Legal Alert - Lenders Entering Homes Prior to Foreclosure Sale Reported in Washington State

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Legal Alert - Lenders Entering Homes Prior to Foreclosure Sale Reported in Washington State

Recently, there have been an increase in reports of lenders entering homes pending foreclosure, changing the locks and removing personal property.

Often, the justification provided by the lenders is that they received a report that the property was vacant and unsecured and that they were simply securing the property by changing the locks and boarding up the property to safeguard the home from property damage, vandalism and theft. In reality, it is often a ruse to secure possession of the property prior to the foreclosure sale.

Here is a copy of a recent e-mail received from an attorney in Washington State:

Hello All - I have received several phone calls from different real estate agents reporting activity that I find hard to believe. If I had heard this story from one agent, I would have discounted it as them misunderstanding the facts. But, I have now heard it from a variety of agents . . . so, of course, now I am wondering if I have missed something. Apparently lenders (xxxx is the only name I have heard) are going into some properties that are pending foreclosure and changing the locks, removing personal property, removing listing signs and keyboxes, etc. All of this is happening prior to the trustee's sale. There has been no receivership or any other court proceeding. These are non-judicial foreclosures and lender is simply taking possession of the property prior to the trustee's sale. In at least one case, a homeowner called the police who came to the home and said that it was a civil matter and did not stop the lender's rep from then taking the homeowner's personal property (or so the story goes).

I can't speak to the legality of this type of action in other states. However, in Missouri, notwithstanding language in the deed of trust stating otherwise, the lender cannot enter an occupied home pending foreclosure. Even after the property is sold at a foreclosure sale, the lender or purchaser at the foreclosure sale, cannot enter an occupied residence and must file suit for unlawful detainer to secure possession of a property sold at foreclosure.

Although I have heard of isolated reports in other states (including Missouri), I am curious to learn if other real estate professional have heard of similar occurrences of this lender practice in their state?

This legal alert provided as a public service announcement courtesy of PREA Signature Realty.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PREA SIGNATURE REALTY

PREA Signature Realty is a full service brokerage located at 1709 Park Avenue in the Lafayette Square neighborhood of the City of St. Louis. PREA Signature proudly serves the following city neighborhoods: Lafayette Square, Soulard, Benton Park, Benton Park West, Downtown Loft District, Forest Park Southwest, Central West End, Tower Grove East, Tower Grove South, Compton Heights, Shaw, The Hill, Dogtown, Carondelet, Holly Hills, St. Louis Hills, Dutchtown, and the Other Historic Neighborhoods of the City of Saint Louis, Missouri.

The opinions expressed herein represent the opinions of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of PREA Signature Realty. All photos and written content were produced by PREA Signature Realty. All Rights Reserved - PREA Signature Realty (2009). This content may not be reproduced or reprinted, except for Active Rain re-blogging, without express written permission of PREA Signature Realty.

For more information, visit our website at www.PREASignatureRealty.com or contact Ryan Shaughnessy at 314-971-4381 or send an email to Ryan@PREASignatureRealty.com.

Posted by Ryan Shaughnessy, Broker/Attorney - Your Lafayette Square Real Estate Partner on 02/20/2009 12:00 AM

Comments (67)

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67 Comments on Legal Alert - Lenders Entering Homes Prior to Foreclosure Sale Reported in Washington State

FEB

2009

Interesting...I am in Wa state, will keep my ears open.

Ryan

How sad. For many people I have seen hurt by foreclosure it must be hard enough to endure the process, and how it effects their family. I think it's awful if this happens prior to a sale. I thought that is why a process was started in the first place.

all my best

Tom Braatz

Ryan: I have not heard of this happening, but I can understand why the lenders would do this. Legality aside... if the property is vacant, the lender has much to lose if the home is vandalized or anything along those lines. I don't agree with the practice, but I understand why.

Unfortunately, I have two incidents in my office now that properties had been listed for sale and for lease. My agents had the tenants. All the tenants paperwork was in order and leases were signed, money was exchanged, checks were cashed and within a week to week and a half the tenants hear someone outside their doors. They open the doors and there are locksmiths trying to change locks on the properties they just started leasing. These are single family homes. We come to find out that the property is in pre-foreclosure and a lis pen. has been filed. This just scares the tenants right into their attorneys offices. They are told that they can not just necessarily break the lease and withhold rental payments. (Even if the rent payments are never getting to the mortgagees.) My agents said that the tenants have to provide credit reports maybe its time the landlords should also. There is a lot of crazy stuff out there.

We just had a big discussion of this at our recent state directors meetings. Some cities in California are trying to force lenders to enter and start maintenance proceduires prior to trustee sale. Some cities are actually trying to levy fines under their abandoned property ordinance effective from the date THEY determine the property is abandoned. We have also heard of banks changing locks when people still live there, when an agent has the place listed for short sale - any number of problems. Of course we are California - normal rules or commerce don't seem to apply here.

Beth Ann: Oddly, a number of these properties were vacant, secured and listed for sale as short sales. Your state association is aware of the issue as the attorney/broker hotline has been receiving a number of calls regarding the practice.

Tom: Although I can sympathize with the borrowers, I also understand that lender have a valid interest in protect their collateral and securing the property is a reasonable approach where someone facing foreclosure vacates the home and the home is subject to vandalism (particularly damage caused by the theft of copper pipe). Early in my legal career, I handled foreclosures, unlawful detainer suits, and suits on promissory notes for a number of local banks (later regional banks when they were gobbled up in M&A boom). I never saw or heard of such a practice. However, about 5 years ago, I had a case very similar to the case described in the post. It turned out - it wasn't the lender/holder of note, but the REO agent and loan servicer that had engaged in the conduct. Case settled pretty quickly.

Karen: I can understand the practice - see my comment above. However, these apparently were owner occupied structures, not homes left vacant prior to foreclosure.

Kim: I have seen variations of what you described - involving tax sales, transfers prior to foreclosure as a part of a foreclosure rescue scheme, and outright fraudulent conduct relating to homes in foreclosure listed by non-owner for rent on Craigslist, Backpage, etc. There always seems to be some hustler with an angle - good times or bad.

Gene: Loved the comment (ie. California commerce). I can understand ordering a vacant home to be boarded up. I don't agree with the practice as it relates to occupied homes. Over the years, I have represented a number of municipalities. Never had this topic arise.

I have heard of it happening in WA state. I know of a vacant property it happened to. The tenants were in the process of moving out and all their stuff was put in the garage. I also know of it happening in Arizona. My friend is trying to sell her condo and the bank changed the locks and she can't get Realtors in to show the condo to sell it. Crazy!

Debi: I understand that it is a balancing act to protect competing property interests. But, I can't believe the story about your friend - that is pretty outrageous in my book. Great pic of the dog...

wow - and I see this getting worse before it gets better

Ryan,

Unconscionable. We are a country of laws. Both lenders and homeowners should use the courts to satisfy their grievances. Let the sheriff board it up until the bankruptcy is complete.

Rich

Randall: It is pretty unbelievable.

Richard: I would agree generally. However, the court system is incredibly slow. It is one of reasons that states went from judicial foreclosures to non-judicial foreclosures. For creditors, justice delayed is often justice denied.

this is an unbelievable story, as if these banks and/or lenders did not have enough bad press on their hands these days as they look to us to bail them out

James: The bank mentioned in the e-mail (which I redacted for this post) will not suprise many as it is a subprime lender with loose underwriting standards that is and was at the center of the subprime debacle.

Wow... That sounds like a great way to get home owners, or soon to be non-home owners to really backlash at the bank.

I have to admit that if they tried something like that at my house, baaad things would happen.

Chris: Your response is exactly the reason why there is a judicial process for obtaining possession is used and why is is such a bad and dangerous practice to enter occupied homes (before or after foreclosure) using self-help.

I have not heard of this happening.

Hello all. I am in Gilbert AZ and it just happened to one of my sellers. Ocwen without notice and before foreclosure went and changed the locks. Then they left the door unlocked. I found it on my own visit to the home! I have it listed as a short sale and Ocwen is the second loan - not even in first position. They are doing some "strange" things and I have many concerns about them.

Hi Ryan, it happened to our buyer who had already closed a week prior. The house was not scheduled to be foreclosed upon for 2 more months!!!!! The new buyer had already brought his tools in, changed the locksets and started to move in ....they cleaned it out! Called the police department who did nothing......we know who authorized it and the service company that changed the lock and put a lock box on ....... we even found out who the lock box was registered to.......all the evidence is there ---- the customer had to get a lawyer, this is breaking & entering and the PD not treating this as a felony! And this was in New Jersey! Think the banks are jumping the gun a bit!

I have a preforeclosure sale home listed in Northern Indiana, the owner lives in another state but the son stayed in this area to finish school. There are some items in the house(bed, couch, chairs, table) and the UTILITIES ARE ON, that is all that saved the cleaning company from emptying the house and changing the locks....on a preforeclosure. It will be 2 months until the home will be sold at a sheriff's foreclosure sale. When I called the mortgage company, they said they did not know anything about the cleaning company or why they were there.

Maria: From the number of e-mails that I have received, I would say you are lucky. I thought this was an isolated issue - but it looks like it is happening all over.

Ann: There seems to be some reoccurring names of offenders - including Ocwen, WaMu, and LaSalle.

The Sutos: Sounds like the case that I handled a few years ago - almost verbatim. I think this is a bigger issue than most know. Thanks for sharing the story.

Carolyn: Why don't I read these stories in the newspaper? Banks violating the terms of their deeds of trust and violating the law. Yet, we are actually subsidizing these actions with the bailout. Makes perfect sense to me...

Those are some crazy stories. Haven't seen stuff like that in Colorado yet.

Know of one where they changed the locks per the owner no longer live there and had been coming back to property to cause damage. The lender even secured the pool.

Mike: The worst part of the Washington story is that these were homes where the owners where trying to sell the homes to avoid foreclosure. Doesn't exactly sound like irresponsible homeowners causing damage prior to foreclosure sale.

Carole: I understand some owners have caused damage in the pre-foreclosure stage. However, it doesn't justify taking such actions without legal process or locking out owners who are still living in their homes. From the e-mails, more than a few owners lost not only their homes - but also all of their possessions.

Hi Ryan; I haven't heard stories of that in my area - yet. That is pretty outrageous. In California they would be in big trouble for that kind of action. Used to do property mgmt. and you had to be very, very careful if you thought a tenant had moved and abandoned the house.

Eileen - No doubt about it - no touching other people's stuff. To me, it seems like the bank are saying "You owe us. So what if you lost some times?"

FEB

2009

I have several short sale properties listed just within the last few weeks and this has happened twice. Both properties were vacant with lockboxes and utilities on. I had the potential buyer's agents call me and advise they were attempting to show the property but the keys were not working. When I contacted the bank and advised them it was ILLEGAL here in Florida, they fedexed me the new key the next day. The other bank claimed they never changed the locks.

I understand the bank's concern to preserve their asset, however, if the property is listed and there is a lockbox, why would they need to change the locks? Their potential REO agents they send to the properties are still able to gain access via the lockbox keys. Obviously, their intention is to keep the owner of deed from accessing the property. In the interim, they delay the potential sale and waste the buyer's agents time in attempting to show these listings.

I have advised both my buyers to let the judge know if and when the judicial process starts in these cases. I am now told this happens a lot in Florida and the judges tend to lash out at the banks when it does. If we allow this to happen, what's next? Interest in the property does not mean ownership. The banks should not have access until they are deeded the property once it has foreclosed.

Dawn - Well said (or written). I couldn't agree with your comment any more than if I had written it myself. So when is the media going to cover this diry little secret of the banking industry?

I haven't heard of this one yet - but you know people will try anything, even if it is wrong, until someone forces them not to. So sad for the current home owners.

Something similar happened to one of the agents in my office here in Charlotte NC. Evidently, someone saw people breaking into the house and called the police. They were arrested. Afterwards, the owner realized that they had taken personal property not readily apparent at the time of entry. Now the owner has a lawsuit against the bank.

This is information that I am going to share with all my friends because you never know in these troubled times who may need to know this.

There are always exceptions. Sometimes the vendors the banks hire are too quick to assess the occupancy status.The majority of the scenarios I see of lenders changing the locks prior to the sale involve homes that are vacant, unsecured, or in violation of zoning. We get calls all the time from Cities and zoning/ health depts wanting grass cut and garbage removed on homes that have not gone to sale yet. On one hand, you want the banks to stay out and let the home become an eyesore but on the other hand you expect the bank to cut the grass and clean up the trash. In our market, most homes have sump pumps to keep the basement from flooding. I have seen numerous homes vacated and the electric turned off purposely yet personal property left behind. So as the home sits with 5-6ft of water and sometimes sewage in the basement, the home sits untouched because of personal property left behind and laws prohibiting the lender from entering the asset. You can't have it both ways. If you are not living in the house, maintaining the home and keeping utilities on then why shouldn't the bank take possession before the sale? Ultimately who is paying for the damaged goods? The same people who are paying for the bail out and mortgage crisis-those of us who work and pay our taxes and mortgages!

Had this happen to one of my short-sale listings. Short-sale lender changed the front door lock and left it opened. A neighbor called me.

Checked the matter with RE attorney and broker. The bottom line is if you have the listing and you are duly and diligently looking after the property with regular visits and showings, the property is not deemed to be abandoned although vacant. It is not vacant if personal property is still in property, even if minimal, then the property is 'unoccupied'.

So I was told the property still belongs to the owner, and the lender's actions constitute trespassing. The lender installed locks were removed and owner re-installed his own locks. I called the local police and reported the trespassing - which went on a report at my request. Police informed me that if it happens again and the individual changing the locks on property is caught in the act, they police would perform an arrest. As long as I can prove the owner stills owns the property and my agency representation of the owner.

Wow, that is really sad. There are competing interests here: the original homeowner, the lender, and the neighbors who see their property values affected by a vandalized home. If the bank's intent is to maintain a vacant property, that is commendable but they cannot do it illegally. It is making a sad situation worse.

Steve: I think that you hit it on the head. It is a cost benefit analysis. Until it costs the bank money, they will continue with the practice.

Carol: Terrible story. The Washington State message had to do with homes listed for sale and pending foreclosure. Penalize the responsible owner who is trying to sell the home as opposed to the owner who just walks away.

Susan: I understand your post. Yes, there are legitimate reasons for a bank to secure a building to protect their interest in their collateral. However, the Washington State message was about homes listed for sale that where secured and had lock boxes on them.

Richard: You handled it in the same manner that I would suggest anyone to do so.

Margaret: There are competing interests. However, the banks should seek the proper remedy in court as opposed to exercising self-help. I am waiting for the news report that starts out "Shots fired..." based on a homeowner being in the house when this occurs.

I'm in Washington State and I encountered a similar situation with the lender changing the locks. The house was vacant and Ocwen changed the locks and put one of their lockboxes on the door a couple months before the trustee sale date. The owner called Ocwen and they gave her the lockbox code to retrieve the new key. There were two keys in the lockbox, so we were able to take one of them to put in our agent lockbox.

I would not be surprised if lenders will start putting language into the mortgage to protect them in the event the home is abandoned during the time any owner may go into default. I have see far too many homes trashed by buyers who feel they can just walk away and it's not their problem. It is a reality of foreclosure that the owner no longer cares then leaves the water on, doesn't pay the gas bill and worse leave piles of junk in an unsecured home. I have to also feel bad for the lender too because now that is all of the rest of us tax payers in 2009. IMO: Home buyers should take some responsiblity for buying a home. If they cannot pay the mortgage then secure it, clean it and allow it to be preserved.

Ryan as a result of your article and all the commentary - I just posted an article I did last month on my local association blog on this topic as a result of our state director discussion on the topic. We had entertained the possibility of introducing legislation to address the problem but will be working instead to strengthen existing prohibitions on this type of behavior. Thanks for bringing the issue to peoples atention. It could get ugly.

David: I find it amazing that they take these actions when the property is listed for sale.

Mary: I understand that some owners walk away and even vandalism their homes. However, the Washington State properties were occupied and listed for sale, not abandoned. In response to your comment, the standard Fannie Mae deed of trust does already have language authorizing inspections and entry as follows: "Lender or its agent may make reasonable entries upon and inspections of the Property. If it has reasonable cause, Lender may inspect the interior of the improvements on the Property. Lender shall give Borrower notice at the time of or prior to such an interior inspection specifying such reasonable cause." However, there are two important facts: First, this language doesn't authorize changing the locks or dispossessing owners who are occupying the property where there is no issue relating to damage or vandalism to the property. Second, according to the lenders own document, notice to the owner is required. These owners left for work and came back to find the locks changed or worse the place left open after the locks were changed. Default and vacancy do not meet legal definitions of abandonment or waste justifying the lender's actions in Washington State.

Gene: Thanks for the link. Cutting the lawn and boarding up abandoned homes is one thing. Dispossessing owners and interfering with the listing agent's ability to access homes for showings is a different situation.

At a recent office meeting an agent was talking about a listing that was still being lived in by the owners during the eviction period. One day a couple of thugs showed up and told them they had to vacate. The owners called the sheriff's dept who came out and gave the men hell, telling them they better not ever be caught doing this in our area again. Apparently some lenders are sending these bouncer types out from Detroit to expedite getting the homes back. I've heard tales that this has happened more than once around here.

Beth - It is unlikely that it is the lender directly. Often, from the e-mails that I am receiving, it is the servicer or REO managers. It sounds like it is a delegation down phenomena - with instructions like "just get it done" with the pay commensurate with the results which is leading to more abuse.

As we all know each state has its own laws on the foreclosure process. As we also know most of the major banks have their foreclosure / loss mitigation ofices in California, Florida, Maryland, N Carolina and Texas, etc. They all employ lawyers based in major cities in the states they are active in. The folks they have working in their loss mitigation departments are not lawyers and cannot be expected to understand the subtle differences state to state. Yet they often are the ones responsible for ordering via "property preservation" the locks to be changed, " securing the property" is how it has been explained to me.

I am in Minnesota, we have a six month redemption period post the sherrif's sale during which time the defaulting mortgagee or tenant of a defaulting landlord have the right to remain in the home and in that time they can redeem the mortgage. I am not a lawyer but I am getting very familiar with our state laws on foreclosure by the experiences I have had.

I had an agent call me to ask what the code was for the lock box so he could show my listing to his buyer, "It's an electronic lock box" I replied,"no it's not, it's a combo". The alarm bells rang. I went to my listing to find that the locks had been drilled out and my lockbox removed and the bank had put their combo box on the front door. My for sale sign was still hanging in the yard! Several long phone calls later and a $25 courier fee got me a set of keys. The house had been vacated by my seller, the heating was on, the power was on the utility bills were up to date so why was the bank rekeying? They claimed it was abandoned and that under state law they had the right to shorten the redemption period to 5 weeks. My question to the bank representative was" how is it abandoned?" They said that it was vacant! A call to their lawyer here in Minneapolis soon righted the wrong, the lawyer even said that the bank reps. don't know what they are doing! I rekeyed and put my lock box back on the door.

I was told that the federally chartered banks have a different set of rules by which they are governed than locally owned and operated banks. If that is true and knowing that each state has different ways of dealing with the foreclosure process then we are obviously in for a lot of confused people dealing with the process. And in the midst of that confusion are the perfect conditions for corruption and underhand dealings.

Maybe each of our respective Realtors Associations should be collecting the evidence of these wrongful actions so that the banks can be shown what they are doing wrong.

Mike:

Your story is becoming more and more common. Lenders are making up their own definitions of what constitutes "abandonment" and "collateral preservation". I agree that the lenders' in-house attorneys are not calling the shots. Often, it is a loan service or special loan servicer acting under a pooling and service agreement, which leads to a different problem.

Who do you contact to get the new keys? If it is a private securitized loans (about 16% of loans originated and 62% of loans in default), it is not uncommon to get bounced from lender to trustee to servicer to special servicer to loss mitigation departments to REO managers.

Who really is calling the shots? It is no wonder that some loan modifications fall on deaf ears. The lender or servicer that you are dealing with doesn't have the authority to make the decision under the pooling and service agreement. A special servicer may have the authority - but typically only if the loan is in default and the file has been transferred to the special servicer. There are some reports indicating that foreclosure in state's authorizing non-judicial sales under deed of trust that indicate that the foreclosures are happening faster than files being transferred for review to special servicer because of the volume of defaults.

Ryan,

Interesting....since 2/3 of my listings are short sales and moving down the foreclosure path I will keep my eyes open. Just a couple of generic comments - how can you be an effective broker/attorney and blog as compusively as you do? Don't you have a "real" life? AND when did you jump on the HWY 64 bandwagon? It really is HWY 40 for anyone from around here no matter what GATEWAY CONSTRUCTORS and some of the media want you to believe.

Love your Lafayette Square condos/lofts/ whatever they are!

Must be frightening when this happens and the tenant has no idea what is happening !

Ryan -

Never heard of this happening here in Chicago. Interesting, however, because often the actual changing of the locks/taking possession here is delayed after Sheriff's Sale and mandatory 30-day notice to defaulted homeowner.

Often times, then, the house is pretty trashed - so there is little to really protect!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Denise: I pick topics that relate to my current or past projects. It saves time. I typically do 1 blog post per night - usually between 12 midnight and 2 a.m. It is actually best time to do some work. I grew up with it as Hwy 40. But I use Hwy 64 now because the transplants don't seem to get that Fed-40 and I-64 are the same.

Bill - Tenant or owner - pretty much same result.

Dean - Different set up... Missouri is a non-judicial sale state. Send notice of default, accelerate balance on note, give written notice of sale, publish notice of sale for 21 days, cry sale - you are done - approx. 45 days from start to finish. However, possession is the issue. You have to file unlawful detainer action to get possession. In my experience, vandalism to the house is inversely related to its value.

FEB

2009

I've heard many tales of this happening here in Florida

Robin - Thanks for reading and sharing the Florida experience.

FEB

2009

It isa happening here in Montana - The company "securing the property" does more damage to the property then they could have ever prevented.

Don: I have heard the same - they actually have left doors open, broken windows or doors to gain access, or drilled the lock and then drilled a hole in the wall of the home and secured the door with chain and padlock. I get the need to preserve the value of collateral and to prevent waste and vandalism. But, some of these companies are going too far.

Yes, the lender came into a property I had listed prior to the TS and changed one of the locks and placed a keybox on the door. This was about 3 weeks prior to the TS, however, nothing was taken. That would be illegal for them to do that, and I would assume to change the lock. My clients didn't care though, they had already moved out of the house and didn't care. That lender has received their comeuppance: we had an offer 2 weeks prior to TS and the bank didn't take it. They would have lost only $45,000. Now, it is still listed 10 months later for $80,000 less than what we had a good offer for!

Amy: You point out a very real problem. We consider the lender to be the entity that our customers send their payment to. In reality, they may not own the loan or note. They may just be a servicer and loan has been sold to another entity. If that is the case, they have no authority to modify the loan and you will then get bounced from entity to entity. In the meantime, nothing happens. Sale is held.

I would hope that someone on AR could ask this question:

Are foreclosures becoming more prevalent and loan modifications being blocked because the servicer can't make the call (ie. they don't have the authority to modify the loans) or can't make the modification because of a structural reason (ie. loan is pooled - afraid of being sued by investor or PMI carrier won't pay claim unless sale is held)?

FEB

2009

I sort of agree with the agent who sees thing getting worse before they get better. Your blog and the President's speech last night make feel that way. Good stuff, I always get good perspectives from rreading your bloags

Thanks Michael - glad to have you back in the rotation.

MAR

2009

Hi - I have a SECOND home in Lucerne Valley, Ca. This for those of you who dont know is desert property. I have 5 acres that i use on weekends and holidays to ride ATV's with family and friends. There is a manufactured home on the lot as well that is fully furnished. I am in preforeclosure now. As soon as I missed the first payment I received a letter stating that the house appeared vacant and if I didnt contact GMAC within 7 days they were going to rekey it and winterize it. I called and confirmed that it was a 2nd home and I did not have to be there everyday. Well this happened monthly until December. In December they actually started the foreclosure process. I have not received any letters about rekeying the property. However I got a call from my neighbor who informed me that someone was at my home changing my locks. My neighbor went to the person and told them its a weekend home. They continued changing the locks. I called to verify that there was not a sale date and that the property did not sell without my knowledge. I am under the impression that they (GMAC) is working out a loan modification for me. I print title home is still in my name and no sale date is scheduled. I called GMAC and I was told they didnt have to notify me since I was in foreclosure. Then the rep had the nerve to ask me did I want keys to get in. I can only imagine what would have happened if I would have went there this Friday late at night and not been able to get in my home with my 4 kids. Is this breaking and entering? Who else has a key to my home now? Was this NEVER my property?

One thing I know and you have reenforced is that before proceeding into the morass of legality, one is best advised to consult a real estate attorney

Bernadette: The FannieMae deeds of trust/mortgage forms allow for entry to secure the property for loss and damage. Lenders are taking an expansive view of their rights.

Michael: I absolutely agree - consult an attorney is the right answer.

APR

2009

I just had this happen in San Diego county,CA-I'm the listing agent.

My sign is in the yard,no one calls me -just changed the locks on 3-31-09. Trustees sale date was 4-8-09-we got it postponed- I have 2 short sale offers into the bank!

Yes this property is vacant- but I find this below board.Is it even legal in CA???

APR

2009

Well this has just happened me. My town home is currently in pre-foreclosure. This isn't because I cant pay my mortgage(barely) but because my home is literally worth a fifth of what I paid for it. So now I'm trying to renegotiate my payments. Currently I am not living at the home but I happen to work 2 blocks away from the home and my sister lives in the EXACT SAME complex, so someone checks up on it almost daily. About one month ago after leaving work I stopped by the property and found the gate to the backyard ajar. Upon closer inspection I discover that someone actually broke a piece of the wooden fence to gain entrance into the yard and nothing was taken. That same day I repaired the fence and put a lock on it. This whole event was very strange because the property is on fairly busy street and the blinds were slightly open, so as to reveal NOTHING to steal within the home. Less than one week later I received a letter from my lender informing me that the property was "Vacant & Unsecured". This was also very strange to me because of how quickly it was "reported" to the lender that the home was "unsecured". Once again I emphasize that this property is checked on a daily basis, so the amount of time it was "unsecured" could not have been longer than 24 hours(best case scenario). In any case I disregarded the letter because I had since secured the property. Today(April 13) I arrived at the home to find the deadbolt changed and a lock box on the door handle. I have since setup an appointment with my lawyer tomorrow.

Call me crazy, but too much of this doesnt add up. In my opinion someone broke my fence in an effort to expidiate the foreclosure process. These Banks and Lenders are just begging for a lawsuit and I may be the one to give it to them.

JUL

2009

I know someone closely that built 4 luxury condos in great community in Massachusetts. After having all town & state autorities sign off on all on sit and off site improvements and the 4 Condos being 100% complete, locked and secured, the town has refused to issue occupancy permits, the lender has refused to renew the construction loan, but yet wants the borrower to make payments on a loan without knowing any terms. Property has not been foreclosed upon, but lender has enetered the premises and changed all the locks. The borrower was at property daily and sales have been attempted. Even the town attorney told the borrower he knows how to resolve the occupancy permit issue, but refuses to tell borrower.

How do you like that. Crazy world we live in now

Please someone respond with comments and ideas. Is this legal. By the way, the borrower has figured out the answer to the OP problem.

AUG

2009

Our lender sent us a letter(08/06/09) that our loan was sold and now starting with September we have to pay to a different lender. That was OK with us, but the problems start: the new lender begins to leave messages that we did not paid the loan three months in row (for May,June,July) We thought must be an error so we got copy of the cleared checks and sent them to the old and the new lender to prove that. We called back and they said that need to investigate,to open a dispute and to wait...
Next,we got another letter from the new lender stating that they will go and change the locks on the property becauseit is VACANT and they are worried about vandalism and FREEZING temperatures...in California ...Sacramento... in summertime .....and this will serve like 5 days notice

We just bought the house like investment 4 months ago,Our house is Not on pre or foreclosure, we never missed or late a payment the title is clear. Seems like the personal property is no longer protected... now the lenders make the law...It is ridiculous...

FEB

We just had a high profile case of B of A entering Brentwood homes prior to their foreclosure. They did it under to guise of offering a work out agreement, but none of the agreements ever "worked out"!

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Ryan Shaughnessy, Broker/Attorney - Your Lafayette Square Real Estate Partner

Saint Louis, MO

More about me…

PREA Signature Realty - www.preasignaturerealty.com

Address: 1709 Park Avenue, Saint Louis, MO, 63104

Office Phone: (314) 397-3182

Cell Phone: (314) 971-4381

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A Blog for New Home & Other Sales Professionals and for Sellers and Buyers Interested in City Living PREA Signature Realty proudly serves the communities of Lafayette Square, Soulard, Benton Park, Benton Park West, Downtown Loft District, Forest Park Southwest, Central West End, Tower Grove East, Tower Grove South, Compton Heights, Shaw, The Hill, Dogtown, Carondelet, Holly Hills, St. Louis Hills, Dutchtown, and the Other Historic Neighborhoods of the City of Saint Louis, Missouri.

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