How Fraud & Foreclosure Hit One New York City Neighborhood

In South Jamaica, Queens, a New York Daily News I-Team investigative report describes the neighborhood deterioration suffered in one three by three block section of town as a result of foreclosures and fraudulent real estate deals. Among the anectdotes:

• One man who his fighting to keep his home of 52 years after an alleged scam artist secretly recorded a deed to his home and sold it to another in a sale financed by a $365,000 mortgage that has since been allowed to fall into foreclosure;

• A homeowner who, while not experiencing the difficulties of foreclosure on her own home, was forced to invest in a cat to deal with all the mice that began invading her yard, attracted by other neighborhood homes that were abandoned and left in foreclosure;

• A woman with three kids who unwittingly rented an apartment that had just fallen into foreclosure from someone who was not the owner; the process server served the foreclosure papers on her 11 year old daughter;

• A 94 year old woman facing foreclosure because her son secretly put the home in his name, pocketed the proceeds of a $200,000 second mortgage, and has stopped making the payments on the loan;

• A woman who lost her fully paid off home of 35 years when, needing money to pay for her deceased husband's funeral, ended up with an adjustable rate mortgage with payments that quickly became unmanageable;

• A homeowner who has fully paid off his home, has never had financial difficulties at all, but nevertheless has his hands full trying to deal with the vandalism and illegal dumping occurring at the vacant foreclosure next door;

• The postal worker who delivers mail in the area said she keeps an unofficial tally of the foreclosed homes on her route.

For the story, see The tragic toll of housing nightmare (go here for entire story on one web page).