So you had a foreclosure in your past and never looked back. Now its tax season again and your tax preparer is asking you for proof of the foreclosure to prove to the IRS that you don’t owe any money. Foreclosure documents?? Not so easy to come by now that the foreclosure sale is long complete.
The problem of needing information on a past foreclosure is a common one. At the time of a foreclosure auction, most people aren’t exactly happy with their mortgage lender. Their priority is not calling the lender (and waiting on hold for untold hours) to provide a forwarding address. No, they are packing their stuff, lamenting the exodus of their home and planning for a future that does not include being mired in debt and hassled by the bank. This means that many people never receive the foreclosure auction information from the bank that they will later need to complete their tax returns.
So, now you know that the tax preparer needs the info. You’ll just call the bank and get a copy right? Well, not so fast. The foreclosure sale closed your loan with the mortgage company; the bank no longer holds your loan. If you call the bank and give them your loan number, that loan number does not exist anymore. You simply are no longer their customer and the customer service representatives at the bank are often not able to access your old file.
The simple moral of this story is to be proactive with your lender at the time of the foreclosure and make sure that you get the foreclosure documentation you need at the time the foreclosure auction happens. You will very likely need the foreclosure auction information when you go to complete your taxes in the year that you lose the house to foreclosure.
However, if you are one of those people that has already waited to long, there are two excellent options for retrieving foreclosure sales information on and old foreclosure property: 1) Check with the county or 2) Use an online search company like www.findmyforeclosuredate.com.
After a foreclosure in California, the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale is recorded at the local county recorder’s office. For a nominal fee, the recorder’s office will give you a copy of this information if you drive down to their office and request it. If you are in a Judicial Foreclosure state, then the Judgment foreclosing on the property should be available for retrieval at your local court.
If you are not interested in leaving the house to track down this information, then www.findmyforeclosuredate.com will email you the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale or Judgment for a nominal fee within 2 days.
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