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If you know of anyone who lost their house to "foreclosure", then you need to tell them about this horrible article just in case the bank STOPPED foreclosure proceedings and left their names on the title.
Special Report: The latest foreclosure horror: the zombie title
Joseph Keller doesn't expect he'll live to see the end of 2013. He blames the house at 190 Avondale Avenue.
Five years ago, Keller, 10 months behind on his mortgage payments, received notice of a foreclosure judgment from JP Morgan Chase. In a few weeks, the bank said, his three-story house with gray vinyl siding in Columbus, Ohio, would be put up for auction at a sheriff's sale.
Wow, Marilyn220, thanks for posting this. I wonder how many of the strategic mortgage defaulters will end up with a zombie title to the house they've been squatting in for years.
Wow, Marilyn220, thanks for posting this. I wonder how many of the strategic mortgage defaulters will end up with a zombie title to the house they've been squatting in for years.
Isn't this scary?!!
How can a bank force you out and then two weeks later change their minds about foreclosing, then turn the house back to you??!! I'm still trying to figure out how they have this kind of power to get away with this.
Even if the owners didn't pay the mortgage, they would have still kept up with everything else to keep the house up.
This should become a massive class action suit against the banks, because you know the federal government isn't going to do anything.
People should stay in their homes until the last day or arrange a short sale as quickly as possible. I can't believe the banks STILL get to profit from this and walk away scot free.
The story is quite long. I advise everyone to click on the link to read the full scope of this travesty. The guy in the article will have to go to jail in 2014, if he doesn't get up to $20,000 worth of damages and fines up to code. Can you imagine??
Did the man ever CALL the bank or coordinate with the bank in any way prior to moving out of the house? He was nearly a year behind in his mortgage, and then just figured he could continue down the path of irresponsibility. I am sorry, but I don't have much sympathy for him.
There are so many options available to people thru their banks to help refinance or coordinate a civilized system of exiting the property. I'd like to know a lot more about why this guy chose not to make any house payments (while living rent and payment free for nearly a year) and then deserted property that was still in his name without bothering to contact the lender or the county or the city.
When you take out a loan using collateral, banks DO NOT WANT THE COLLATERAL. They aren't a used car lot, a pawn shop, or a property manager. They don't WANT your house - they just want you to make the payments - that's how they plan to make their money - not by trying to sell abused and neglected houses (often stripped of cabinets, fixtures, appliances, etc by the time the bank recovers the house) in a soft market.
A whole series of very irresponsible decisions on this homeowner's (and I use that term loosely) part.
Did the man ever CALL the bank or coordinate with the bank in any way prior to moving out of the house? He was nearly a year behind in his mortgage, and then just figured he could continue down the path of irresponsibility. I am sorry, but I don't have much sympathy for him.
Did you read the article? If not, I suggest you do so, this is not your typical I'm being haunted for a foreclosure article.
He had already received a foreclosure notice from the bank. When he did, he moved his family out and that was the end of it. The bank decided after a few months they didn't want to sell the house nor bother with the property upkeep, so THEY PUT THE HOUSE BACK IN THE OWNER'S NAME AND DID NOT NOTIFY HIM!
He had absolutely no idea they did this and began getting tax notices, fines, code violations and other expensive notices from the state. He found out the bank put his name back on the deed when he went to file for social security or disability. They said he didn't qualify, because they said he owned property.
There is no law that forces the bank to notify the former owner that his name is BACK ON THE MORTGAGE OR DEED AS OWNER AGAIN. The bank STILL MAKE MONEY, write off as a loss, then sell the note to a debt collector.
I'm not going to call him irresponsible either. Both he and his wife lost their jobs. I'm sure he tried to get a reduction, but the bank gave him the run around like they do everybody else applying for it.
The PROBLEM IS he had NO IDEA HIS NAME WAS BACK ON THE DEED and now the state is coming after him for fines that he cannot pay. If he doesn't bring the house back up to code and/or pay the fines he's going to jail.
This could easily happen to YOU or SOMEONE YOU KNOW.
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There are so many options available to people thru their banks to help refinance or coordinate a civilized system of exiting the property.
Name ONE person who was availed of these 'mythical" refinance programs. Yes, I hear about them, just like I hear about the mythical "welfare queen" driving up to the supermarket in her Mercedes and fur coat purchasing groceries with her foodstamps, but have yet to see this "unicorn" for myself.
Did you read the article? If not, I suggest you do so, this is not your typical I'm being haunted for a foreclosure article.
He had already received a foreclosure notice from the bank. When he did, he moved his family out and that was the end of it. The bank decided after a few months they didn't want to sell the house nor bother with the property upkeep, so THEY PUT THE HOUSE BACK IN THE OWNER'S NAME AND DID NOT NOTIFY HIM!
He had absolutely no idea they did this and began getting tax notices, fines, code violations and other expensive notices from the state. He found out the bank put his name back on the deed when he went to file for social security or disability. They said he didn't qualify, because they said he owned property.
There is no law that forces the bank to notify the former owner that his name is BACK ON THE MORTGAGE OR DEED AS OWNER AGAIN. The bank STILL MAKE MONEY, write off as a loss, then sell the note to a debt collector.
I'm not going to call him irresponsible either. Both he and his wife lost their jobs. I'm sure he tried to get a reduction, but the bank gave him the run around like they do everybody else applying for it.
The PROBLEM IS he had NO IDEA HIS NAME WAS BACK ON THE DEED and now the state is coming after him for fines that he cannot pay. If he doesn't bring the house back up to code and/or pay the fines he's going to jail.
This could easily happen to YOU or SOMEONE YOU KNOW.
.
Yes, I did read the article.
It never stated that he contacted the bank at any point. All I can see is that he quit making payments for nearly a year, got a notice that a foreclosure was pending, and skipped town. All your "I'm sure he tried to get a reduction" stuff is purely conjecture.
He never even stuck around to see IF the foreclosure went through. Apparently he didn't leave a forwarding address either, or didn't bother to read his mail after he skipped out of town. More irresponsible behavior.
I don't see any indication that the house was ever taken OUT of his name.
A lack of empathy aside, actions such as this cloud a title and may make a property "unownable" in the future except to those willing to try adverse possession. As such, it is a burden to the original owner, neighbors, the municipality and county, and a general drain upon society. I would not give the banks a pass on this. The legal precedent of allowing it to stand opens a Pandora's box.
I just read this story and am becoming ill just thinking about this situation. And speaking of ill, according to the Reuters story, this poor guy is just a little bit more than ill and Social Security has denied him disability benefits, and it's because of the house that he supposedly owns.
For starters I am not a big bank apologist. But there is one sentence in the article that is being over looked :
Quote:
No regulations require that banks let homeowners know when they change their minds about a foreclosure. So they rarely do, according to housing court judges, homeowners' lawyers and academics who study foreclosure problems.
Another aspect that is being over looked is the Consumer Protection Agency Bureau that had a " no comment" on the story. You know that wonderful agency that Elizabeth Warren foisted on us to protect us. Could it be they had "no comment" because they are under the umbrella of the Federal Reserve? I knew that agency was going to be worthless except that it grew gvt. Hmmm, I wonder if they are working on writing or pushing regulation now. Doubt it.
As Jack Webb would say during a Dragnet episode " those are the hard cold facts, Mame.
This story sounds awful, but I would be willing to bet there is more to this story than what was printed.
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Name ONE person who was availed of these 'mythical" refinance programs. Yes, I hear about them, just like I hear about the mythical "welfare queen" driving up to the supermarket in her Mercedes and fur coat purchasing groceries with her foodstamps, but have yet to see this "unicorn" for myself.
Trust me, it exist. Maybe not to that extreme, but its out there. You have to remember, most welfare recipients have more disposable incomes than a lot that make decent incomes. When your food, rent, insurance is covered and you are working the minimum to receive assistance, you have a little extra money to splurge. I went to high school with plenty of folk that have been gaming the system for a long time....
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