Mass. High Court Ruling Voiding Title To Property Bought At Faulty Foreclosure Also Leaves Four Condo Homebuyers (& Their Title Insurers) Holding Bag

The following excerpts in The Boston Globe on the recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, an Ibanez follow-up case dealing with the rights of a purchaser at an invalid foreclosure sale indicates that, in addition to the foreclosure buyer (real estate developer Francis J. Bevilacqua) ending up with a void title to property, there may be four other subsequent bona fide purchasers of the subject property who have apparently also been left holding the bag:

• The court’s decision could have major repercussions because it raises the specter that anyone else who purchased foreclosed homes with questionable paperwork may not actually own those properties. The court did not address who does own the Haverhill property, if not Bevilacqua.

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• Already the court’s ruling implicates others beyond Bevilacqua, as he subsequently built and sold four condos on the property, so that it would appear the buyers of those condos likely do not own their homes.

Source: SJC puts foreclosure sales in doubt.