Willy's Whimsical Wednesday Words of Wisdom

Closing out old lines of credit, auto withdrawals and reviewing of title history-
Years ago I was involved with a property and buildings that were for sale. Seller had owned the property free and clear for years. A buyer came along and made an offer that was accepted. In reviewing the title report it turns out that the seller had taken a line of credit against the building 40 years earlier. The line of credit had long since been paid but the lien remained in place. No one ever signed off on the loan as paid in full at the bank. The bank was no longer in existence. The bank had been bought out and resold and rebranded several times in that 40 year time frame. No one remained with authority to release the lien. All parties agreed and understood no money was owed yet the lien still existed. Finally after a tense and timely effort old documents were found by the "new" bank in some warehouse back east that documented the loan paid in full. The loan was released. Lots of stress for both buyer and seller in the meantime.

I myself had an auto pay for a home loan. Sold the home at some point and moved on. Much later when we had decided to close that checking account it was discovered that the old lender still had access to pull a payment. That thread had never been removed even though all had been paid and closed out a couple of years earlier.

I have seen owner contracts that have been paid in full but a Fulfillment Deed was never filed. If one of the parties has passed it could be a real issue getting that corrected.

Utilize your local title companies to review your property's "chain of title" to make sure there are no outstanding issues. Feel free to share your discoveries with us! Hopefully for a positive resolution.  

Have a Willy Great Day!