Foreclosures are un-tenant-able - BostonHerald.com

QUESTION: Do you know your rights?

Foreclosures are un-tenant-able - BostonHerald.com: "Tenants have lost security deposits, unwittingly paid rent to former landlords or been forced by new owners to move out, experts say.

“The vast majority of the tenants we talk to are having their rights violated,” said Gabe Treves of San Francisco group Tenants Together, which has counseled some 3,000 renters caught up in their landlords’foreclosure cases.

“Banks are being very aggressive in trying to get the tenants out, Treves said. “They are stuck on the idea that if tenants vacate the home, they can sell it.”

Lenders often offer tenants cash settlements to move out.

But renters have the right to turn such deals down.

Just ask Lynne Codde.

She rejected $500 to leave her Antioch, Calif., rental following the home’s foreclosure.

“We just kind of laughed at them,” said Codde, who eventually negotiated a $4,000 settlement to leave.

A 2009 federal law aims to protect tenants such as Codde and Kennedy-Florez from immediate eviction."

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Updates on foreclosures and eviction process

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Update May 15, 2010 - As time draws near to make sure that we are NOT evicted, legal considerings accelerate. Everyday we learn more. Facing this on more than one property is intimidating but not impossible. With the bank essentially killing our sale at full price we have grounds to have foreclosure totally suspended. Learning how debt collectors ignore TILA laws, lie and intimidate renters is a whole new universe for trusting souls.

Meanwhile we continue packing and sorting just in case we are forced out of the home. We are fortunate we have two or three alternatives, many have NO alternatives and end up living out of their cars or dividing the family among extended relatives and friends until they locate to better situation. Some live in garages or camp out in parks.

Friends, one year ago, I had no idea, banks sell the loan to themselves - often without proper notification). In Arizona this is not a JUDICIAL procedure it is done by trustee sale. This alleged sale, which I personally think of as a sign over, often results in a summons to eviction trial (forcible detainer) with a 3 day notice to appear. After that there is 5 days until trial or until writ to the sheriff is written, depending on how you plead. Certainly if I had known the future, I would have simply sold the house when it had equity and would never have listened to the bank reps telling me that to lower payments I had to go late by a few months.

If you are a renter or owner facing possible eviction, foreclosure (or are in foreclosure currently) learn the laws... go to your state laws and learn what is legal and what is not.

If you are concerned about fraud then check out this article.

Banks and efficiency - loan foreclosure specialists

Well this may not be news to some of you, but getting through to a live person and receiving information about your account is harder than crashing a party at the White House.

First you verify your account with the recorded greeter, press your number and speak to a live representative. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

NEXT you have the great joy of verifying all over again, your account number, full social security number, your name, mailing address, property address with zip code and any phone number. If they still doubt you then they ask if any of the numbers are cell phone.

All this just to ask full payoff. If a lawyer has become involved then those fees are added on and they can't tell you over the phone. What the heck? They have taken you through security, verification, stripping and still can't tell you information on the phone? Our loan foreclosure SPECIALIST ordered a request for another fax to be sent. Now you may not realize it but we have had a couple wanting to buy this place for 2 weeks. In fact, there have been two parties interested in buying the home. The reason I wanted the payoff amount is to sell the place. So, I asked the representative if we could call the buyers and send a fax of payoff to them also. Patiently the representative waited, as a three way call was initiated with the potential buyer, to fax the information to them as well. There should be no room for errors now unless the phone and fax lines all over the country go down.

We have now called 3 times in the space of a week and a half. Today, after 5 minutes of being preapproved to talk about our account; they said the fax had been sent and sorry they could not tell me over the phone the payoff. It's not allowed. Further it would be another two days so probably Wednesday since today is Saturday. For crying out loud, my buyers have already had to wait 1 week longer than they wanted for an answer.

I'm asking the bank to remove lawyer charges, on the basis that the lawyer acted prematurely during the time the bank said it was working with me and would not start the process. But initial reaction is that would be a short sale. I find a buyer for the full amount of loan (miracle) and they want it considered a short sale???? To those that don't know, a short sale means even if you can recover financially you cannot buy a house for about 2 years. If you sell in full you will be able to buy again as soon as you recover financially and credit wise.

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This house we did not want to sell, it is our rental house that we wanted to retire to. It had good renters and while it did not make us money it was a goal for the future.

Does anything here sound crazy to you - or is it just me?