Foreclosure: what I have learned (long)

[rufus]

I am not sure how or when this problem will be resolved. Half of the houses in my neighborhood are empty. And a lot of those with people in them were repossessed and are now rented out. I just hope nobody starts burning houses.

It is scary.

Rufus

 

[dewey]

You've been through so much...I am so sorry.

I know so many people that have lost their homes.

Here, once a house is foreclosed and the property sold, the homeowner is notified of the date to be out by (usually around a week or less), and the homeowner and/or renters must vacate by that date. Appealing before a judge doesn't usually delay the process since most appeals are denied on the spot and the original eviction date upheld by the judge. If the people are not out on that date, Deputies force them to leave right then (as trespassers) and then the house gets locked up...belongings and all if they didn't get their stuff out. Some will give them an hour or so to get as much remaining stuff out as they can.

It's usually in the loan servicer's best interest to foreclose, not to modify or refi. They make their money on foreclosures, and then next in line behind that is tacking on the huge amount to the original amount in a modification. They lose money or don't make what they want to make if they modify a loan by reducing the principle and payments and letting the homeowner keep their house...which explains why few of those types of modifications ever happen.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I can't understand how it is in the banks' best interest to foreclose. The properties sit empty for months or years, constantly devaluing. The only way I can see how this works for banks is that they get to consider these liabilities on their taxes rather than assets. How does a bank make money on foreclosures?

 

[Orchid]

mom'sfolly :

I can't understand how it is in the banks' best interest to foreclose. The properties sit empty for months or years, constantly devaluing. The only way I can see how this works for banks is that they get to consider these liabilities on their taxes rather than assets. How does a bank make money on foreclosures?

x2. I worked for an attorney who worked for a bank that would do almost anything NOT to have to foreclose for that reason - they make their money on interest, not by sittting on a deteriorating property that no one wants.​

 

[cassie]

Quote:
Banks can be bullies. That is why it is so important to find out what your rights are. The bank sure isn't going to tell you. Eviction proceedings vary from state to state. You ought to be able to find out a lot from your state's web site. In a foreclosure, renters are entitled to a 90 day notice to vacate. That is federal. Some time ago, California passed a law to protect renters that afforded renters a 60 day notice. The federal law was passed later and takes precedence. When I found my 3 day notice on the gate I contacted a federal housing administration in Washington DC. I didn't know it was in Washington DC when I called them. Their phone number was attached to the notice to vacate. They confirmed the 90 day notice and told me if I was having trouble with the bank to contact my congressman, which I did. I was just glad I had a renter. He had to send the bank a copy of his lease. The bank started to argue with us and say it didn't apply. That is where the congressman came in.

In California, after the foreclosure sale, the homeowner can be served a three day notice to vacate. If they are still there in three days, the bank will file a wrongful detainer suit. When the homeowner receives the wrongful detainer suit, he has five days to respond to the court. After that, the suit is set for trial, usually in less than 20 days. When the case goes to court, the homeowner states his case and the bank states theirs. If the homeowner loses, which is probable, he still has a certain amount of time to vacate. I think it is three or five days. Only then will the sheriff appear.

Each state is different. It will pay you to find out what the procedure is in your state. Then be proactive. If I hadn't been, my renter and I would both be out on the street by now. But because I had made the effort to find out what the law was, we are not.

 

[dewey]

Quote:
Banks can be bullies. That is why it is so important to find out what your rights are. The bank sure isn't going to tell you. Eviction proceedings vary from state to state. You ought to be able to find out a lot from your state's web site. In a foreclosure, renters are entitled to a 90 day notice to vacate. That is federal. Some time ago, California passed a law to protect renters that afforded renters a 60 day notice. The federal law was passed later and takes precedence. When I found my 3 day notice on the gate I contacted a federal housing administration in Washington DC. I didn't know it was in Washington DC when I called them. Their phone number was attached to the notice to vacate. They confirmed the 90 day notice and told me if I was having trouble with the bank to contact my congressman, which I did. I was just glad I had a renter. He had to send the bank a copy of his lease. The bank started to argue with us and say it didn't apply. That is where the congressman came in.

In California, after the foreclosure sale, the homeowner can be served a three day notice to vacate. If they are still there in three days, the bank will file a wrongful detainer suit. When the homeowner receives the wrongful detainer suit, he has five days to respond to the court. After that, the suit is set for trial, usually in less than 20 days. When the case goes to court, the homeowner states his case and the bank states theirs. If the homeowner loses, which is probable, he still has a certain amount of time to vacate. I think it is three or five days. Only then will the sheriff appear.

Each state is different. It will pay you to find out what the procedure is in your state. Then be proactive. If I hadn't been, my renter and I would both be out on the street by now. But because I had made the effort to find out what the law was, we are not.

Yes, everybody needs to check their own state. It's very different here than it is in CA. The law removes people right then (as stated above) if they are not out by judges orders. Renters and homeowners basically have no rights here in the case of a foreclosure sale...the property has actually been sold and the new owner has the right to take possession. Before the house is sold to a new owner it's a different story. Most homeowners cannot be forced out before an actual sale (and they have the right to see proof of a transfer of ownership)...although foreclosure/auction notices will often imply otherwise. Any new laws that have been passed in the last 6 months or so I am not aware of.

Of the many homeowners I've known that tried to refi or modify, I'm aware of only 2 that went through, at great end cost to the H.O, I might add, and one of those was with a year's worth of the bank "losing" paperwork or over and over claiming it was never submitted, and requesting the same paperwork over and over, or sending items with crazy deadlines of the same day things were received from them...they make it as hard as possible to keep up with their confusing requirements.