Foreclosed Family Reclaims Home

Former homeowners reclaim foreclosed property:
VENTURA, Calif. – Oct. 18, 2010 – One possible outcome of the foreclosure crisis could be a fight between former owners of foreclosed homes and lenders. An example of what might become a larger trend happened in California, where a couple and their nine children used a crowbar to break into their former home. Their lawyer recommended that they take this step, according to AOL’s HousingWatch.com.
The former owners, Jim and Danielle Earl, say they were trying to catch up with their payments when the lender sold the property to Conejo Capital Partners. Many Realtors will find this very familiar scenario happenening to clients every day.

The Earls say it’s unclear who actually owns the loan. Reportedly the original lender was Washington Mutual, which became JPMorgan Chase. The Earls say that Chase failed to properly assume the loan and didn’t have the right to sell it, nor could Conejo Capital Partners legally sell it.

According to the Earls’ attorney, “They may claim we’re violating the law and we’re claiming they violated the law. Typically, the authorities will say this is a civil dispute, but the question is, who owns the home? Because whoever doesn’t is trespassing.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Emily Peck (10/13/2010)