Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Clueless Bidder At Foreclosure Sale Left Holding The Bag After Discovering $80K Townhome Just Purchased For $8K Comes With $184K Existing 1st Mortgage
In Tampa, Florida, WTVT-TV Channel 13 reports:
With home prices still down across the Bay Area, some people believe now is still a great time to buy an investment property. However, they are quickly learning a lesson: You'd better be careful what you bid on, even if the clerk of the court is selling it.
Eric Dalhberg is an amateur investor who has learned a hard lesson after bidding on a property in Pasco County. "I thought I got a ridiculous good deal," said Dalhberg, who bought a three-bedroom townhouse in Wesley Chapel's Saddle Creek Manor for just over $8,000.
What Dalhberg didn't realize is he did not buy a mortgage foreclosure from a bank, but rather a foreclosure brought on by the homeowners association. So when he took possession of the title, he learned the property had a first mortgage of $184,000. The debt was left by the previous owner.
Nick Lang, a real estate attorney in St. Petersburg who is often hired by homeowners associations, has heard plenty of stories of amateur investors in the Bay Area making the same mistake.
"They're acquiring it subject to a first mortgage. But the public is often unaware of that circumstance and there are probably inadequate available disclosures to the public with the clerk's offices in the various counties."
Dalhberg says if he had known it was a homeowners, or HOA, foreclosure, he never would have bid on it. "Being a state-run auction, I really thought that, hey, it's the highest bidder wins. They did have the disclaimers saying buyer beware, but nowadays everything has that disclaimer and I just assumed."
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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