Dozens Of Sioux City Tenants In Buildings Owned By One Landlord In Foreclosure Face Boot Today

In Sioux City, Iowa, KMEG-TV Channel 14 reports:

• Dozens of families, living in a group of properties owned by Duane Meyer, will be kicked out of their homes Saturday as a results of foreclosures. And now, another round of properties could face the same fate.

***

• With just hours til they have to be out, some of Duane Meyer's tenants are scrambling to find another place to live. And if moving in the dead of winter isn't hard enough, many of these renters face a financial burden of securing a new place.

For more, see Foreclosure News Sends Dozens More Scrambling For Housing.

For story update, see Confusion for Tenants of Foreclosed. SkimmingKappaRent

Information For California Tenants Renting Homes In Foreclosure

An article in La Prensa San Diego by attorneys Marc Whitham and Dolores López with the Housing Department at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc. sets forth an easy to understand explanation of the legal process that tenants in California face when they find themselves renting a home that is in foreclosure.

Among the points in the article is a reminder that, while homeowners get only 3 days notice before eviction after foreclosures, tenants are entitled to 60 days notice before being evicted, and accordingly, should resist any attempt by the new owner or foreclosing lender to bully them out of the premises without first properly serving the 60-day notice upon them.(1)

For the article, see Tenants of Foreclosed Homes Often Short-Changed by New Owners.

(1) It may be important to note that, in the case of a tenant who receives a Section 8 federal rent subsidy (ie. a "Section 8" tenant), it has been reported that federal law prohibits a new owner, including foreclosure purchasers and foreclosing lenders, from evicting Section 8 tenants unless they first go to court and prove they’re being economically harmed by having a tenant remain in a building, or show other good cause. However, many Section 8 tenants panic and don’t fight eviction notices, not realizing they have rights. For more on this point, see Foreclosures hit tenants (Activists: New owners trample on renters’ rights).

For the specific federal regulation on this point, see 24 CFR 982.310(d)(1). Go here for the regulations (24 CFR 982) regulating the Section 8 rent subsidy program, generally. SkimmingKappaRent

More Stories On Tenants With Landlords Facing Foreclosure

The following is an assortment of stories on tenants and the problems arising when landlords find themselves financially overextended:

• Sioux City, Iowa: Tenants of many apartments owned by KJM Properties and Meyer Company are getting the boot from their foreclosed buildings in the coming weeks, but in the meantime they're just doing what they can to stay warm. Boiler and maintenance issues are closing down the apartments at 1529 Grandview in Sioux City. Tenant Starla Thomas says her apartment's main radiator hasn't worked since she moved in. Thomas and other tenants were told by the property owners to use space heaters. See Foreclosed Buildings Offer No Heat For Some Tenants.

• St. Petersburg, Florida: A 65-year-old Vietnam Vet who is paralyzed from the waist down and is current on his rent is served with a foreclosure notice and has recently had his water shutoff after the landlord reportedly failed to pay the bill. He said, "I've got to bathe at least twice a day. I'm on 28 medications three times a day and with the medications I've got to keep clean and without water, I'm stuck." See Frustrated renter deals with water shutoff and foreclosure.

• Valdosta, Florida: Dwayne and Gail Floyd and Ella Lowe are among more than 20 apartment renters that are being forced to move because the bank foreclosed on their building. "We was paying our rent on time. We thought the landlady was doing what she was supposed to do but apparently she wasn't. One morning I heard a knock at the door, we opened the door, there was a guy there telling us we had to get out," said Lowe, 65, an evicted renter who [...] suffers from heart disease and takes insulin. See Tenants Evicted in Valdosta Foreclosure Crisis.

• New Britain, Connecticut: Warren Hinze is a tenant operating a music store in the Raphael building, located just a block from City Hall. The landlord left the country without paying the mortgage and now that building is in foreclosure. Hinze and the other tenants figure the building might be worth something. But one tenant has already left. "They're moving out now," Hinze said. The tenants also have no heat. To tolerate the cold, Hinze put a space heater on the floor behind the counter and he wears a heavy jacket. Earlier in the winter, the tenants pooled money to buy oil for the furnace but it has not lasted. See Looking for a Landlord (A downtown New Britain building still has tenants, but no one to run the building).

• Florida: Florida State Senator Mike Fasano recently authored Senate Bill 454, a proposed law to provide a penalty up to $10,000 for property owners who dupe tenants into leases without first disclosing that the home is in, or headed for, foreclosure. Victims could recoup "reasonable" attorney fees. In addition, the proposed law would require an extra form to be added to the rental agreement. The property owner would have to sign the sheet, either verifying the house is not involved in foreclosure or at least disclosing any legal proceedings to potential renters. The bill will go to Senate committees for consideration when the Legislature begins its 2009 regular session, March 3, 2009. See Legislation Targets Dirty Foreclosure Practices.

• Arizona: State Senator Leah Landrum Taylor has filed a bill to mandate landlords facing foreclosure action to provide tenants with a written notice at least 30 days before the date of a foreclosure sale. Under S1108, a landowner who knowingly fails to provide a notice could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor. "I've had more than my share of constituent phone calls - of folks just beside themselves because they have only had five days to move out of a property that they had been paying rent on," Landrum Taylor said. "I could not hear about another family going through this." See Phoenix senator files bill to protect renters from foreclosure on landlords.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. SkimmingKappaRent

Foreclosure Not A Basis For Tenant Evictions In San Francisco

In California, a story in San Francisco Bay Guardian serves as a reminder that, within the city of San Francisco, it's illegal for a bank or broker or anyone else to evict a tenant just because the ownership of a building changed hands, including an ownership change due to foreclosure.

• [I]n an effort to promote tenant-rights awareness, the Assessor-Recorder's Office will be circulating letters to inform tenants when a landlord has received a 'Notice of Default' — the precursor to a foreclosure.

• "According to San Francisco law," the letter says, "it is illegal for the new owner to ask you to leave without just cause or shut off your utilities." Since most of the renters who have been evicted by this latest ruse don't speak English, the letter is being circulated in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

***

• The law may seem confusing, and in some cities, a foreclosure may mean the tenants have to go. But that's not the case in San Francisco. The city's rent ordinance requires "just cause" for eviction — and a change of ownership, no matter the cause, is not in itself a just cause.

• The San Francisco Rent Board's literature makes that clear: "The Court of Appeal held in Gross v. Superior Court (1985) ... that foreclosure, like any other sale, is not a just cause for eviction under the Rent Ordinance and provides no basis to force the tenant to leave."

For the story, see Don't leave your home (A foreclosure can be tough on tenants — but it shouldn't lead to eviction). SkimmingKappaRent

California Appeals Court Upholds Oakland's "Just Cause" Tenant Protection Law

From the Office of the City Attorney, Oakland, California:

• On Tuesday, March 3, City Attorney John Russo announced that the city has prevailed in a 6-year lawsuit filed by landlords seeking to overturn Oakland’s strong tenant protection law – the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance [Measure EE].(1) A decision last week by the California Court of Appeal upholds the Just Cause ordinance and affirms the right of tenants to receive significant damages and attorney fees from landlords who break the law.

• "Oakland has been hit with waves of illegal evictions as a result of the foreclosure crisis," City Attorney Russo said. "Some banks and their agents have routinely violated the law by evicting good tenants from foreclosed apartments and homes without cause."

For the rest of the Oakland City Attorney's press release, see Oakland’s Tenant Protection Law Upheld by Appeals Court.

For the ruling of the California Appeals court, see Rental Housing Association of Northern Alameda County v. City of Oakland.

(1) Measure EE is codified at Oakland Municipal Code chapter 8.22.300 et seq. SkimmingKappaRent

Arizona Landlord In Foreclosure Leaves Tenants In Over A Dozen Buildings Under Threat Of Utilities Shutoffs, Lack Of Maintenance

In Phoenix, Arizona, KTVK-TV Channel 3 reports:

• A California outfit that's one of the biggest apartment investors in the Valley is facing serious financial difficulties that could leave employees and residents in a major lurch. According to property managers in three cities, lenders are beginning to take over the operations of more than a dozen complexes owned by Bethany Group.

• Some employees say they have not been paid since January. Residents say repairs and basic maintenance are not being taken care of. In some cases, there's the threat that utilities could be shut off. [...] The 13 complexes owned by Bethany Group reportedly are in receivership, which is one of the beginning stages of foreclosure.

For more, see Apt. investment group's financial troubles bad for Valley tenants.

See also, KNXV-TV Channel 15: Valley company leaves residents, employees scratching heads:

• [G]reen pools and trash overflowing are common. "It's an issue everyday with trash, with water, with electricity. It just goes on and on," said complex site manager Cheryl Credio.

For story update (3-9-09), see Tenants at risk of losing water get court appointed help.

Go here for other posts on Bethany Group buildings in foreclosure.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. SkimmingKappaRent

Rental Of Foreclosed Home By Former Owner To Two Separate Unwitting Victims Leads To Dispute That Lands One In Jail On Assault Charges

In Springfield, Massachusetts, The Republican reports:

• A Springfield man who was tricked into believing he could live in an apartment that had been rented to someone else was sentenced to the time he spent in jail awaiting trial, after the prosecution and defense detailed the events that led to his arrest and detention on a variety of charges.

***

• A dispute ensued over who was entitled to the apartment, and [Justo Davila, 43,] threw a brick through the woman's car, threatened the man him with a gun and a piece of molding and wood from the unit.

***

• The victims had signed the purported lease with the former owners seven days after it was sold to a corporation after a foreclosure action, [Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth G.] Dineen said. Davila had been working in the apartment he thought was his for about two months, said [defense attorney Nikolas] Andreopoulos.

For more, see Judge listens to saga. SkimmingKappaRent

Foreclosure Eviction Of Residential Tenants "Almost Always Illegal In New Jersey," Says State Public Advocate

In Trenton, New Jersey, Ronald K. Chen, the Public Advocate for the State of New Jersey reminds state residents of the rights of tenants in foreclosed residential property in New Jersey. He writes in the Asbury Park Press:

• [A]t the Department of the Public Advocate, we have learned that tenants who rent properties that are subject to foreclosure are being kicked out of their homes when the bank takes over the property.

• Make no mistake: This practice is almost always illegal in New Jersey. In 1994, the New Jersey Supreme Court(1) held that the New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act protects most tenants from eviction even when the property where they live is in foreclosure or has been foreclosed. In other words, under New Jersey law, a tenant in good standing comes with the property when the property changes hands because of a foreclosure.

• Moreover, the Unlawful Eviction Act of 2006 makes it an offense under the criminal justice code for a person who has been forewarned by a public official even to attempt to evict a tenant except by lawful court proceedings.

For more, see CHEN: Tenants cannot be forced out in foreclosures.

For more from the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate, see:

• Tenants in foreclosed properties have rights – cannot be evicted due to foreclosure under NJ law,
• The Rights of Tenants During Foreclosure.

(1) Chase Manhattan Bank v. Josephson, 135 N.J. 209 (1994).

The breadth of the tenant protections in the New Jersey state law was demonstrated in a 2007 decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court. In that case, the state high court, in reversing a ruling of the state appeals court, ruled that a daughter of a deceased Section 8 tenant was entitled to the protections of New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. §§ 2A:18-61.1 to -61.12, as she was a functional co-tenant, showed continuous residency, and was a substantial contributor toward satisfaction of the tenancy's financial obligations, which the landlord acknowledged and acquiesced. Note that the daughter was not actually named as a tenant on the lease. Maglies v. Estate of Guy, 193 N.J. 108; 936 A.2d 414; 2007 N.J. LEXIS 1436 (2007).

For a discussion of the New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act, see Legal Services of New Jersey's Amicus Brief filed in Maglies v. Estate of Guy. SkimmingKappaRent

Rent Skimming Landlords Hard To Avoid For One Las Vegas-Area Tenant

In Las Vegas, Nevada, KTNV-TV Channel 13 reports on an area tenant who has just found out, for the fourth time, that the home she is renting is going into foreclosure.

For the story, see Contact 13: Foreclosed rental property scam (read story) (watch video). SkimmingKappaRent

San Francisco Bans Utilities Shutoffs In Single-Meter Buildings Facing Foreclosure Thru 2010

In San Francisco, California, KCBS Radio 740 AM reports:

• The City of San Francisco has taken action to prevent apartment tenants from losing gas, electricity and water service if the landlords don't pay the bills. The declaration, issued by the city attorney and the SF Department of Building Inspection, applies to apartment buildings that face foreclosure. City Attorney Dennis Herrera says there have been cases where the landlord has simply stopped paying the bills leaving the tenants high and dry without heat, lights or water.

• ”Utilities in those buildings will not be allowed to be shut off from now until December 31st, 2010,” said Herrera. This declaration of a health and safety hazard only applies to multiple units where a single meter controls the delivery of utilities.

For the story, see SF Tenants Protected if Landlord Fails to Pay the Bills. SkimmingKappaRent

Landlord With Arizona Buildings In Foreclosure Faces Same Problem In Georgia; Tenants Face Water Shutoffs, Accumulating Trash

In Norcross, Georgia, WXIA-TV Channel 11 reports:

• Dozens of residents at a Norcross apartment complex are on edge, even though mounds of garbage piled at their front door have been hauled away. Plenty of problems remain at the Steeplechase Apartments on Singleton Road, now that the complex is a target for foreclosure.

***

• The California management company that owns this complex and four others in Metro Atlanta hasn't been paying the bills -- not for sanitation -- which is why the garbage piled up, and a community improvement group had to step in to pay for the cleanup. The management company didn't pay the power bill, so, no more electricity at the front office. [... Employee Tainia Haywood] says the management company e-mailed her to say the complex and others run by the Bethany Group are on their way to foreclosure. Eventually, it will come under new management -- no one's sure when.

For more, see Management Company Deliquent On Rent, Power.

Go here for other posts on Bethany Group buildings in foreclosure.

For more on the problems faced by the Arizona tenants of this landlord facing foreclosure, see:

• Weeds, overflowing garbage bins plague tenants,
• Arizona Landlord In Foreclosure Leaves Tenants In Over A Dozen Buildings Under Threat Of Utilities Shutoffs, Lack Of Maintenance. SkimmingKappaRent

Developer Accused Of Renting Out Long Island Mansion In Foreclosure To Unwitting Tenant; Renter Out $70K, Left Holding The Bag

In Bridgehampton, New York, the New York Post reports:

• The forecast calls for a summer bummer for a Florida woman who claims her dream Hamptons vacation plans have become a nightmare. Carole Via says a rich developer took her $56,000 deposit for a Bridgehampton mansion although it was to be auctioned off before the season began. As a result, Via, of Boca Raton, has filed a breach-of-contract suit against developer Michael Burns and the real-estate agent, Town and County Real Estate of East Hampton.

***

• Via said that in October, she signed a $140,000 personal lease with Burns for the summer of 2009 for his eight-bedroom mansion at 15 Bridge Hill Lane. The sumptuous 6,300-square-foot dwelling has a heated pool. She said she wrote a $56,000 deposit check to him and a $14,000 commission check to Town and Country.

• In the lease, Burns, 58, said he owned the property and had the right to rent it. But on Jan. 28, she said, Town and Country informed her there was a problem. Via said she learned that the mansion was actually owned by Burns' company, Brick Hill One Realty, a firm that he had placed in bankruptcy in August. The home was to be auctioned off before the summer began.

For more, see RENTER DEPOSIT-IVE SHE GOT RIPPED OFF.

For other posts involving tenants renting homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. Copyright 2009 The Home Equity Theft Reporter http:// HomeEquityTheft.blogspot.com SkimmingKappaRent

Broken Sewer Pipe In Aparment Complex In Foreclosure Making Life Uncomfortable For Tenants; Landlord Unavailable For Comment

In Mesa, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:

• “We’re dealing with poop. Sorry to say that, but we’re dealing with poop,” said Mike McWilliams. The Mesa man is talking about a problem that’s been plaguing his apartment complex for two months. [...] Since January, raw sewage has spilled out of a pipe next to his apartment. “I can’t stand the smell,” he said. “With the wind blowing, I get drifts of it. We can’t sleep with the windows open because of the fact that it drifts into the house.”

***

• So far, McWilliams has had no luck getting the problem with the pipe fixed. The owner of the property went into foreclosure last month. County officials say they have had trouble tracking him down.

For more, see Tenants Fume As Raw Sewage Seeps. SkimmingKappaRent

Section 8 Mom, 4 Kids May Face Illegal Foreclosure Eviction

In West Palm Beach, Florida, WPEC-TV Channel 12 reports:

• It's a dire situation more and more renters are facing--losing your rental home to foreclosure. But for one West Palm Beach mother--her future looms. "If I'm not out early Friday morning than they are just going to come in and throw my stuff out," said renter Barbara Wright.

• Yesterday when Wright opened her door she found a 48-hour eviction notice in the hands of deputies. The single mother of four is a section 8 housing tenant(1) who has rented the same house for more than five years. But last year her landlord could no longer pay the mortgage.The home went into foreclosure, now she is desperately looking for a new place to live. "I'm trying to pull a miracle out of a hat," said Wright. Meanwhile her four kids have no idea they may be homeless Friday morning.

For the story, see Single Mother and Children Losing Rental Home to Foreclosure.

(1) According to a 2007 Boston Herald story, Section 8 tenants renting homes in foreclosure have rights under federal law that prevent them from getting kicked out of a home because of any change in ownership, including a foreclosure:

• Chris Norris, executive director of [Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, a nonprofit group that administers Section 8 housing programs for the federal government], and legal experts say Section 8 tenants have their rights - and can fight eviction attempts by new building owners snapping up properties at auctions. Under federal law, Section 8 tenants with proper leases can’t be immediately tossed out of their units because of a change in ownership, experts say.

• “Federal laws trump state laws, so (Section 8 tenants) can stay,” said Rafael Mares, an attorney at Harvard Law School’s WilmerHale Legal Services, which is helping tenants during the current foreclosure crisis. Even if a tenant’s Section 8 lease has expired, federal law requires that property owners must prove they’re being economically harmed by having a tenant remain in a building, said Mares. Non-Section 8 renters, who have also been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, also have rights that require court approval before an eviction can take place, Mares said. But Section 8 tenants are better protected, he said. [...] But many Section 8 tenants panic and don’t fight eviction notices, not realizing they have rights, said Mares.

It may be that a lack of affordable legal counsel knowledgeable in Section 8 tenant issues may result in this family being illegally bounced out of their home. For the specific federal regulation on this point, see 24 CFR 982.310(d)(1). Go here for the regulations (24 CFR 982) regulating the Section 8 rent subsidy program, generally. SkimmingKappaRent

Unpaid Water Bills Leave Tenants Without Running Water, Facing Eviction

In Ocala, Florida, the Ocala Star Banner reports:

• Unless unpaid water bills are resolved, residents of two local rental communities will soon face dry faucets - and eviction. Both communities - an unnamed, 16-unit subdivision along Northwest 12th Street and Northwest 13th Street, and the Green Oak Apartments off South Pine Avenue - receive water service through a master meter. This setup creates one bill and one account holder for the entire community. The account holders at both communities have neglected to pay their bills, leaving tenants in a precarious situation.

• This is a familiar conundrum for the city. The same scenario unfolded at Busbee Quarters six months ago when residents of the northwest Ocala rental community - mostly low-income and Section 8 assistance recipients - were forced to leave their homes after landlords could not work out issues with delinquent water bills. Now, most of these units sit vacant, many of their owners tangled in foreclosure.

***

• If these outstanding bills are not paid before their deadlines, the remaining residents at both communities will be required to relocate because living facilities without running water create sanitation concerns, [Ocala director of water and sewer Henry] Hicks said. Once the water is shut off in cases like these, it is not turned back on until the units are individually metered, he said.

For more, see City rental units at risk of losing water.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. SkimmingKappaRent

Another Rent-Paying Section 8 Tenant Caught Up In Foreclosure Eviction May Be Failing To Exercise Special Rights Under Federal Law

In Pittsburg, California, the Contra Costa Times reports:

• Pittsburg resident Casandra Jackson-Gordon is moving — again. For the second time in less than two years, Jackson-Gordon says she has lost her subsidized rental home to foreclosure. The first time, she also lost her $1,500 security deposit — but the bank offered her $3,500 to move out fast so it could sell the property. That money helped her get into another house. She's hoping the lender that holds the mortgage on her current residence will be equally generous.

***

• The city of Fairfield[, California], which also has been hard hit by foreclosures, set up a program late last year to help low-income residents whose landlords went into foreclosure by giving them grants of up to $3,000 to cover the security deposit on a new place in the city. Recipients must be documented U.S. citizens without criminal records.

***

• Like Jackson-Gordon, other residents who receive Section 8 housing assistance also have been forced to move when their landlords lost their houses.(1)

For more, see Renters, too, feeling effects of foreclosure crisis.

(1) It may be important to note that, in the case of a tenant who receives a Section 8 federal rent subsidy (ie. a "Section 8" tenant), it has been reported that federal law prohibits a new owner, including foreclosure purchasers and foreclosing lenders, from evicting Section 8 tenants unless they first go to court and prove they’re being economically harmed by having a tenant remain in a building, or show other good cause. However, many Section 8 tenants panic and don’t fight eviction notices, not realizing they have these special rights granted by Federal law. For more on this point, see Foreclosures hit tenants (Activists: New owners trample on renters’ rights).

For the specific federal regulation on this point, see 24 CFR 982.310(d)(1). Go here for the regulations (24 CFR 982) regulating the Section 8 rent subsidy program. SkimmingKappaRent

Failure To Receive 60-Day Notice, Being Bulldozed Into Unfavorable Agreements Among Complaints From California Tenants In Homes Facing Foreclosure

In San Mateo, California, a story in the San Mateo County Times on the problems facing local tenants renting homes in foreclosure contained the following excerpt on the affect of new rules in effect to help tenants in these situations:

• [S]hirley Gibson, an attorney with the nonprofit Legal Aid Society of San Mateo, said the new rules have done little to stop the flood of renters coming to her for help. She holds drop-in clinics around the county three times a week for homeowners facing foreclosure and, more recently, renters being told they have to leave their homes. The clinics are packed, and only getting busier.

• Common complaints are tenants not being given 60 days' notice to vacate, as required by California law, and tenants not being given 24-hour notice before a landlord visit. Gibson said many of the people she counsels are low-income, non-English speakers who are pressured into signing agreements that are not in their favor. "I've seen tons of this over the last couple of months," she said. "We have a huge population of chronically underemployed and these folks are always at the edge of their income, and the landlords and realtors have a hard time respecting the rules."(1)

For the story, see Duplex foreclosed on, renter struggles to stay (Amid foreclosure, renter struggles to stay).

For an article directed to California tenants living in homes in forecloure, addressing some of their legal rights, see see Tenants of Foreclosed Homes Often Short-Changed by New Owners.

(1) It may be important to note that, in the case of a tenant who receives a Section 8 federal rent subsidy (ie. a "Section 8" tenant), it has been reported that federal law prohibits a new owner, including foreclosure purchasers and foreclosing lenders, from evicting Section 8 tenants unless they first go to court and prove they’re being economically harmed by having a tenant remain in a building, or show other good cause. However, many Section 8 tenants panic and don’t fight eviction notices, not realizing they have rights. For more on this point, see Foreclosures hit tenants (Activists: New owners trample on renters’ rights).

For the specific federal regulation on this point, see 24 CFR 982.310(d)(1). Go here for the regulations (24 CFR 982) regulating the Section 8 rent subsidy program, generally. SkimmingKappaRent

Legal Aid Obtains Settlement For Boston-Area Tenants Facing Foreclosure Eviction; Lender Coughs Up $40K, Gives Renters Option To Buy Building

In a letter from the President Of The Boston Bar Association (appearing on the website of The Metropolian Corporate Counsel) describing the funding crisis faced by legal aid in Masachusetts, Kathy B. Weinman describes the successful work of pro bono counsel in one particular case involving tenants facing foreclosure eviction:

• When the bank foreclosed on their building, the Vietnamese-American tenants were fully paid up on their rent. During the foreclosure, however, conditions at their residence had deteriorated; the building had developed extensive leaks and the heating system had broken down. The tenants - including the elderly and disabled - nevertheless perservered.

• When the bank sought to evict them, they called the Greater Boston Legal Services for help. A staff attorney, Zoe Cronin, led their successful defense. After exploring all avenues of redress, Cronin negotiated an agreement with the bank entitling the tenants to a one-year lease at reduced rent, an option to purchase the building, and compensation exceeding $40,000 for the conditions they had endured.

• These tenants were fortunate. They had a lawyer. In normal times, legal services programs in Massachusetts turn away over one-half of qualified callers in need of help as a result of inadequate resources.

For the rest of the letter, see "Send Lawyers, Guns And Money" (or go here for published version).

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. Copyright 2009 The Home Equity Theft Reporter http:// HomeEquityTheft.blogspot.com SkimmingKappaRent