mortage vs deed

You're planning on turning all of us into lawyers? It's a good question but jurisdictions' laws vary. I believe a mortgage (generally) conveys interest in the property to the lender as security for the loan.

This has been an issue in recent years, as packaged loans have been exchanged various times. I read of one guy with a $1.3m home who stopped paying the mortgage. It went to court, but the then-holder of the mortgage was on the other side of the country, and was unable to produce necessary papers (title/ deed?) so the house was granted to the guy who lived in it. This might be interesting to those close to paying off their mortgage (depending on jurisdiction), since one would expect to have all necessary documents to be duly delivered at the final payment. I.e. What if the bank can't find the papers?

See

yup - after going thru all these scenarios with the passing of my wife's parents over the past years, it seems we have stumbled across everything that can be wrong..

tnx to all - Just went to our local county website, and they have an online search from the Recorder's Office.

And yup - nice paper trail - showed -> deed, mortgage, release, etc...

Congrats. The little contact I've had over this lifetime has always shown me the *true* meaning of "all politics is local."

Would you clarify for us how the paper works in your state? I.e. Who holds the title, is it kept in escrow? If someone buys the mortgage, does the title transfer with it? "Inquiring people want to know" (like some banks, apparently ).