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Home » Legal Articles » What Are Statutes And Which Ones Apply To Indiana Commercial Foreclosures

What Are Statutes and Which Ones Apply to Indiana Commercial Foreclosures?

A statute is a law, or a set of laws, established by the legislative branch of the government. In Indiana, the General Assembly (http://www.in.gov/legislative/) is our state's legislature. Indiana's statutes are contained in the Indiana Code (http://www.state.in.us/legislative/ic/code/), abbreviated as Ind. Code or I.C.

The list of statutes that could apply to a commercial foreclosure matter is far too long to outline here. But the most relevant statutes can be found in the links on the right side of my blog's home page. They include:

• Mortgages, Generally (I.C. 32-29 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar29/)

• Mortgage Foreclosure Actions (I.C. 32-30-10 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar30/ch10.html)

• Indiana Uniform Commercial Code – Secured Transactions (I.C. 26-1-9.10 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title26/ar1/ch9.1.html); there are seven "parts" of this statute; Part 6 (I.C. 26-1-9.1-601 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title26/ar1/ch9.1.html#IC26-1-9.1-601) "Default" is most applicable to my blog because it furnishes rules about defaults and the enforcement of a security interests upon defaults

• Judgments in Mortgage and Lien Actions (I.C. 32-30-12 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar30/ch12.html)

• Execution of Judgments (I.C. 34-55 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title34/ar55/)

• Receiverships (I.C. 32-30-5 http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar30/ch5.html)

• Indiana's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (I.C. 32-18-2 http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar18/ch2.html)

• Lis Pendens (I.C. 32-30-11 http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar30/ch11.html)

• Judgment Liens (I.C. 32-30-13 http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title32/ar30/ch13.html)

• Adverse Claims Act (I.C. 28-9 http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title28/ar9/index.html)

• Attachment (I.C. 34-25-2 http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title34/ar25/ch2.html)

• Garnishment (I.C. 34-25-3 http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title34/ar25/ch3.html)

In the statutory cites, the first number designates the title, the second the article, the third the chapter, and the fourth the section. For example, the statute applicable to redemption by an owner of real estate before a sheriff's sale is Title 32, Article 29, Chapter 7, Section 7 (I.C. 32-29-7-7). In future posts, I'll describe many of these statutes in more detail.

If you have a legal question about a particular commercial foreclosure situation, the first place to turn is the Indiana Code. You might find a statute that directly addresses the issue. If so, the statute arguably is the definitive authority on the matter. In other words, the statute ultimately controls the legal rights and obligations of the parties. Frequently, to the dismay of parties involved in litigation, there is no statute on point or, if there is one, the statute may be less than clear. That's when case law (the common law) must be studied because written court decisions often interpret statutes.

Many of the rules applicable to real estate mortgages and personal property security interests, as well as the procedures for foreclosure actions, are contained in the Indiana Code. One of the goals of my blog is to provide links to all the pertinent statutes. So, if you are wondering whether there is an Indiana statute that speaks to a particular matter, please e-mail me. I'm happy to supply links to all the noteworthy statutes.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Real Estate Investment - A Simple Formula

I saw the ads in our small-town newspaper for years before I realized exactly what was going on. They were always the same: A house for sale with 5% down and payments of 1% of the purchase price. It might be a three bedroom home for $90,000, for example, with $4,500 down and $900 per month payments.

A friend started doing the same thing and explained the process to me. It was a way to get a great return on capital. It was the opposite of buying with no money down. You bought for cash.

A Real Estate Investment Formula

It is simple, really. When you buy for cash, you often get a much better price. A house that needs a little work might be worth $75,000, for example. By offering $65,000 cash, you negotiate your way to a $68,000 purchase price. If not, you walk away - there are always others.

Then you put few thousand into high-return repairs and improvements. Paint, carpet, and maybe asphalt for the dirt driveway. For our example, we'll say you put $5,000 into it.

Now it's worth $85,000 perhaps, but you target those buyers who can't get financing easily, and you finance it yourself. By making it easy for the buyer, you can get $90,000 for the home - and do it without a realtor's commission. Whatever the sales price, you let the buyer put 5% down, and make monthly payments of 1% of the purchase price. Of course, you get higher than market interest too.

The buyer is thrilled that they can buy instead of renting, and you get a capital gain of perhaps $14,000 after expenses, plus good interest. Your total rate of return is somewhere over 25%!

The first to do this consistently in our town were a father and son. They were both lawyers, and saved money by doing their own foreclosures when necessary. After forclosing, they just raised the price and sold it all over again, of course. By the way, if you can get an average return of 18% on your money, you'll turn $75,000 into more than one million dollars in about fifteen years.