• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Slander of Title

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

In order to stall off a modification, our mortgage company falsified a lien against our mortgage. After years of fighting, they allowed the modification to go through, however, they tacked an extra $30,000. onto our principle, with no other explanation except to say, the charge is due to the length of time it took. I am trying to find the right lawyer, or firm, who can help us with this. The amount of our mortgage did not drop, it actually ended up being higher, due to the extra money. What can we do, we were strong armed into excepting this horrible situation, or lose our home. I've spoken to several different law firms, and written to a few more, but I've found no one who either believes me, or feels as if we were wronged. I'm not a legal professional, but somewhere there has GOT to be a solution. My husband, is working 7 days a week, to meet our mortgage, I am a home maker, but I am taking in mending and babysitting to help out. This is NOT how our empty nester days were supposed to be. This mortgage company took total advantage of our hardship, and I know we are not the only victims of this company. Please, if someone even just has a little bit of advice, which might send me in the right direction, I would be so appreciative. I'm really up against it, trying to hold this all together. This is not a pity party, but my husband was recently diagnosed with Diabetes, he should not be working so many hours, but this is the only way, this home was supposed to be our retirement. I have put this in God's hands, so maybe He can find someone through this forum who can help me.
 


quincy

Senior Member
In order to stall off a modification, our mortgage company falsified a lien against our mortgage. After years of fighting, they allowed the modification to go through, however, they tacked an extra $30,000. onto our principle, with no other explanation except to say, the charge is due to the length of time it took. I am trying to find the right lawyer, or firm, who can help us with this. The amount of our mortgage did not drop, it actually ended up being higher, due to the extra money. What can we do, we were strong armed into excepting this horrible situation, or lose our home. I've spoken to several different law firms, and written to a few more, but I've found no one who either believes me, or feels as if we were wronged. I'm not a legal professional, but somewhere there has GOT to be a solution. My husband, is working 7 days a week, to meet our mortgage, I am a home maker, but I am taking in mending and babysitting to help out. This is NOT how our empty nester days were supposed to be. This mortgage company took total advantage of our hardship, and I know we are not the only victims of this company. Please, if someone even just has a little bit of advice, which might send me in the right direction, I would be so appreciative. I'm really up against it, trying to hold this all together. This is not a pity party, but my husband was recently diagnosed with Diabetes, he should not be working so many hours, but this is the only way, this home was supposed to be our retirement. I have put this in God's hands, so maybe He can find someone through this forum who can help me.
What is the name of your state?

The FreeAdvice forum does not provide attorney referrals. You can, however, search for an attorney in your area by using Attorney Pages (http://www.attorneypages.com) or through your state Bar Association.

Good luck.
 
Thank You, Qunicy. I've spoken with Real Estate Lawyers, Civil Litigation, and even a "Title" lawyer, all out of Lancaster. So it hasn't been an issue of finding a lawyer Either I am not connecting with the correct people, they don't believe this situation could be real, or, they are completely at a loss as for what to do. I've researched Slander of Title, the court takes this seriously. But I cannot find a lawyer who seems to want to touch it. And I am very well documented, with proof of the falsehood, on letter head. I don't want to walk away rich, what I do want is a full audit of our mortgage account, and the $30,000 dropped off of the account. When this happened, I asked for an amortization sheet, to explain this extra amount. They answered that since there was no new contract, no new amortization sheet. However, they did form a new contract, by adding the extra amount.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank You, Qunicy. I've spoken with Real Estate Lawyers, Civil Litigation, and even a "Title" lawyer, all out of Lancaster. So it hasn't been an issue of finding a lawyer Either I am not connecting with the correct people, they don't believe this situation could be real, or, they are completely at a loss as for what to do. I've researched Slander of Title, the court takes this seriously. But I cannot find a lawyer who seems to want to touch it. And I am very well documented, with proof of the falsehood, on letter head. I don't want to walk away rich, what I do want is a full audit of our mortgage account, and the $30,000 dropped off of the account. When this happened, I asked for an amortization sheet, to explain this extra amount. They answered that since there was no new contract, no new amortization sheet. However, they did form a new contract, by adding the extra amount.
I am not seeing this as slander of title. You will want your original mortgage papers and the loan modification documents reviewed by a banking professional. A mortgage, banking and finance lawyer should be able to sort things out for you.

Good luck.
 
Actually, days before we were ready to settle, the mortgage company informed us, thru our lawyer, that a title company had found a lien against our mortgage, and so they would not continue with the modification. A title search and Prothonotory check found nothing, there was no lien.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Okay. So the title company made a mistake.

You can have all documents and facts personally reviewed by a professional in your area but I see no malice by anyone in what you describe.

As a note: There is a one year statute of limitations from date of first publication for slander of title actions (although, as I said earlier, I see no slander of title).
 

HRZ

Senior Member
IN a sense "if" there was an unsatisified lien out there for $30,000 it makes sense for lender to require that such be covered .....but if upon further review no such lien exists it also makes sense that the loan be readjusted to back it out .


The folks actually doing the title searches I've found are pretty good detectives ...I took me days to find a "problem " with a PA deed dating to Wm Penns days...but we found it ....either there was a lien or there was not a lien...so what exactly was found?

PS many liens in PA expire if not renewed ...and many a lien holder forgets to renew .

THe attitude of some lenders is it's your job to prove the title chain is clean ...I don't blame them for that.
 

quincy

Senior Member
It appears that further investigation proved no lien.

There can be several reasons for an increase in the loan balance after a loan modification.

I am not seeing a legal action to pursue based on what has been said but a personal review of the documents might show something not apparent from this distance.
 
The law firm, which the mortgage company had hired to foreclose on the house, they are the ones who did the title search, and found no lien. They knew nothing about a "lien". Why would the mortgage company circumvent the law firm they had hired to foreclose on my house, and not tell them about the "lien"? With the information I received I contacted the mortgage company who then backed off (suddenly) and allowed the modification to proceed. However, the paperwork they provided did not include an itemized list of what the extra charge of $30,000 was for. I asked, was it for lawyer fees, "no." Was it for late payments, "no." Was it for interest, "no." Then why has my principle amount on my mortgage gone up $30,000? $30,000 higher than my mortgage amount was, when we started trying for a modification? They have refused to supply any sort of paperwork explaining the extra monies. And of course my "modified" mortgage payment ended up being slightly higher than it was when we started, due to the extra $30,000. This is what I'm fighting. I want the $30,000 removed, and also my account audited, as my statements have never been correct. This year, I received two different escrow sheets, same account, different amounts. I cannot find a law firm, who understands, or is wiling to help us.
 

quincy

Senior Member
The law firm, which the mortgage company had hired to foreclose on the house, they are the ones who did the title search, and found no lien. They knew nothing about a "lien". Why would the mortgage company circumvent the law firm they had hired to foreclose on my house, and not tell them about the "lien"? With the information I received I contacted the mortgage company who then backed off (suddenly) and allowed the modification to proceed. However, the paperwork they provided did not include an itemized list of what the extra charge of $30,000 was for. I asked, was it for lawyer fees, "no." Was it for late payments, "no." Was it for interest, "no." Then why has my principle amount on my mortgage gone up $30,000? $30,000 higher than my mortgage amount was, when we started trying for a modification? They have refused to supply any sort of paperwork explaining the extra monies. And of course my "modified" mortgage payment ended up being slightly higher than it was when we started, due to the extra $30,000. This is what I'm fighting. I want the $30,000 removed, and also my account audited, as my statements have never been correct. This year, I received two different escrow sheets, same account, different amounts. I cannot find a law firm, who understands, or is wiling to help us.
Your documents need a personal review to detect where the error (if any) occurs. You can take the papers you have to an attorney or an accountant. But a personal review seems necessary.

An explanation might be found in the way your loan was modified (e.g., longer term plus missed loan, insurance, tax payments added to balance).
 

HRZ

Senior Member
The law firm was hired to protect lenders interests ...not yours ...get your own paid legal eyes on paperwork
 

quincy

Senior Member
Agreed. A personal review of the documents seem necessary. But there is nothing said so far that indicates slander of title.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top