The following are legal reasons to cancel, vacate or set aside a deed to U.S. real property: 1. Forgery. A forged deed is void ab initio, meaning a legal nullity at its inception. As such, any encumbrance upon real property based on a forged deed is null and void. 2. Fraud . A fraudulent deed is a situation analogous to forgery and the deed is void ab initio. 3. Irregularity in the Foreclosure Process that Makes the Sale Void Under State Law. State statutes lay out the procedures for a foreclosure. If there are irregularities in the foreclosure process, meaning the foreclosure is conducted in a manner not authorized by the statute, the sale can be invalidated. Some examples of irregularities in the foreclosure process are the loan servicer does not send notice to the borrower, a state statute requires notice by advertising the sale in a newspaper, but the servicer does not place the advertisement, and the foreclosing lender did not get an assignment of the mortgage. 4. Noncompliance With the Terms of the Mortgage. If the lender or servicer fails to comply with the terms of the mortgage contract, this may constitute sufficient reason to set aside a foreclosure sale. Many mortgage and deeds of trust require that the lender or servicer send the borrowers a breach letter giving them thirty (30) day to cure the breach before starting the foreclosure. If the servicer doesn`t send a breach letter, this may provide grounds for invalidating the sale. Notice and opportunity to cure requirements contained in the mortgage and deed of trust must be strictly followed if a foreclosure is to be valid. 5. Inadequacy of Sale Price. Inadequacy of the sales price may justify setting aside a foreclosure sale if the price is so low that it "shocks the conscience" of the court. It is often difficult to get a sale set aside on this basis. Usually to get a sale invalidated for inadequacy of sale price, you will also need additional circumstances that warrant voiding the sale. For instance, courts are more likely to set aside a sale if there is an inadequate sales price combined with some irregularity, such as if the sale was advertised to take place at 3:00 p.m., but was actually held at 11:00 a.m., or unfairness, like if the lender re-sold the property for a much higher price right after the foreclosure sale, which demonstrates that it could have received a higher price at the foreclosure sale. 6. Right of Redemption After a Foreclosure: In some states there is an equitable right of redemption after foreclosure. This means that within a limited time, the person foreclosed on can pay the new purchaser, all of the cost associated with the purchase of the foreclosed property and have the property deeded back to them. This equitable right of redemption may be limited to a foreclosure for unpaid taxes and/or homeowner`s association foreclosures. The procedures to set aside a foreclosure sale depend on whether the sale was a judicial foreclosure, where the lender forecloses through the state court system, or nonjudicial foreclosure, which means the lender does not have to go through the state court system. Attempting to invalidate the sale of a judicial foreclosure can be done in the following ways, depending on state law: • If the foreclosure case stays open through completion of the sale process, then you can raise an objection to the legitimacy of the sale. • If the state judicial process terminates once the foreclosure judgment is entered, and is not appealed, then it is necessary to file a motion to reopen the case or file a separate action to void the sale. If the property was foreclosed nonjudicially, the homeowner will usually have to file a lawsuit in state court to void the sale. There are a few nonjudicial states that require a court to confirm the sale. In those states, the homeowner can sometimes raise objections to the sale in the confirmation process. However, in some states the confirmation process is limited to determining whether or not the property sold for fair market value at the foreclosure sale and the court will not review other issues. If a foreclosure sale is successfully set aside as void, the title to the property is typically returned to the homeowner, while the mortgage and other liens are re-established. If the property has been resold to another party following an invalidated sale, some state statutes provide that a subsequent sale to a good faith purchaser eliminates the foreclosed homeowner`s right to challenge the sale on procedural grounds. In those types of cases, the homeowner may be able to seek damages against the lender or servicer.