May I buy out a Jew in a bank foreclosure?
If a Jew defaulted on their bank loan or their house is in foreclosure, may a Jew buy the loan or mortgage without the defaulter’s consent? This is usually forbidden by poskim on a number of counts, especially if the defaulter is in negotiations with the bank regarding the loan.
Even absent any of the purely halachic issues that would present themselves in such a situation, there is the takanah (enactment) of the Vaad Arbah Aratzos (“the Council of the Four Lands”—a self-governing halachic body of 16th to 18th century European Jewry) that forbids an individual to buy out another’s debt. Poskim speak harshly of those who ignore this universally accepted takanah—calling it a toevah (abomination), among other derogatory terms.
What if the deal already went through? What is the status of the new “owner” of the foreclosed building? Is the debtor now obligated to the non-halachic possessor of their loan? If yes, how much—the principle, or more? These decisions must be settled by a Beis Din (Rabbinic court). There is a clear halachic issue of collecting the outstanding interest from a fellow Jew.The purchaser of the loan is also expressly forbidden to sue another Jew in secular court for the money they are “owed.”
לקנות משכנתא של יהודי אחר
ראה בכ״ז שו״ת שארית יוסף (לגיסו של הרמ״א) סנ״ח. עטרת צבי עהשו״ע חו״מ סוסי׳ מח - הו״ד בכמה מהאחרונים דלקמן. שם ס״נ סק״ו. נתה״מ סק״צ בבי׳ סק״א. שו״ת בי״א חו״מ ס״ל. שם סנ״ח. דברי חיים ח״ב חו״מ ס״ו. שו״ת מהרש״ם ח״ב ספ״ד. שם ח״ג סרפ״ד. רמ״ץ ח״א חו״מ בעניני חזקות סכ״ח. חסל״א תאומים תנינא חו״מ סקט״ו. תרשיש שהם חו״מ סע״ה. ובנוגע לריבית - ראה רמ״א יו״ד סקס״ט ס״י ובט״ז סקי״ב ונקוה״כ שם. אדה״ז הל׳ רבית ס״ע ואילך. והאריך בזה בקונט׳ חזקת הבית וש״נ.