Tag Archives: Eviction

Los Angeles' city attorney, Carmen A. Trutanich, announced his office filed a lawsuit against US Bank over allegations that the bank allows its foreclosures to deteriorate into slum conditions and executes illegal evictions, according to a release Tuesday. The complaint cites more than 170 properties as examples of US Bank's illegal conduct. US Bank denied its role in the complaints, stating, ""We are extremely disappointed that the City Attorney's office has chosen to file this lawsuit. The city attorney has chosen the wrong party - we are not the owners of the properties, nor are we responsible for the servicing of the properties.""

According to a report from NCLC, laws in many states allow local governments to sell property through a tax lien foreclosure process if the owner falls behind on property taxes. A tax lien may be started over nonpayment of a small delinquent tax bill and then sold at a tax lien sale for the back taxes owed on the property. If the homeowner fails to buy back the property, the purchaser may acquire the home for very little and then resell it for a huge profit.

Attorney General Kamala Harris' Homeowner Bill of Rights continues to work through the California Legislature as two more bills pass, the Office of the Attorney General announced Thursday. AB 2610 and SB 1473 will require buyers of foreclosed homes to allow tenants at least 90 days before starting eviction proceedings. Under the bills, if the tenant has a fixed-term lease, the new owner must honor it unless they can demonstrate that certain exceptions apply. The bills are intended to correct incongruities within California law and between state and federal law.

In its May foreclosure newsletter, RealtyTrac named the top 10 places to buy foreclosures in 2012. The selected locations were out of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas based on population. The list was further narrowed down according markets with at least 200 foreclosure-related sales transactions in January 2012. Then, it was whittled down again to only include metros with foreclosure sales prices at least 30 percent below the average price of a non-foreclosure property.

While the housing market is starting to show signs that it is strengthening, for some states, recovery still seems to be in the very distant future. According to a report from Capital Economics, one factor that will determine the speed of recovery for individual states is the type of foreclosure procedure. Paul Diggle, author of the report, said that many of the judicial states, which are struggling to clear their backlog of foreclosures, will lag behind during recovery. However, Rob Pitingolo, research assistant with the Urban Institute, noted that it's not the judicial process itself that is the problem, but a lack of resources.

Last month the Occupy Oakland movement announced its intention to occupy vacant properties. On Tuesday, Occupy Oakland was one of 25 local Occupy activist groups to observe a national 'Occupy Our Homes' day. Organizers say the movement is supported by thousands who will be standing up for their neighbors in a struggle ""against a system that places financial gain above the human need for shelter."" Occupy groups from Atlanta to Brooklyn to California made it clear that this is only the beginning of their fight against foreclosure.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced temporary eviction moratoriums on all single-family homes and two-to-four unit properties over the holidays. Both companies will enforce the moratorium from December 19 through January 2. The suspension will not affect the pre- or post-foreclosure processes. Servicers may continue the administrative processes involved in foreclosures, but evictions will be delayed until after the start of the new year.

Two California divisions of the Occupy Wall Street movement -- Occupy LA and Occupy Santa Cruz -- are beginning to focus their efforts on halting foreclosures. Mario Brito, leader of Occupy LA, announced a plan this week to pressure both banks and government officials to impose a foreclosure moratorium. Also this week, Occupy Santa Cruz sent a letter to its County Board of Supervisors calling on board members to invoke a foreclosure moratorium and set up a task force to study foreclosure practices.

SingleSource Property Solutions has announced the rollout of its proprietary 'cash for keys' calculator. The company says while many firms offer a cash for keys tool, they typically focus on carrying costs alone. SingleSource's calculator arrives at a monthly cost to carry and incorporates actual eviction and redemption timelines, while taking into account rent estimates and the tenant's perceived savings.