This Midwest family almost lost their home over a little-known 'quiet title' law

[Sherman A1]

Maria Kendall took a break from her job as a cafe manager in 2020 when she decided to do some house hunting on the real estate website Zillow. She looked for a new home in Marshalltown, a city of about 28,000 in Iowa between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

It’s where she lived for more than 20 years and where her own children grew up. Maria was ready for a new house with her boyfriend and the three children with special needs she fosters.

As Maria swiped through real estate, she spotted her mom’s house for sale.

She immediately called her sister Socorro “Coco” Ontiveros in California, who was with their mom, Natalia Esteban. Maria asked in Spanish when their mom decided to sell the house.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/2022-02-11/this-midwest-family-almost-lost-their-home-over-a-little-known-quiet-title-law

[Cairycat]

1. You beat me to it

sounds like a situation ripe for exploitation. Here is another quote, "People may file quiet title actions to resolve boundary disputes or to resolve who owns property after someone dies. But some worry that problems in the law can result in the exploitation of homeowners, particularly in communities like Marshalltown where many residents are immigrants or don’t speak fluent English.

Experts tell the Midwest Newsroom that shortcomings in the way Iowa’s quiet title law is written include vague language that defines how someone can argue that the property belongs to them. Another is the way people are notified – or, as in Natalia’s case, are not notified – that there’s a dispute involving ownership of their property.

“We would never have found out the house was sold,” Maria says, shaking her head. “My mother would have come back to Iowa in the summer and she would have [found] out she doesn’t have a house.”

Marshalltown, my hometown, does have a large immigrant population, so there's a huge potential for abuse there, as well as many other places.

[Chainfire]

2. That law was written to protect homeowners from predators.

Ooops, I got that backwards. Legalized theft. The petitioners are sleazy criminals protected by the courts.

[lostnfound]

3. Her mementos and stuff are all GONE? Why is Gooding not guilty of FRAUD??

Unbelievable. She claimed she had a tax sale certificate but did not receive it, only applied. Sounds like fraud.
Also, “prominent landowner” Gooding has done this on numerous properties? Where is her picture? Where is a request for comment?

Unf’ingbelievble. This is an amazing story but they did not turn over the BIG rocks to see what crawled out.