How could my mom get a mortgage on the house and then sell it without me?

You need an attorney since we are not professionals and this is a global anonymous forum where wrong answers or advice have no accountability.

I'm sorry for this distressing situation... does your Mom have dementia? Or do you think "someone else" did all this for her, like her PoA or even an actual scammer? Do you have a sibling or other relative she would trust who may have an interest in her money?

This is why you need an attorney who will need to see all the paperwork you signed (whether as a renter or a co-owner). IDK why a renter would have to go to the courthouse to sign anything, FYI, but maybe this is a thing in certain states).

"I haven’t seen or heard from her since"

Is this literal, like you have no idea where she is right now? If so... maybe report her as a missing person to the police?

These are public documents. Go to your courthouse or records offices and access what you signed. In future do know it is very important to keep copies of deeds, other documents you sign. You may need an attorney if you feel you can 't handle this on your own. Wishing you the best of luck with it all.

Why have you waited to do anything until now? Its been 2 years.

The court house should have a copy of the deed and who were former owners. Be aware, being a co-signer for a mortgage has nothing to do with being on the deed. When selling a house there is a title search. If you, too, were on the deed, Mom could not sell the house without your permission. So, Mom sells the house, the mortgage lender gets their money and Mom gets what is left.

Who paid the taxes? Whose name was on the tax bill? If only Moms name, then you were not on the deed. If you have no money I doubt you can afford a lawyer because you need one. This should have all been questioned at the time the house was sold.

First, a deed for a house and a land contract are two different things. Second, the buyers don't sign the deed. The sellers sign that they are turning the house over to the buyers. So, if you signed a deed at the courthouse, were you actually signing as the seller rather than a buyer? Third, renters have nothing to do with signing a deed. Whatever paperwork you signed as "the one with income" would have been either a mortgage or a rental agreement. Do you have copies of whatever paperwork you signed anywhere along the way?

So, you were making payments -- to who? Presumably a mortgage company? Were they sending you a monthly statement with the bill, showing how much you had paid, how much was still owed, how your payment was being allocated between principle and interest? What happened to these monthly bills? Did they just stop, or are you still receiving them?

Or were you paying someone else in some other way, which might mean your money was going toward rental payments instead of a mortgage? As JoAnn asked, were you receiving property tax bills -- whose name was on them and who was paying them? Or did you not receive these?

What happened that caused you to leave the house you thought you owned and were paying the mortgage on? Did you receive written eviction notices that you could have appealed? Did the sheriff show up and remove you and your belongings from the house? Or did someone show up claiming to be a new owner?

These are details that could help unravel this mystery. For starters, as others have said, who owns a home, and home sales, are public records. Go online on the city or county website and search for the address. You might find the ownership history there. If not, go to the courthouse where you signed the paperwork and ask for their help in seeing the records.

I'm sorry if you have been manipulated by your mother, or if someone manipulated her into taking advantage of you. You may need a real estate attorney to help you, but in the meantime we can try to help you at least figure out what to present to him or her.

So yes, I literally have not heard from her but one time since then. In a voice mail she said, “I know you feel like we’ve all turned our backs on you, and I’m sorry.” That’s it!! Nothing after that! I’ve reached out to all of them and have gotten nothing in return. I honestly have been so caught up in trying to figure out other pressing matters in my current life situation to where I’m just now kind of able to address some things one thing at a time. Thank you all for your advice and concern! My mother has told me in the past that what I signed was a renters agreement. I asked her a multiple of times for copies of the paperwork and she always said you’re gonna be taking care of me till I die so it’s here somewhere! And I was so busy at the time taking care of not only her but my sisters kids and one of them had a baby while still going to school and I had my own daughter and health issues. It was my mom! I trusted her! Never would I have thunk that she could do this, let alone would do this to me! But here I am! While still living together I started to get a gut feeling so I went looking throughout the house for the paperwork! Especially after learning she had gotten a mortgage! That’s really what tipped me off! I did find something! And my name wasn’t even in it! It was stating the stipulations of the purchase which I found odd because the main thing on it said, “no renting to anyone for either 2 yrs or so much has been paid off.” I’ve looked online at any public records I could find and my name is nowhere in there at all! You’d think that if I did sign as the one with income it would at least be somewhere in my credit report but it’s not! I feel like something very illegal went down and there are a lot of people staying quiet!! I think my mother did this on her own and didn’t think I’d look into it, nor did she think to give me enough credit in thinking I’d be smart enough to figure it out! She knew I was under a lot of stress and her only objective was to slide out of town while I wasn’t looking! Kiddos mother! But I think I’m gonna shock you! It’s sad because normal parents want their children to do better than they ever did! They want them to be smarter, happier, more resilient, more prosperous and successful! I always felt she was different and different with me especially! I have a little sister who can do no wrong but has no morals or even knows what an ethical code of conduct is! I know right! It says a lot! I was bamboozled by my whole family! It still hurts like hell! However, when you mourn someone there comes a point when you reach anger! And I’m pretty angry! Since I’ve been living in an emotional cluster f*#k from hell with my heart feeling like they were all on a plane together and it crashed! So I’ve mourned each and every one of them! But when I sit and think about it the only thing that comes to mind is knowing that I didn’t have to experience all this pain or be homeless! This was chosen for me by those I’ve mourned!! And that is unforgivable!! So I’m looking for answers to regain my life and if I’ve got to take it back from them that’s what I’ll do!! Myself and God is all I’ve got now and I’m not letting myself down! I’m sure you’re wondering why I didn’t mention my daughter and that’s due to privacy issues. I’m asking that you please except that and not say anything in reference to her. That’s not what I’m here to discuss. Thank you kindly! I look forward to hearing more of what may have happened and why or how this was approved. If my name isn’t on any paperwork and I can’t find it online connected to the properties history, what could that mean and how can I figure this out? Thank you all so very much! I truly appreciate any and all advice and information. Have a blessed day!
Thank you,
Me

Thanks for your reply below, Queen. When you were making the payments, who were you sending the money to?

If you are under 65 and on SSI you must have a disability of somekind? If so, have you tried for Social Security disability? Have you gone to Social Services and asked for housing. Food vouchers?

I read your update. I still don't understand what happened. But it does seem you were scammed. Made to believe you owned a home you were paying for. My thoughts, you were put on the Mortgage which does not mean you owned the house. Two completely different things. You should have been put on the deed at time of purchase. Be glad that when Mom sold the house, the mortgage has to be paid at that time.

So sorry for what you are going thru. I think your going to need to just let this go.

You need a real estate lawyer to reconstruct what happened.

Also, your Mom will be able to be located using publicly available platforms, usually for a fee. Eventually she will change her address on her drivers license and other documents which create a trail that these platforms track.

If you signed a deed, you should be able to get a copy of that deed from the courthouse, if you didn't save a copy for yourself at the time. I can't imagine a scenario where I would sign the deed as an owner of a house and not keep a copy of it or know what it says. That was an unfortunate mistake.

When you sign the deed to the house, the court clerk doesn't know or care how much income you have or who is paying the mortgage. The sale document would have shown (typed) the name of the buyer(s). This is something the seller, the realtor, or the title company would have ensured was accurate.
The bank would have record of the loan agreement and your mortgage payments. Can you go to the bank and ask them for those records? I don't know that it will matter now, if you can show proof you made mortgage payments.

You've waited a really long time to try and resolve this. And it's too late to recover the home. It's already been sold. You must not have been living there, or you would have been aware that it was being sold. How did you find out she obtained a mortgage? Or that she sold the home and moved? Why did you not step up then and contest the sale of a home you are part owner of?
I don't know if there is anyone who can help you now or can provide answers which will satisfy you.

I so hope for this sale a Realtor was involved. If so, I would go back and askvto look at the paperwork. Even when not going thru a Realtor, there should be a Title search to protect the buyer. That search would determine who is the owner or owners. If its showed there were two owners, the house could not be sold without the other owners signature. The proceeds would have been split.

The best you can do now is prove you were on the deed. If so, then sue Mom for half the proceeds she received.

QueenPita, I just now saw your response to me from last week. Since you're in Ohio, here is the information; you can contact your County Recorder about the deed.

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/Newsletters/Consumer-Advocate/November-2012/Where-to-Get-a-Copy-of-Your-Deed

My answer comes a little late, but I can add that, even though you may not appear on the deed, if you were making payments with the understanding that you were a joint owner, and your mom wanted you to believe that and made you believe that, there’s a crime known as Unjust Enrichment that fits this kind of situation. You would need to consult with an attorney to find out your options, a lot of times the first meeting is provided at no charge. You might even try several attorneys.