Difficulty Tracing Title To Home Involving Securitized Foreclosed Mortgage Stalls House Closing

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, FOX9 reports:

• A Twin Cities couple is hoping to turn a foreclosed home into a home, but it has not been easy. Three different closing dates have fallen through. [...] In the Waite Park neighborhood in northeast Minneapolis, a little cottage on Benjamin Street has been sitting empty since spring. Heather Playman and her husband would love to buy it. In fact, they even have a purchase agreement, picking it up two months ago for a relative steal at $165,000.

• But the bank won't close on the deal. The problem is with the paperwork: the title and the deed. Wachovia used to own the house, now it's Fannie Mae. The city of Minneapolis says it’s a common problem that keeps hundreds of homes in limbo. "Many mortgages were bought and sold between lenders over and over again and it is difficult to trace the title."(1)

For more, see Bank Ownership of Foreclosed Homes Causing Confusion (Closing dates missed on NE Minneapolis home owned by Fannie Mae).

(1) Given the gigantic mess created by the mortgage lending industry in this regard, I wonder how many in the title insurance industry (ie. underwriters, agents, closers, etc.) there are who are having a problem insuring the titles to homes that have a recent foreclosure appearing in the chain of title. Based on this story, there apparently is at least one who's having a problem. Are there any others??? KappaMtgDocsMissing