California Business Law
It is a nightmare of a story: A man in South Florida bought a house last year with cash, owning his home free and clear. Even though there was no mortgage, seven months later Bank of America foreclosed on the house he thought he owned outright. Baffled, the man tried to get to the bottom of what was happening. He was stonewalled until he contacted a local newspaper in desperation.
After negative exposure from the media, Bank of America finally agreed to investigate the matter at its own expense. It turns out the man had bought the house on a short sale, but the foreclosure procedure that was started before he bought the house was never cancelled due to poor recordkeeping.
Unfortunately, the Florida homeowner is not alone. Bad record keeping practices by lenders (even before the mortgage crisis) has created a spate of illegal foreclosures all over the country. Banks have been too busy to keep good records and have failed to file property deeds with local governments.
Now their sloppiness is harming innocent homeowners. According to news reports, lenders do not check foreclosure documents for accuracy and occasionally forge signatures. Often civil judges are overloaded with foreclosure cases and only have seconds to review documents before granting foreclosure. All of this adds up to multiple mistakes.
Where are the checks in the system? Some banks have begun to suspend foreclosures due to what they call “technical errors” in paperwork, but the problem is much more systemic and consumers facing foreclosure should be aware of possible mistakes.
For 25 years, Callahan & Blaine has been perfecting the ultimate litigation law firm. All Callahan & Blaine attorneys are highly sophisticated litigators and trial attorneys; we only utilize highly experienced attorneys, all of whom have at least seven years of experience and many have 15-25 years’ experience. For the attorneys of Callahan & Blaine, winning is our specialty.
If you are involved in a legal matter regarding illegal foreclosure on your home, contact Callahan & Blaine to discuss your case today.
