In a Sign of Foreclosure Flaws, Suits Claim Break-Ins by Banks

[swag]

Source: New York Times

By ANDREW MARTIN

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 an era when millions of homes have received foreclosure notices nationwide, lawsuits detailing bank break-ins like the one at Ms. Ash’s house keep surfacing. And in the wake of the scandal involving shoddy, sometimes illegal paperwork that has buffeted the nation’s biggest banks in recent months, critics say these situations reinforce their claims that the foreclosure process is fundamentally flawed.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/business/22lockout.html?_r=1

[trumad]

1. I was listening to a mortgage expert...

And he said that this should never ever happen---and it never did before---

The banks have no idea what they own...

[valerief]

2. The banks own everything. Congress, the Courts, everything. nt

[Uben]

3. They don't own anything I have......

...a break in here will net them some dead employees. A twelve gauge to the face (The cheney treatment)will greet any intruders.
In Texas, the Castle Law will get anyone who feels the need to intrude.....dead. They should think long and hard before breaking into anyone's home, rightfully or not.

[valerief]

4. Bwahahaha! The Cheney treatment!

:rofl:

[lepus]

5. I would not have phrased it quite so bluntly but

If I caught them in the house, I become their god.

They will lay down on the floor in a prone position, hands away from their body. Failure to do so will be bad.

They will answer any question I put to them. Failure to do so will be bad. The lawsuit I file afterward will be made much easier with their confessions.

The cops will be called. It's a 45 minute trip for them to get here, so they are going to continue laying on the floor while I verbally abuse them and continue questioning them.

[freshwest]

8. 'I become their god.' That's a good one. BWAHAHA

[harun]

6. I'd put B of A only behind United Health Care in the worst companies

on Earth category.

I try very hard to not do business with them. Unfortunately my Countrywide loan got gobbled up by them when they absorbed Countrywide. Now I have to deal with them again, BS!!!!!

[droidamus2]

7. This system is so rigged to screw the little guy

A personal example, I have a primary mortgage (in the home retention process so it doesn't go into foreclosure) and then a home equity loan (they won't deal with home retention on this until the first paperwork is finished) I took out to try and keep afloat until I found a full time job. Turns out the home equity was a bad idea because I am still not working full time (part time temp work only which means no consistent paycheck). The home equity is currently in the foreclosure process. So I finally break down and find out what the reinstatement cost would be so I can get them to stop adding 'foreclosure fees' and 'lawyer fees ' to what I already owe. I approach my brother to try to get enough money together so I can get the foreclosure stopped with enough money to make payments for a few months so I can get a bankruptcy started. When I received the numbers from the foreclosure lawyers I was told the numbers are only good through December 29th (I guess they have to finish their paperwork before the end of the month - scam#1). Well my brother was good enough to send me the money, cashiers check, with no questions asked. I figured hey it's a cashier's check that should be good as cash I can get it deposited today (the 24th) and overnight the money on Monday. Ah but, here comes scam #2, cashier's checks used to be treated like cash but somebody changed the rules and they now allow 'consumers' to put stop payments on cashier's checks (I'm sure this was presented as good for consumers but it isn't) so it takes 3 business days for this check to clear. You can see my problem by the time the check clears the numbers for reinstatement will change. I should have had the money sent through a bank wire directly into my account but there's scam #3 then my brother would have had to pay the bank to wire the money. I will admit the lady at my local bank is going to do everything she can to get the money cleared in time for me to wire, again make the little guy pay to pay, to the foreclosure people. I am a computer programmer by trade and I know damn well that in the digital age there is no excuse for it taking three days to clear a cashiers check (the moneys already been taken out of my brothers account so this is simply in place to give the banks a couple of days of float before they have to pay off). Even if I had to pay a little to expedite the clearing they should be able to log onto some kind of clearing house to lock in the money (after which no stop payment could be made on the check) so that I would have access to the money. If I never had to deal with another bank and especially Bank of American I would be a very happy man.

[Odin2005]

9. I've heard that this is even getting the Right-Libertarians up in arms.

Which is a good sign.

[Name removed]

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