Posted by 101livescan on 2/3/09 2:35pm
Msg #276413

HOMEOWNERS FACING 4CLOSURE ADVISED TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES

Congresswoman to Owners Facing Foreclosure: Stay in Your Home
February 02, 2009 10:59 AM ET | Luke Mullins | Permanent Link | Print

In an unconventional approach to tackling the housing crisis, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a democrat from Ohio, is reportedly telling troubled homeowners to exercise squatter's rights in the hopes of keeping their properties.

From the Toledo Blade:

"I'm saying to them possession is 99 percent of the law; you stay in your house," Miss Kaptur said yesterday, continuing a crusade she started several weeks ago in Congress and CNN picked up Thursday night...

She urged homeowners not to panic and leave their home just because they receive a foreclosure notice from their lender, and she said they should demand that the mortgage-holder produce a mortgage audit.

"I say to the American people, you be squatters in your own homes. Don't you leave," she said during a speech in Congress earlier this month.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/3/09 2:39pm
Msg #276414

Yeah..I saw that...

I'm suspecting that anyone who listens to her will gain nothing but time in the pokey for trespassing. And added expense when the bank evicts them and they have to pay THAT back too...

Reply by parkerc/ME on 2/3/09 3:38pm
Msg #276429

Re: Yeah..I saw that...

Foreclosures a boon to homeless . . they are are finding shelter in vacant foreclosed homes. How ironic.

Reply by LKT/CA on 2/3/09 3:58pm
Msg #276434

Re: Yeah..I saw that...

<<<Foreclosures a boon to homeless . . they are are finding shelter in vacant foreclosed homes. How ironic>>>

And what's even worse, when you call the police to have the homeless tossed out as trespassers, you'll be told it's a "civil matter" and they have to be evicted....as if they were a tenant.

Reply by anita55109 on 2/3/09 4:07pm
Msg #276438

Re: Yeah..I saw that...

Which is what they view you as....it's called unlawful detention and you could come home and find all your belongings out on the street with other homeless people helping themselves. You do have the right to stay through your redemption period but it would behoove you to find a place to go soon.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 2/3/09 6:36pm
Msg #276454

As with anything else, every state has different laws

I know that here in NY, once the bank successfully forecloses (which can take up to a year or more), they then have to start eviction proceedings if the former owner refuses to leave. That can take another year in some cases. I think most folks just pack up and leave, in some cases just mailing the keys back to the bank, but if they're feeling ornery they can definitely extend their stay. Your mileage may vary, depending on what state you live in...

The mortgage audit is a good idea in any case; there have been cases where the foreclosure action was tossed out because the bank couldn't prove that it held the note. I recall reading recently that these types of challenges are becoming more common, especially when the mortgage has changed hands several times, because some of these banks have really sloppy records.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 2/3/09 9:14pm
Msg #276471

Mortgage audits = really good idea. If the banks, and the

Masters of the Universe that run Wall Street, can spend a couple of billion on $uperbowl parties, tens of tousands on 'worker appreciation' retreats at fancy resorts, a gazillion on fleets of jets, and billion$ on bonuses for making sure lousy records are kept - then they can just deal with the 'squatting' families they screwed with their ever-dangerous bubble-building.

Geez. Bar's open, blender's ready, I'm pouring...