Indiana Homeowner Caught In Middle Of Tug-Of-War Between Two Banks Both Claiming To Own Same Mortgage

In Bloomington, Indiana, WRTV-TV Channel 6 reports:

• Bickering between banks over who owns the mortgage to a Bloomington home could force the family living there into foreclosure. Jonathan Partlow said he was trying to modify his family's loan with Washington Mutual when he received a notice from La Salle Bank seeking to foreclose on his property, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported. “We never received a notice, not even a 'You owe us money. Pay us,'" said Partlow, who claims the family has never done business with La Salle Bank.

• But both banks maintain they own the home and each claim they're owed more than $1.5 million. JP Morgan Chase also believes it has a stake in the home because it is seeking to buy bankrupt Washington Mutual and its assets, a deal that's at the center of a separate legal battle. The Partlows have filed a lawsuit in Monroe County Circuit Court against the banks seeking to stop the foreclosure.

• "As a matter of common sense, two banks can't have rights to a single debt,” said the family's attorney, Joe Williams. He said he's upset his family, including their three children, are being dragged into the middle of the banks' dispute. "We wake up every day and we are afraid to leave because people are coming to their homes and the locks are changed,” Partlow said. “I hate to call them banksters, (like gangsters) but that's what they are. Somebody has take a stand and say enough is enough." The Partlows resume their legal fight on Jan. 14.

Source: Mortgage Mix-Up Could Cost Family Their Home (2 Banks Say They Own Same Home).