Judges to Intervene With Foreclosure Notification Process
Cases of foreclosure do not seem to be looking up as more cases are filed against borrowers day after day. It is very likely that the deteriorating foreclosure crisis resulted from thoughtless planning on both the borrowers and the lenders’ parts – borrowers risked taking loans they could barely afford and lenders made unreasonable deals they just could not keep. This scenario has prompted the judges on
Maryland’s highest court to come up with the suggestion to intervene and change the notification procedure for foreclosures.
In a recent case involving a Pasadena woman whose home was foreclosed two years ago, the main argument was the speed of the foreclosure process. The state has a law which enables a home to be sold around two weeks after the foreclosure notification is issued. It does not matter whether the homeowner receives the notification or not.
The speedy procedure was initially set up so that lenders do not have to wait too long to recover the money owed to them by the borrowers who failed to make payments. This however resulted in a widespread scenario where residents are losing their homes at unimaginable rate. Judge Irma S. Raker termed the worsening foreclosure crisis as an ‘epidemic’.
In yesterday’s case, the judges examined the foreclosure notification process in Maryland and compared it to the requirements set by the Constitution. According the state rules, lenders are supposed to publish notice of the pending sales in a newspaper. Additionally, they must also send the notice via regular and certified mail to the homeowner at least 15 days prior the scheduled sale. However, no provisions regarding unclaimed certified mails were mentioned.
Cathell believed that the current situation differed greatly from that of the last 50 year in the sense that there should be a way to slow down the speedy and swift practice of foreclosure in the state. If the termed ‘epidemic’ continues, more residents are likely to lose their homes in the coming years. Subsequently, a task force to study the situation as to enable the legislature to tackle the problem was appointed by Gov. Martin O’Malley.
Attorney Deepak Gupta suggested giving out more notifications before proceeding with the sale of foreclosed houses. He gave examples of cases of lesser stakes which have greater notification requirements such as ‘proof of delivery’. In this case, Gupta is suggesting the foreclosure procedures to be put on hold until it has been confirmed that the homeowner has received the first notification.
The suggestion was looked over and considered by O’Malley’s Homeownership Prevention Task Force. Nevertheless, the team decided that such option would be too costly and concluded that the notification process would improve if the courts step forward and simply send the homeowner a notice via mail as well. The reports are being presented as we speak and the judges are now considering the case thoroughly.
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We filed Bankruptcy Chapter 13 Last March 2007, and from March 2007 thru December 2007, we paid our trustee approximately 3,750.00 per month, of which most was to go to our mortgage company (Wells Fargo) until our confirmation in the Federal courts in August. 2007. In October 2007 we were forced to pay our mortgage company a lump sum of approximately 2500.00 to prevent them from filing a motion to dismiss our bankruptcy case. And being scared of the bankruptcy being disturbed, we agreed and sent the money overnight. Part of this money was a trustee payment, which cased us to become 1 1/2 payments behind on our trustee payments. Our Mortgage Co. was suppose to pay our property, school taxes, homeowners association by escrowing in each monthly payment, however, this was never done, therefore, we had to add these delinquent taxes to our plan. On December 12, 2007 our case was dismissed for being 1 1/2 payments behind. It was okay because we needed to rearrange our plan to exclude the taxes that the mortgage company was suppose to pay, and contact them once again for them to pay these amounts. On January 9, 2008 we went to our lawyers office to process the paperwork to refile our Bankruptcy Chapter 13 with the corrected figures. Our plan was to be filed on February 1, 2008. On February 1, 2008 we called our lawyer for confirmation of the filing. We were told that they had more paperwork to process on the plan, and other forclosures for other clients that needed to be filed as soon as possible, however, we were in good shape, as they had checked, and no law suits, nothing legal had been filed at this point. They said that we would receive notification, as well as themselves if a foreclosure, or law suit was filed. Not to worry. Our Bankruptcy was to be filed within the next day or two which would be between 2nd or 3rd of February 2008. On February 14, 2008, we received a hand written index card on our door, which simply said; All occupants of this address are to vacate within 3 days, or a law suit for eviction would be filed against us. There was a phone number, and the name Ben Blankenship with Bargello Properties included on the small piece of paper. Thinking that this was not possible, and certainly not legal, we called the phone number, and was told that he bought our house on February 5, 2008 at a public auction from Jack Palmer a trustee as a foreclosure. We did not know who Jack Palmer was, nor did we know anything about a foreclosure. The following morning, I called the 1-800 number, which was a law firm by the name of Brice, Vander, and Linden. I was told that yes, our house did sell, and that Wells Fargo Home Mortgage was the lender responsible. I was told that our home went into foreclosure on December 25, 2007, Christmas Day. And that a notice was sent to our address on January 14, 2008 for the February 5th sale date. No notice was sent to us, nor was did we receive a phone call, no notification at all. We bought our home in 1988, and now 20 years later, and many payments later, we are homeless. Our home has been stolen from us. I understand that a bank, or mortgage company want their money, however, this process of not serving a homeowner notice, is not fair. I never thought this could happen to us. I knew that our trustee paid the mortgage company alot of money from March thru December, which should have almost paid the back payments up. But not quiet. If anyone can help us, or direct us I would appreciate any help that we can get. This was a total shock. And I really and truly never thought that this would happen to us, mostly when we were trying so hard to get them paid. This can happen to anyone, anywhere. I appreciate your time. Thank you, Debra Pontius 713-849-2687. Houston, Texas
P. S. If anyone knows a good attorney who knows the Texas laws on foreclosure, and notice, I would very much like to file a civil suit. I want my house back. It is nothing special, just a small plan house, that we love. Thank you.
Two days after we received the (3) day eviction notice, we found our back window glass was broken out, as well as our back door dead bolt lock had been drilled through the center, and pushed out of the door. The electricity was turned off by the main braker, rather than turner off each light as they had turned them on to begin with. I am sure that Mr. Ben Blankenship with Bargello Properties made entry. By law, he should have filed an eviction notice, after the (3) day notice, and finalized the eviction through a court of law. On February 27, 2008, he filed an eviction in the court house off Clay Road, Houston, Texas. We are planning on filing a lawsuit, however, in the meantime, we will be forced to move after living 20 years in our home. Never assume that you are protected. If you are behind on your mortgage, call the mortgage company, and get your update, or agreement in writing, signed by both parties. If you are filing bankruptcy, verify that the case has been filed. And above all, go to the court house in the county in which you live 20-21 days in advance of the first Tuesday of each month to ensure that your house is not posted. You may not receive any notice of the sale of your home, as we did not. The Texas Laws need to be revised, and more help should be given for a homeowner to pay back their mortgage. For most everyone will go through bad times at least one time in 30 years. And when they happens, the foreclosure buyers, most mortgage companies, and anyone else who wants to make a quick dollar, will steal your home. Be very careful. I never thought this was even possible. For I thought if you try very hard to make things right, than we would be okay. But not in this case.