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.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Novice Homebuyer Says She Trusted Wrong Person; Says Fake Real Estate Agent Bilked Her Family For $10K
In Phoenix, Arizona, KTVK-TV Channel 3 reports:
Alba Hernandez recently gave birth to her baby boy, and says it's important to her to provide a home for her entire family.
So, when her landlord indicated he was going to sell the house that Hernandez's family has rented for years, she and her family jumped at the chance to buy it.
“That's kind of your dream, your dream you know? To buy your first home, at a young age especially," says Hernandez.
The Hernandez family hired Gilberto Gordillo to oversee all of the real estate paperwork. He runs a company called Las Americas, which specializes in home sales and taxes.
Hernandez says Gordillo reassured the family that buying the home would be a simple process. He just needed money to get started.
“Me being young and my parents not knowing how this process works, he would just ask for money," says Hernandez.
And according to the Hernandez family, Gordillo claimed that all that money was a normal part of the transaction.
“He was asking for, like, earnest deposit and pretty much, like, fees, like application stuff," says Hernandez. "Then he said he needed $4,000-plus for the down payment of the house.”
Hernandez says, not only did Gordillo ask for money, he also asked for cash, and it really added up.
“I've given him $10,000, but I pretty much don't have anything anymore," Hernandez says.
Then, the Hernandez family says after handing over all that money, Gordillo stopped calling them. It's now been months since they've heard from him.
Hernandez and her family aren't the only ones who lost money to Gordillo.
Angelica Duran says she and her family gave $2,000 to Gordillo who was operating under the company name GRG & Associates.
Gordillo reportedly promised he could help Duran with a home modification and needed the $2,000 up front to get started.
But after handing over all the money, Duran says Gordillo did absolutely nothing and she wound up losing her house to foreclosure.
In Spanish Duran told us, "He hurt my family a lot; he took away so much from us, what we had, because we had a home. We were established. He took that; he took away our stability."
3 On Your Side got involved and discovered Gordillo doesn't even have a real estate license.
So, we went to a sparse little office that Gordillo rents in Phoenix.
"Hi, I'm Gary Harper with Channel 3.”
Analia Gordillo: “OK?”
Gary Harper: “I was wanting to talk to Gilberto Gordillo?”
Analia Gordillo: “Um, no why? Well he is not here but why? What is the reason?"
She tells us she's related to Gordillo, but claims she doesn't know about the Hernandez family or their $10,000. She also says she'll have Gordillo call us, but he never did.
So, 3 On Your Side went to his Glendale home.
A Spanish-speaking woman who says she's married to Gordillo claimed her husband wasn't home but also indicated she would have Gordillo call 3 On Your Side. But like so many other empty promises, he never did, which just might explain why Gordillo is laughing all the way to the bank.
Meantime, the Hernandez family is devastated.
“It's like, where are we gonna go? $10,000 means to me and my family, like, all our life savings.”
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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