There was an interesting (and tough to digest) report on 60 Minutes on Sunday about the sorry state of the real estate industry—particularly the state of titles on properties that have already been foreclosed. As a result of a massive paperwork nightmare, it seems that in many cases the validity of the title and the debt on subject properties cannot be confirmed. Thus, they cannot be legally foreclosed and then sold again.
For those of you local folks, know that this also hits close to home. One of the agents in my office wrote an offer on an REO listing. His offer was accepted and now he is in limbo as he has been advised that the bank is in the process of verifying the chain of title before being able to fully execute the contract and continue with the sale. How long will he have to wait? Will the wait be worth it? Will his buyers get to purchase the home? Will a title insurance company actually want to insure the title on the property?
If you didn’t catch the feature story on Sunday, you can watch it right now:
Here are some interesting posts that I have written about the troubled and beleaguered real estate industry as a result of many of these debacles. Check ‘em out if you want to learn more:
Short Sale Expeditor
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