A common complaint in the foreclosure process is that a specific document--the promissory note--cannot be located in the mountains of paperwork related to mortgages. Ownership of the note is determined by physical possession of the original--the paper that was signed, in ink, by the borrower. Is it possible to lose an original note? Apparently so, based on the recent foreclosure crisis. Throughout the life of a loan, the note was in the physical possession of many hands, especially as lenders and Wall Street firms bought and sold thousands of mortgages. Sometimes, there was a failure to transfer the original note from one party to another.
