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.
Thursday, August 03, 2017
Family Buys Fixer-Upper & Pours $70K Into Renovating It, Only To Discover Undisclosed Lien On Premises Is Now In Foreclosure
In Dallas, Texas, KDAF-TV Channel 33 reports:
Buying a house can be a huge headache, but this goes way beyond that.
Jose Inez Palma purchased a house in South Dallas a little over two years ago for $8,000. Since then, they’ve poured 70 grand into it, replacing boarded-up windows, covering broken-out floors and re-doing the entire electrical and plumbing system.
The problem is, it was all a scam. The people who sold them the house no longer owned it.
“I got the house over the internet and we’re a big family,” Palma said through an interpreter. “I feel like they lied to us. We put our entire life savings into this house.”
Now the house is being foreclosed upon and put up for auction. According to the auction website, the occupancy status is “Unknown”, but with nine people living here, it’s pretty apparent.
The scam isn’t even a rare one. The family living next door is in the same situation, conned into buying a home the seller didn’t technically own.
For Jose and his family, the situation is leaving them with few options.
“They are desperately looking for a solution. However, they are very limited with funds and it’s difficult when you don’t have money to make a move,” said Lisette Caraballo. “Everything that they have is invested in this house.”
Caraballo volunteered to work with the family to try and stop or at least delay the imminent foreclosure and auction. They’re even willing to pay the mortgage on the home despite all they’ve already spent on it.
It’s a last desperate move to try to hold onto their home.
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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