I found out from the county that my escrow and title company recorded the deed/title to my home into another person's name. They claim they are working this out, but I have no verification and feel anxious.

The person (a stranger to me) who's name is now on the deed was a former unsuccessful bidder, and this person still has attachment and interest in owning this house (yes, it has to be complicated: they had gotten so far in the process that they already ordered and paid for new carpet). Part of fixing this error will require this person to sign paperwork acknowledging the error.

Has anyone been in or heard of any similar situation? Do I need to speak with a lawyer? I'd appreciate any advice or comments, even if you're not completely sure what I should do. Thank you.

It's the Title company's responsibility to fix this. I'm not sure that they need his signature to fix it. As long as they can prove to the recorder of deeds that a mistake was made.

So they said they will be fixing it. They also said they do need the person's signature.

I requested to be updated on the process, but I haven't received additional information. Should I sue? Can I? I'm in California. I'm very stressed over this.

Thanks!

Did you pay for a title insurance policy? If you did then the title company has to fix it. There's no need to sue at this point.

Yes, I have title insurance. But my family is pretty outraged and expect me to have answers, and I'm not receiving any updates from the mortgage/title company. For all I know, they put this task on a stack of other tasks and will deal with it when it becomes convenient. :(

How long ago did this happen?

Yes, they need to obtain the other person's signature. They're probably going to have that person sign a corrective deed acknowledging that you are the owner. That can take a little time. The other person may want to show it to their own attorney to make sure they're not doing something that they shouldn't be doing.

If you would like to spend some money, retain an attorney to watch the title company and stay on their backs. But I wouldn't do something like that until it has been at least 3-4 weeks since the mistake was discovered.

March 31, 2009. I discovered this on Wednesday.

Thank you

Give them at least another week or two. :)

Yeah, okay... thanks for sharing :) such a stressful and disappointing discovery...

It's stressful but it's fixable so don't let it get to you. It's their problem, not yours. Make a note to check with them again in a week. If they haven't given you an update by May 1 then come back, let us know and we'll tell you what steps to take next.

I'll bow to Lisa here, but it seems ridiculous that they need to get this person's signature to correct a mistake.