If you’re facing foreclosure, you may be wondering whether your lender does in fact have a claim to your property based on poorly or wrongly executed negotiable instruments such as a mortgage Note.  Most often, individuals wrongly presume that a blank or unsigned endorsement makes their Note unenforceable as a legal document and as such would make their looming foreclosure illegitimate.  However, blank endorsements are commonly known and widely accepted in the legal and business domain, including in the state of Florida.

A mortgage Note or promissory Note is a promise to pay back the corresponding mortgage loan attained to buy a certain property.  In Florida, a promissory Note does not require an executed (signed) endorsement from the Note bearer for such to assume its ownership.  That is, the financial institution in possession of your mortgage Note is not required to sign the instrument’s endorsement in order to bring forth a claim seeking repayment.  Per FL Statute 671.201(21), plaintiffs (most likely your lender or loan servicer) must meet two requirements in order to be considered owner or bearer of the Note: first, they must be in possession of the original instrument and second, the original Note must be endorsed, either in blank or in the plaintiff’s name.

Unfortunately, many Florida homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure due to poor preparation and misinformation.  If you are in danger of losing your home to foreclosure, it is imperative to seek the help of professionals and have the most accurate information possible.  If you believe you’re the victim of wrongful foreclosure proceedings, the best course of action is to consult with a knowledgeable attorney to guide you in the right direction and help you keep your home.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this process and make the most of a difficult situation. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.