who is now in jail) had the right to sell the home.

The problem is, the title company is only obligated to pay my client his purchase price if someone claims a right to the home. It is not enough to just say..."hey that's my home".....the other owner has to file suit, at which point the title company must indemnify my client.

**Gladys** · 08-05-2011, 08:26 PM

Ok now i get it. And then he an buy the property?

**Sharkfood** · 08-08-2011, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by ofeibush

The building is stuck in litigation....our client's purchased it and immediately began renovations. A nice old lady came by shortly after renovations commenced and stated she owned the building. We researched the issue in light of some additional paperwork she provided and discovered this to in fact be the case. The guy who sold the property forged the deed.

Title company will not defend the property until a suit is filed, so we are paying the lady to sue us...surreal. The party who sold the property has since been jailed but we haven't had much progress on moving this forward.

Just an ugly situation all around that will probably take another year to clean up.

I had a similar situation a few years ago. The title company paid the claim immediately, without the need for any formal litigation. In my case, it was not a forged deed, but a stepson who claimed he inherited the property from stepmother. In fact, the mother's actual daughter inherited it. Thank god the claim was paid when it was, because the title insurer went bankrupt about two years later.

The renovation cost is a tricky issue because of course the title insurance may only cover the purchase price. In my case, I was prepared to bring a claim for unjust enrichment against the owner. She got the benefit of my improvements without paying for them. Fortunately, it never came to that.