That's exactly what happened to a Massachusetts couple who own a house in Florida, bought using their life savings as an investment and for their future retirement. Earlier this month, the St Petersburg Times reported on the rather-harrowing struggle they faced in trying to rectify the situation and take back what's rightly theirs.
The couple bought a 3-bedroom house in Spring Hill (on the western side of Florida, north of Tampa) for $139,000 in 2005. They had been renting the property out when their tenant called them last summer, notifying them that representatives from the Bank of America were there to change the locks. The owner, Charlie Cardoso, spoke to the Bank of America - telling them they had the wrong house - and believed the problem had been fixed, thinking no more of the matter.
But that wasn't the end. After a few more interactions at the house from people hired by the Bank of America, a lock box (basically, a strong padlock installed on a door handle to prevent anyone from entering without a specific code or key) was placed on their front door this January. By this time, their tenant had understandably moved out, unnerved by the whole situation.
The problem has arisen because a house on the same street - 10 doors down - is legitimately undergoing foreclosure by the Bank of America. Despite contact from Mr Cardoso and his wife, Bank of America have yet to amend the error involving their house.
The Cardosos have now filed suit against the Bank of America (and its unnamed contractors), seeking unspecified damages. The suit states that the company "company showed negligence, trespassed and caused the couple emotional distress and financial hardship", as well as charging it with defamation and libel - for affecting their standing among the local community, not to mention associating them with foreclosure.
It seems crazy that such a situation has arisen but the same article states that because of the high number of foreclosures that are taking place these days, it less rare than one might think. Nevertheless, you do have to feel very sorry for the Cardosos, who are having to go through all the stress and upset of a foreclosure - even though it's all in error.
Article: Bank of America forecloses on house that couple had paid cash for (12th February 2010, St Petersburg Times)
1 comment:
Hi all,
Florida follows a court process for handling Florida home foreclosures. The lender is not required to notify the borrower of beginning the foreclosure process. The next step is that the courts will make a ruling. Thanks a lot....
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