Someone facing foreclosure is likely also wondering what their potential legal options will be. It can be a tough process to confront, but here are four ways a foreclosure defense lawyer might confront the situation.

Procedural Questions

Foreclosure is a legal process, and that means any financial institution that intends to foreclose on a property must follow the steps set out by your state's laws. To be clear, this doesn't mean that a missed step or an error automatically cancels the foreclosure. Inconsequential errors, such as a slight misspelling of the person's name, won't change the situation. However, major violations, such as failing to provide you notice within the legally defined period, are grounds for you to challenge a foreclosure.

Title Fraud

One of the scariest possible forms of foreclosure involves cases where the property holder doesn't have a current mortgage. The rise in title fraud has led to an increase in unexpected foreclosure cases. Generally, a third party gains access to the title by entering false information into the county's registry or misuse accurate data. They then use the information about the property to secure a loan. If this happened to you, you have every right to force the foreclosing bank to prove that you ever agreed to the deal.

Lack of Standing

In American law, a plaintiff must always have standing. This means the law recognizes their legal right to take action. In other words, they have to prove they're a legitimate party to the mortgage.

Over the last few decades, mortgages have become securitized forms of debt that are often bought and sold. That is to say, the bank that originally wrote up your mortgage might sell it to another financial institution, such as another bank, an investment firm, or even a private individual. When this transfer of the mortgage happens, the acquiring party is supposed to inform the county and ask for the title to be changed to reflect the new ownership of the mortgage.

If an investment firm failed to deal with the title, they have no right to foreclose. Especially if the original mortgage issuer is now defunct, there are scenarios where you might end up with a clear title to the house because no one else has standing to claim it except you.

Your Account Is Current

Sometimes a mortgage company simply makes a mistake or loses track of key records. Every time you make a payment, make several copies and store the original receipts. A foreclose defense attorney can then enter them as evidence to refute the bank's claims.

For more information, contact an attorney like Margery E. Golant, PA.