The 11 Most Bizarre Foreclosure Stories Of 2011
The housing collapse and subsequent foreclosure crisis has claimed the homes of millions of Americans. But that tragedy may only be matched by the absurdity of some of its tales.
As of February, lenders had foreclosed on 2.7 million homes out of the 42.2 million mortgages borrowers took out between 2004 and 2008, according to a recent report by the Center for Responsible Lending. Though many of the foreclosures have been routine, the sheer volume has resulted in some glaring errors and bizarre evictions.
One Florida couple was threatened with foreclosure for making a payment too early. In Texas, a man faced foreclosure on a home that was destroyed by Hurricane Ike years ago, while in Massachusetts, Bank of America threatened to seize a home if it didn’t receive an outstanding mortgage payment worth $0.00.
But there is some indication that these ridiculous stories are indicative of a systematic pattern of wrongdoing on the part of the lenders. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced a lawsuit, earlier this week, against five of the biggest mortgage lenders, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citbank and Ally Financial Inc., alleging the lenders used fraudulent paper work to foreclose on “hundreds if not thousands” of Massachusetts homes, BusinessWeek reports.
The issue of foreclosure fraud stretches beyond just one state. Nationwide, government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as private lenders face allegations of improper foreclosures, which could have affected homeowners in states across the country. For example, in Las Vegas, the city often referred to as the “foreclosure capital of America,” a leading foreclosure attorney recently estimated that fraud may affect paperwork associated with nine out of 10 foreclosures in the city and surrounding suburbs, KLAS reports.
And while it can’t be foreseen whether these foreclosure mixups will continue, many foreclosures certainly will. “The nation is not even halfway through the foreclosure crisis,” according to the Center for Responsible Lending,
To check out the 11 most bizarre foreclosures of the last year click here…
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These dirty bastards are out of control! Stop conforming an complying.;..Boycott corporate America!!
There will be millions more homes siezed before this is over.
I really think all hell will break loose after the holidays. The middle class is being squeezed out of existence and the 1% is there with a sterling cup to collect the juice.
Can you believe we don’t have 3 billion to put the post office back on solid footing but we can give double that amount to the Royal Bank of Scotland? “Give the bankers more and cut entitlement programs!” Uhhh – you should be “entitled” to collect social security if you’ve paid into your whole working life.
Some lady gets several years in prison for defrauding the food stamp program for $4K (which she paid back before sentencing) yet John Corzine used 2 billion dollars of customer cash to make stupid bets on Europe and is seen dining in Manhattan’s finest restaurants? What the fuck? Make sure you read James Howard Kunstler’s blog today (www.kunstler.com). His assessment is spot on.
I was listening to a local talk show host this morning and he was elated that a program to help the elderly and poor with heating assistance was canceled because there are no funds. Absolutely elated! This idiot called people who could not afford to heat their homes “leeches” and “parasites.” He said the most the government should do is drive by and throw some old blankets out in their yards. Sadly, most callers agreed with him. The common sentiment seemed to be, “Not with my tax dollars!” I guess counties building sidewalks we don’t need (I’m sure there were some kick-backs from contractors) is more important than keeping old and poor people from freezing to death.
A friend of mine has an employee who is going to lose his house on the courthouse steps tomorrow. He pleaded with his lender (GMAC) to modify his loan so he could afford to stay in the home. This is not a lazy man. He has a full-time job during the day and works a six hour shift each M-T evening. On the weekends, he works 12 hour shifts at his “part-time” job. His bank’s response? There was none. Instead, they are auctioning off his property tomorrow (which he owes 100K on) with a minimum bid of just 25K. No doubt the house is insured 3-4X the loan balance and they will profit nicely.
I remember a previous predicition that the poor and downtrodden would be blamed for the financial mess we’re in. Looks like they were spot on.
TPTB will not stop until they own everything. I pray to God they are stopped before that happens.
Please be sure to remember the less fortunate this Christmas season. I have a feeling this might be the last normal (if that word even applies) holiday season we all have for some time.
Patrick
“As of February, lenders had foreclosed on 2.7 million homes out of the 42.2 million mortgages borrowers took out” is that all? u mean all this hoopla and not 3 million?
The have foreclosed in 7.5 Million
These dirty bastards are stealing America!