When you signed the daunting pile of paperwork during the closing on your home purchase, one of those pieces was a promissory note. A promissory note provides evidence of you borrowing money from your lender – most likely a bank, but this can be a private individual as well. These notes, due to their nature of ownership, can be stored in many places such as a safety deposit box, a file folder in a bank, or even someone’s garage. This leads to them being frequently misplaced or lost.
During the foreclosure process, this note is required to show proof of the debt. If your lender loses this documentation, will they still able to file a foreclosure?
The simple answer is yes, they can. The court will require that the lender signs an affidavit of lost promissory note before they can proceed.
Now what if your lender has attempted to file a foreclosure suit before with the original promissory note, but was dismissed? Are they still able to re-file claiming a lost promissory note?
Yes – as mentioned earlier, documents are likely to be lost, especially during a shuffle back and forth between the lender and the court. If the lender feels they have built a stronger case regarding your mortgage debt, they are allowed to re-file the claim regardless of the previous outcome.
In any situation, it is best to consult a licensed, experienced attorney who can help you navigate this tricky process.
Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida foreclosure attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. 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.
