She pointed to a narrow paragraph of small legal print close to the bottom margin.

“If there’s an active title dispute or pending lawsuit over the boundary line, the bank can’t carry out the foreclosure until the county court sorts out the property rights,” she said.

I tapped my left thumbnail against my knuckles while I ran the dates through my head.

“He bought the house next door with borrowed money he knew he couldn’t pay back,” I said.

“He bought it figuring he’d bully you off your land before the note came due,” Nora said.