I love the UK vernacular

That is perfectly reasonable and is the law in many places. It isn't just mortgages either. Debts, lawsuits, heck even many crimes have a statute of limitations.

That is how it should be. The bank was incredibly negligent in acting quicker

pro squatter

I squat alot.

And to think like a chump I have been paying my mortgage bi-weekly. I still cannot believe this outdated law exists but I am sure that this guy is extremely happy. Anyone have an email address for him? I would like to find out exactly how you avoid the bank for 15 years without them kicking you out of your home.

By the simple fact that the bank failed to perform their duty. They did not follow up. They failed to execute procedures to foreclose.

There is no secret method. There is no unfairness here. It is simply common sense that if a party fails to come after you for monies owed in a certain time period they lose the right to collect.

It is the same with most loans. Say you owed money on a credit card. The bank for whatever reason doesn't bother to try and collect the money from you. They don't contact you and just as important, you don't contact them.

After a period of years - a period which varies on the type of loan. A "clock" which can be reset if you make a payment, a mere promise to pay, or even affirm that you do owe the money - the bank can no longer try to collect the money.

This also applies if the original bank sold your bad debt to a collection agency. The collection agency can't collect if the original debt had passed that number of years that the statute allows.

These laws are not outdated and make perfect sense.

They rarely come up because it isn't normal for a bank to drop the ball. It happens.

I don't know about that.

If lend joe some money and say I want it back by tuesday, but decide to cut him slack, or were too busy, and don't ask for it for a week, I have less right to it?

Technically, I still lent him money and he never paid back. That douchebag Joe is holding my hard earned cash and says I have no right to it. So much for helping him out. I should go Stewie over his ass.

We're talking more about financial institutions who's job it is to collect said money. And 15 years is a long time to hold someone to their $5 debt don't you think? If I hadn't talked to Joe about my $5 in 15 years and suddenly brought it up I doubt it'd be reasonable for me to expect that money back.

But lets say you don't mention it at all for 15 years - not a word. Then suddenly you demand it back with interest and threaten that you will take him to court if he doesn't pay. Who's the douchebag then?

NB - I'm not calling you a douchebag here. I'd never do that.

That Joe though... Well, he has been saying things. And after all you've done to help him.