From the nytimes.com, via cnbc.com:
Truckee, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks.
When she finally got into the house, it was empty. All of her possessions were gone: furniture, her son’s ski medals, winter clothes and family photos. Also missing was a wooden box, its top inscribed with the words “Together Forever,” that contained the ashes of her late husband, Robert.
The culprit, Ms. Ash soon learned, was not a burglar but her bank. According to a federal lawsuit filed in October by Ms. Ash, Bank of America had wrongfully foreclosed on her house and thrown out her belongings, without alerting Ms. Ash beforehand.
In Texas, Bank of America had the locks changed and the electricity shut off last year at Alan Schroit’s second home in Galveston, according to court papers. Mr. Schroit, who had paid off the house, had stored 75 pounds of salmon and halibut in his refrigerator and freezer, caught during a recent Alaskan fishing vacation.
“Lacking power, the freezer’s contents melted, spoiled and reeking melt water spread through the property and leaked through the flooring into joists and lower areas,” the lawsuit says. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
More common are cases like Ms. Ash’s, in which a homeowner was behind on payments, perhaps trying to work out a modification, when bank crews changed the locks.
In Florida, contractors working for Chase Bank used a screwdriver to enter Debra Fischer’s house in Punta Gorda and helped themselves to a laptop, an iPod, a cordless drill, six bottles of wine and a frosty beer, left half-empty on the counter, according to assertions in a lawsuit filed in August. Ms. Fisher was facing foreclosure, but Chase had not yet obtained a court order, her lawyer says.
The break-in was discovered when a Canadian couple renting the house returned from the beach.
Alan Jaffa, chief executive of Safeguard Properties, which inspects and maintains foreclosed properties for mortgage servicers, acknowledged that a handful of mistakes had been made. In most instances, he said, his company provided a valuable service that protected properties and neighborhoods.
“There is a stigma that we go in, kick the door in and throw grandma out head first and board up the windows,” Mr. Jaffa said. “We are doing a lot of good out there.”
But Alan M. White, a consumer law expert at Valparaiso University in Indiana, says: “Volume is not an excuse for violating someone’s rights.”
A clause in most mortgages allows banks that service the loan to enter a home and secure it if it is in default, meaning if the mortgage payment is 45 to 60 days late, and if the house has been abandoned, authorities said.
Banks do so to protect the property from vandalism or damage for which the bank could be liable.
Wait a minute. This article is completely contradictory.
In one sentence they state…
“The culprit, Ms. Ash soon learned, was not a burglar but her bank. According to a federal lawsuit filed in October by Ms. Ash, Bank of America had wrongfully foreclosed on her house and thrown out her belongings, without alerting Ms. Ash beforehand.”
And paint the bank as the bad guy. But they don’t explain why the bank was foreclosing on this property. Was it a complete mistake? Was the bank simply breaking into random houses and trying to resell them?
Then the truth comes out…
“More common are cases like Ms. Ash’s, in which a homeowner was behind on payments, perhaps trying to work out a modification, when bank crews changed the locks.”
Creatively not stating that Ms. Ash WAS NOT paying her mortgage. Essentially playing chicken with the bank trying to get a loan mod.
The real thief in this situation is Ms. Ash. A deadbeat trying to spin public opinion so she can continue her debt-ridden lifestyle.
Even if the bank legitimately forecloses on a house, what are their responsibilities in regard to the contents of the house? I would imagine they’d need to give the borrower an opportunity to claim personal property before disposing of it.
I included this because I thought it was funny. How did it get to the point that we are suing over a frosty half-a-beer being stolen?
But shadash is one of the few who is willing to keep pointing out that the mainstream media is giving NO COVERAGE to those buyers and renters who are impacted by the dead beats.
I have a sale in escrow now where the deadbeat bought the house in 1996 for $214,000. After working the free rent program for two years, he finally gets foreclosed and evicted – after running his amount owed up to $685,000.
On his way out, he files a lawsuit against Countrywide for wrongful foreclosure. He doesn’t have the guts to spend the real money to pursue the case, he just files it and disappears.
Now my buyers have been pushed back an extra 30+ days while the title gets cleared.
It’s the couple who has been looking for five years,a nd they thought they’d finally be in their new house for Christmas – when they have some time off to get settled.
But no, because of the scumbag deadbeat who walked with $400,000 plus two years free rent, they have to wait.
The media should bring these stories to light, and turn the tide on the freeloader society which this is becoming.
It’s always fun to run these people through spokeo – not that I trust all the info there, but it does provide some context. There aren’t a lot of Mimi Ash’s in the US.
Mahalo, JtR, as I’m cracking up regarding the half-drunk beer!
On a more serious note, Bank of America now holds the #1 position on my own personal list of “The Companies I Love to Hate”. Why? First, they stole money from my then 19-year old’s CLOSED checking account(over nearly a year). Now, I’m in the middle of a MERS mistake morphing into a nightmare with them that hasn’t been resolved.
I faxed them all information back on 12/2/10 after settling into my new home. When I called this morning to check on the status of their mistake, the rep would give me no information except to say “the name on the account is not the one listed” on the papers I faxed. And she can’t divulge that name. Um, I wonder what name’s on it.
I thought it was a data entry mistake, but I just don’t know anymore. It hasn’t shown up on my credit reports, and these mistakes (foreclosure & 2nd lien) date back to 2005. She promised to have someone from BOA call me back within 24 hours. Yeah, I’m not holding my breath–especially this week.
I never thought I’d be personally involved in the MERS controversy. It all seemed so far away from me, but now it’s not.
That said, I send my sincere condolences to your buyers, JtR. I had a 4 1/2 year search for my home. I was able to move in on November 12th and am enjoying decorating my new home for Christmas. That your buyers have been pushed back another month must be so disappointing to them.
Hopefully, one of these days, it comes back to haunt that “scumbag deadbeat”. And when it does? I’ll be right behind your buyers, Jim, saying: “Karma’s a bitch, eh?”
shame on BOFA.They should give the home to the injured party for damages.these banks are the real crooks!!!!!!!It’s all the evil banks fault right?
Suzie,
Is you can when dealing with BofA send all correspondence via registered mail and keep the delivery records.
If you end up in court over any disputes it’s extremely hard for them to push you around.
When I buy I plan to send all my mortgage payments via certified mail. (if available) Or some other audit trail that shows my payment dates.
shadash,
R u going to buy in 2011? You would be proud of my neighbors.they havent made a payment in 3 years and BOFA doesnt have the kajonas to kick them out.Rents are about 1800.00/ month for the house.
So 1800 *36= 65000.00 in free rent.they owe 500k on a house worth 200k.They also owe 5k in back hoa fees.
Maybe you should rethink your strategies and get on the crazy train, I mean gravy train.It pays to freeload.
BofA is definitely one of the most evil. I’ve had a credit card with them since college (and I’m pushing 40). A year or two ago, they decided to raise my fixed rate from around 8% to over 20% just because they felt like it. I’d never missed a payment, or even been late. They were right at the start of this mess, saw it coming, and decided they were going to need some extra cash.
F* BofA.
Errors will occur in any process. The cases where the borrower was in arrears are understandable, if not excusable. Somehow an unexpected and unfortunate action was taken by the bank, apparently without observing proper process to notify the debtor in advance. I predict that the bank will pay those people something. Juries being what they are, it could be anything.
The case in Texas where the mortgage had been paid off is neither understandable nor excusable. That one deserves a large punitive damages award. Abuse of process to take possession of property to which the bank has no proper claim needs to be severely punished.
There might be some interesting reading on Bank of America in January, 2011.
If you’re going to feed off of the bottom you should expect this. People who benefit from others misery deserve it in my opinion.
julian will make bofa look real rosy I’m sure.
Every so often you read of a police raid where the address is wrong and the wrong house gets raided. The case of the guy with no mortgage, is just like one of these. As noted the bank settled that case because there was no choice in the matter, they would loose big if it went to trial.
The comment about proof of delivery is very well taken, all be it that certified mail is just as good as registered mail, all the registration does is to provide insurance on the contents of the package. Note that UPS/FedEX et.al. also provide proof of delivery, that counts under the law. (All be it the USPS is still cheaper).
These folks that keep faxing things in to mortgage companies who soon loose them, don’t recall the old days when certified mail was the way to go. Its just like with income taxes certified mail puts the burden of proof on the IRS that there was no tax return in the envelope.
i personally have worked for bofa and have actually done work in truckee.
first off if you search the internet a little for imformation on mimis husband you will find that he passed away not too long ago and because of that his estate was in bankruptcy(i cant claim to know very much about bankruptcy)so there is alot more to this story than is stated here.
when we get a work order to lock out a house we first check to make sure it is vacant(not always possible without going in). if it is not then we document everything with pictures and post a 18 day personal property notice.
mimi ash also owns multiple houses and was in the process of building a huge house with her husband when he passed away
so although she was not a deadbeat there was alot more to the story than any of the articles explain