Tenant Accuses Priest Of Skimming Rent From Home In Foreclosure; Now Faces The Boot After Sinking $3K+ Into Repairs

In Wolcott, Connecticut, The Republican American reports:

• At first glance, the modest Cape Cod house [...] seemed ideal for Shelly Ryan and her family. There was room for her small children and a back yard for her service dog. It was owned by a priest and available for rent. She and her landlord, the Rev. William R. Sokolowski, the pastor of St. Maria Goretti Church, signed a one-year lease that began on May 1. However, Sokolowski failed to mention problems with the house, including the fact that it had been under foreclosure since March 7.

• Judge Salvatore Agati issued a strict foreclosure ruling on July 20, and Aurora Loan Services took over the property on Sept. 8. Ryan was unaware of the foreclosure until mid-September, when a person parked in her driveway and took pictures of the house. The photographer said the house had been foreclosed and was owned by a bank. She was told she needed to leave by Oct. 7, which came as a shock to her and her children.(1)

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• On the brink of becoming homeless, Ryan wants to know why Sokolowski never told her about the foreclosure — and a plethora of other problems with the house. Ryan has sunk more than $3,000 of her own money into repairs, saying that she virtually gave up with Sokolowski and took matters into her own hands.

For the story, see New tenant finds house haunted by foreclosure.

See also, NBC Connecticut: Priest Loses Home to Foreclosure; Family Booted (She didn't know when she moved in).

(1) Regrettably, this tenant is unaware of her rights under a federal foreclosure law signed this spring by President Barack Obama which requires property owners who come into land through foreclosure to honor all existing leases, and to provide at least a 90-day window for any month-to-month tenants. See Section 702(a)(2) of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. By the way, the 90-day window begins, not on the date of the foreclosure sale, but rather, after the sale - specifically, on the date the foreclosure sale purchaser (be it the foreclosing lender or a third party purchaser) serves the formal notice to vacate on the tenant. RentSigmaSkimming