Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Tired of paying a mortgage?

Can you say loophole?
Fine Point of Iowa Law: Thanks to a loophole recently sanctioned by the Iowa Court of Appeals, Matt Danielson and his wife, Jamie, now own their home in Ankeny, Iowa, outright (value: $278,000) after making just one monthly mortgage payment. Iowa law regards a home mortgage by a married couple as automatically void if only one spouse has signed it, and a thusly voided mortgage is treated as fully satisfied. (The purpose was to prevent one estranged spouse from exploiting the other, but the voiding is automatic regardless of the circumstances.) Legislators are currently trying to change the law to leave the discretion of voiding up to judges.

Found at Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird.
More background on the Danielsons here.

1 comment:

James Martin said...

Wow! This is incredible. Can't believe how different the laws are in other states. I can see the issue of not leaving one spouse stranded, but this solutions doesn't sound fair for other homeowners. Interesting find! Thanks for sharing :)
Regards,
James Mortgage Rate Comparison Expert