Arizona ruling won’t narrow post-foreclosure right

A new state court ruling says Arizonans with partial ownerships of time-share vacation homes are entitled to the same post-foreclosure rights as owners of year-round homes.

A mortgage company had sued a couple for the balance still owed on their mortgage for a Sedona condo after a foreclosure of the couple’s one-tenth share of the property.

However, the Court of Appeals rejected the company’s argument that the vacation condo isn’t a single-family dwelling covered by the state law prohibiting so-called deficiency judgments.

The court says the purpose of that law is to protect consumers from financial ruin. It says the law places the risk of inadequate security on lenders rather than borrowers.