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.
Sunday, November 01, 2015
Portion Of Home Purchased At Foreclosure Sale Sits On Adjacent, 'Unforeclosed' Lot, Forcing Buyer To Demolish One Bedroom Of 4-Bedroom Home
In McAllen, Texas, KRGV-TV Channel 5 reports:
A four bedroom home is now reduced to three. A McAllen homebuyer was forced into a drastic demolition project. A surprising detail was discovered after he signed the papers to buy his home. Construction workers had to demolish a guest room at home on 49th Street.
“This has to go because of the laws,” said Edmond Roohinian.
Roohinian is a real estate investor from California. About three years ago, he paid cash for a 4 bedroom house in McAllen. He won the property through an online foreclosure auction.
“Instead of a 4 bedroom house, now I have a 3 bedroom house,” Roohinian said.
Shortly after he signed the papers, Roohinian discovered the previous owner had built the home on two adjacent lots, Lot 53 and Lot 54. The foreclosure sale was only for Lot 54. The guest bedroom sat right on the property line.
Roohinian’s neighbor, the previous owner, defaulted on the bank loan for Lot 54. The previous owner still owns Lot 53, so he got a court order and forced Roohinian to remove the bedroom off of the property line.
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This case highlights the potential risks that investors may run into with foreclosed properties. In many cases, foreclosed homes are sold at auctions and require instant payment. This gives inexperienced buyers very little time to check for problems or extra costs that go with the property.
Roohinian said he had to cut his losses on the home. He is working with the city of McAllen to get his neighbor to comply with code enforcement issues.
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