Mortgage Fraud

[ljejtgo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? arizona
We gave our house to our son 4 years ago. He was supposed to put it in his name. His girlfriend and he went to a broker who was supposed to put the house in his name with a new mortgage. Instead, what the broker did (friend of the girlfriend) was put the house in the girlfriend's name with a new mortgage. My son has been paying the house payment for all these years. He gives her the money and she makes the house payment from her checking account. We were not aware this had happened until 3 years ago. My son keeps saying he will take care of it but he hasn't. I believe he doesn't know what to do. The broker told him the reason they did it like that was because he didn't have good credit but that she did. At the time she wasn't even working she made up some false papers. We live in another city away from our son so we gave him permission to sign our name on some documents on the phone but we did not know this was going to happen. What do we do now? Please someone give me some advise! I am new to this site and I don't understand it too well.

[dmiller12]

How did you "give" the home to your son? Did you quit-claim deed the home to him? If you had handled it correctly this would not have happened. You should have either sold the home (purchase agreement and all) to your son with a gift of equity or quit-claim deeded from you to you and him. Then at the closing of his refinance or sale closing you would have signed a deed over to him only - not the girlfriend and had the benefit of knowing he had the ability to qualify for financing.

You don't give a home to someone with the understanding they will refinance the loan out of your name without checking to see if they can actually obtain financing. Sounds like you gave a home to a son who wasn't ready to accept the responsibilty.

Unless she quit claim deeds him back into title - he may be only entitled to a share of the equity if they get married. If she kicks him out tomorrow, he would likely get nothing.

Consult an attorney on the fraud allegations and what your options are. You've done enough DIY and it hasn't gotten you very far.

[tranquility]

While many of the questions in the previous post are correct, I don't see the need to contact an attorney as yet. You have not expressed anything which gives standing for anything. Lots more facts would have to be developed in order for you to even get to the first level of having a right to question this.

[ljejtgo]

I gave him the house by letting him live there for one year paying my mortgage, then I told him he had to refinance the house and put it in his name. By no means are we rich that's why i can't afford a lawyer, but believe it or not, we did this with another son on another house and everything turned out OK. We are over 50 and my husband is a veteran. In our lifetime we have bought 3 homes. All we ever wanted was to get them started by giving them our equity. My concern, now is that it is too late to do anything about it.
Thank you for your impute, I really appreciate it. ON the 2nd reply I really didn't understand it, sorry.

[ljejtgo]

To tranquility:
At first I didn't understand your message but I think I got it. If you're implying that I'm looking for trouble when there is none you are mistaken. She is already using her "AUTHORITY" as an owner to tell him "how it's gonna be" or else he can move out,if he doesn't like it.

[Farfalla]

Originally Posted by ljejtgo

To tranquility:
At first I didn't understand your message but I think I got it. If you're implying that I'm looking for trouble when there is none you are mistaken. She is already using her "AUTHORITY" as an owner to tell him "how it's gonna be" or else he can move out,if he doesn't like it.

Does she have the money on her own to pay the mortgage? He might have a bargaining chip there to get on the deed.

[ljejtgo]

To Farfalla
No she cannot afford the mortgage, but he has already threatened her that he will not continue to pay the mortgage. Her response, is that she will sell it. I have talked with her about all of this. I told her I would never have done this to anyone. She tells me, she did this because she is afraid he will thow her out everytime he gets mad at her. She has promised to do a Quick deed but never does it. In 4 years she has already refinanced once.

[dmiller12]

I gave him the house by letting him live there for one year paying my mortgage, then I told him he had to refinance the house and put it in his name.

So when you signed the deed you signed the deed over to the girlfriend??

[Zigner]

You "gave" the house to the son and the son decided what he wanted to do with HIS house. This is not fraud. IMO, it's stupidity, but that is not actionable.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by Zigner

...
it's stupidity, but that is not actionable.
...

And for that, we are thankful.

[ljejtgo]

what I have stated is after the fact. All this was done without our knowledge. This broker was telling my son that his name was going to be on the title. She changed her story once everything was done. We never signed any papers at all. She had them sign our name. We found out when my niece was working doing something with the recorder office. She told us the house was only in the girfriends name. My son went back to the broker and asked her why? She said he didn't have good credit,and that she would help correct the problem but she never has. Now my son doesn't know where she is and the girfriend won't give him her number,if she has it.

[tranquility]

If you're implying that I'm looking for trouble when there is none you are mistaken.

No. I don't think it is wrong to care. I just don't find anything in any fact you've posted which would give you any legal right against the property owner. Not just that I don't think you'd win, but that you don't even have enough for a legal term called "standing" which is, for lack of desire to write for days, hurt. One needs to be hurt in some way in order to have the right to sue. You have not been hurt and cannot sue so going to an attorney seems a waste of time.

[ljejtgo]

To Tranquility
How have I not been hurt? This broker was supposed to be a family friend. We did not even know she knew the girlfriend. Everything she did was the opposite of what she told us she was going to do. I talked to her in the beginning and told her what we wanted and she said she would take care of it. I call this fraud.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by ljejtgo

To Tranquility
How have I not been hurt? This broker was supposed to be a family friend. We did not even know she knew the girlfriend. Everything she did was the opposite of what she told us she was going to do. I talked to her in the beginning and told her what we wanted and she said she would take care of it. I call this fraud.

That, indeed, is the question.

What is the total dollar amount of the actual and direct damages, if any, you have suffered?

[ljejtgo]

Our equity in the house was over $50,000 when this transaction took place. She has refinanced once more after the first transaction. On the second refinance, money was taken out.