Seller's Failure To Resolve Foreclosure Spells Disaster For Would-Be Rent To Own Homebuyer; Family Booted Despite Making Repairs, Prompt Rent Payments

In Syracuse, New York, The Post Standard reports:

• When they moved in last fall, April and Boliver Marshall thought their family had found the American Dream. "Everyone had been saying, no, you'll never be a homeowner -- and then, finally, I was," April Marshall recalled. "Just that one time, finally, a piece of the pie." So it seemed. Though they didn't know it, the Marshalls were chasing an illusion, seeking to buy a property fated for foreclosure. After spending nearly $6,800 in rent and investments, they were evicted last month, feeling angry and betrayed.

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• In some ways, they stand as victims of the national home mortgage crisis, the one economists say generally missed Central New York. But the Marshalls represent a secondary wave, one likely to grow if the recession lingers. Hard times will increase the number of people who cannot qualify for home loans, sending those buyers into the arms of real estate dealers with unconventional offers that involve more risks and fewer protections.

• "This is how you make lots of money in real estate with no money down, like they teach on late night TV," said Gary Pieples, a Syracuse University law professor who is representing the Marshalls. "You get somebody else to move into a house and buy it for you."

For more, see A rent-to-buy disaster: How the American Dream turned into a nightmare for a Syracuse family. rent to own lease purchase option scams yellowstone