An 'unfortunate error' by bank and a homes are gone in foreclosure.

[Better Believe It]

'Unfortunate error' by bank and a home is gone
Cases of mistaken identity in foreclosure filings appear to be on the rise
By MICHELLE CONLIN
Associated Press
December 8, 2010

Christopher Marconi was in the shower when he heard a loud banging on his door. By the time he grabbed a towel and hustled to his front step, a U.S. marshal's sedan was peeling out of his driveway. Nailed to Marconi's front door was a foreclosure summons from Wells Fargo, naming him as a defendant. But the notice was for a house Marconi had never seen — on a mortgage he never had.

Tom Williams was in his kitchen thumbing through the mail when he opened a letter from GMAC. It informed him that the bank would confiscate his house unless he immediately paid off his mortgage balance of $276,000. But Williams had never missed a mortgage payment. And his loan wasn't due to mature until 2032.

Warren Nyerges opened his front door to find a scraggly haired summons server standing on his stoop. He plopped a foreclosure notice from Bank of America in Nyerges' hands. But Nyerges had paid for his house in cash. And he'd never had a checking account, much less a mortgage, with Bank of America.

There are no official statistics for these homeowners, but lawyers, real estate agents and consumer advocates say their ranks are growing. In November, during foreclosure hearings on Capitol Hill, senator after senator scolded the banks about wrongful foreclosures. They said their offices were deluged with complaints from people who had done everything right but were being treated by banks as if they had done everything wrong. And the Florida attorney general's office is also investigating the issue as part of its foreclosure probe.

"This is the worst I've ever seen it," says Ira Rheingold, an attorney and executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Diane Thompson, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center, has defended hundreds of foreclosure cases. "In virtually every case, I believe the homeowner was not in default when you looked at the surrounding facts. It is a widespread problem throughout the country."

Read the full article at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40571573/ns/business-us_business/?gt1=43001

[katnapped]

1. Oh well, it's the homeowner's fault, obviously

If they'd been rich and important none of this would happen! :sarcasm:

[gratuitous]

2. If banks can't just take what they want, the entire economic system could collapse

And really, is your home so valuable to you that you'd rather see Bank of Ameirca or GMAC take a hit on their balance sheets than simply hand over the keys? How selfish can people be?

Now, the financial wizards who rule our country need more tax cuts. If we throw the proles a few coins, will you be happy and not begrudge the moguls their sacks of money? Some of you have grasped the necessity outlined here, but it's clear that there are still a few of you who think that fairness and justice require some kind of a shared sacrifice. And that's class warfare!

[silverweb]

3. Bullshit.

"Unfortunate errors," my ass. Anyone who believes that is a naive fool. This is as calculated and premeditated as Enron's thievery.

[marybourg]

4. Egregious errors and sloppiness by banks, but headline is still

misleading. No houses were "gone". There are
enough real problems in the world without this constant stirring up of the "indignation chorus" with half truths or worse.

[Angry Dragon]

5. And still there is no moratoriums on foreclosures

[Better Believe It]

6. It's not going to happen. The administration is opposed to a moratoriums

[Angry Dragon]

7. I have heard that

Is is just me, but every day I perceive that this administration does not care what happens to the people on the bottom of the pile??
Perhaps I am just naive but I thought the elected government was suppose to protect the people and by protecting the people it protected the country

[ck4829]

8. K&R