Back in 2008, I wrote a diary about an abandoned house in Kentucky. Through foreclosure and eventual forced tax sale, it came into the possession of a Florida bank that made no attempt whatsoever to sell it. It set abandoned for years. A tree fell on it and damaged the roof. Nothing was done about the tree for years. The Florida bank did not pay the property taxes on the house. At long last there was another forced tax sale. A nephew of mine bought the house for a few thousand dollars, removed the tree and patched the roof.
Soon another development happened. It seems that in the fine print that the government has done about the mortgage crisis, there is some kind of provision for those who have suffered foreclosure to have some kind claim on their lost property under certain circumstances. The man who gave up this house must have known nothing about this provision, but some slick lawyer did, and gave this individual a few hundred dollars to sign over his rights under this obscure provision. After my nephew bought the house at court auction, this lawyer made himself known and demanded that my nephew either turn the house over to him for what he had paid at court auction, or buy out the lawyer's interest for an additional several thousand dollars.
I know my diary is somewhat vague. I got my information second hand, through my brother rather than directly from my nephew. I am posting with the limited information I have because this sort of thing is likely going on all over the country - monied interests taking advantage of those who don't have enough information to get a clear title on repossessed homes with mortgages that have changed hands multiple times.