Does a waranty deed mean you own the property free and clear?
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Does a waranty deed mean you own the property free and clear?
My mom took out a home equity line
of credit. It is a 15 year loan.
She passed away on Dec 29th, 2013
which was exactly half way through
the loan. The house was in trust to
me. She had a quitclaim deed to the
property. When I settled the trust
the court sent me a waranty deed.
Does the waranty deed mean that
there is no lien or other
encumbrances on the property? If so
can I sue PNC to get my 44 payments
back?
Asked on December 6, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, you cannot get your payments back. The only way to remove a lien or security interest from property is by paying it off. If the loan were not paid, they could have foreclosed *regardless* of who (you, her, the trust) owned the property: changes in ownership do not get rid of the HELOC lien. So if you did not pay, they would have taken the home; you paid to not have the home be foreclosed upon. And furthermore, having had the home for all that time and gotten the benefit of having it, the law does not let you get your money back, since you are not allowed to "have your cake and eat it, too"--that is, to get the benefit of the real estate without paying the amounts required to retain possession (getting possesion without paying for it would be "unjust enrichment," which is not allowed).
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