Consumer News: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Accidentally Forecloses on Wrong Home, For the Third Time
Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) has accidentally foreclosed on a home that they had no legal right to do so, for the third time in less than a year.
This time, Bank of America tried to foreclose on the home of Nancy Willmes who paid cash for her home in Toulumne, CA in 2001. KRCA, a local radio station, first reported on this latest accidental foreclosure. Willmes received a notice of default on her property in February from Bank of America, even though she’s never had a loan with the Charlotte-based bank.
“I honestly felt like Bank of America was trying to steal my property,” Willmes said to KRCA.
Willmess said in the KRCA article that she tried to contact Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) to see why they thought they had the right to foreclose on a property that she had purchased outright.
Willmess says that she has chain-of-ownership records showing that Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) had sold the loan to Fannie Mae several years earlier. Fannie Mae foreclosed on the previous owner and Willmess purchased the property with cash from Fannie Mae.
According to Willmess, Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) didn’t care about any documentation that she had. The bank proceeded with the foreclosure, including placing ads in the local paper and nailing a foreclosure notice on her door.
“I called the title company, the title company called B of A, and they refused to rescind it,” Willmes said.
After Willmess reported the foreclosure attempt to the press, Bank of America began returning her calls. The bank The bank then rescinded the notice of trustee sale, stopping the foreclosure.
Bank of America stated that the problem was a system error and that it has updated its record and cancelled the sale.
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Great post but complicated to understand since I am from Faroe islands ;-) 
What would be your top three tips for anyone new to this topic?
Thats what Title Insurance is for. The title company should have resolved this matter long before any sale notices. Not getting a return call from the bank is an uacceptable response from the title co. The consumer gets slammed in all corporate goof ups. Look at the closing statement and if it lists Title Insurance than the buck stops there. Headline should read “Title Company error causes foreclosure”
The banks are responsible for a lot of crap, but this one isn't theirs.
Mac:
I disagree. The title co. did its job. I re-read this piece three or four times and nowhere do I see where they said they couldn't get a response. The way I read the story, the title co. DID make contact with BofA, which “refused to rescind it” according to the homeowner. Only after the owner went to the media did the bank back off.
Mac:
I disagree. The title co. did its job. I re-read this piece three or four times and nowhere do I see where they said they couldn't get a response. The way I read the story, the title co. DID make contact with BofA, which “refused to rescind it” according to the homeowner. Only after the owner went to the media did the bank back off.
Did BAC or the foreclosing trustee ever get a title report on the property? If so, did they read it?
Hobart:
If they did, it was probably generated by an online “title examiner” (and I use that term VERY loosely) in some overseas sweatshop. That's what happens when these “foreclosure mill” law firms forego using local examiners in favor of outsourcing such functions to these so-called “thin title plants.”
With the explanation provided in the article it is clear that the title agent did nothing wrong. Title Insurance can't stop banks from doing this sort of thing. Title insurance is not a form of police protection. The chain of title was good and the title was insured, as it should have been. If any of you really think that there are educated people in the banking industry, wake up! As for the national title insurance underwriters allowing these off shore title mills, the underwriters deserve all the claims that are coming their way.
Did BAC or the foreclosing trustee ever get a title report on the property? If so, did they read it?
Hobart:
If they did, it was probably generated by an online “title examiner” (and I use that term VERY loosely) in some overseas sweatshop. That's what happens when these “foreclosure mill” law firms forego using local examiners in favor of outsourcing such functions to these so-called “thin title plants.”
With the explanation provided in the article it is clear that the title agent did nothing wrong. Title Insurance can't stop banks from doing this sort of thing. Title insurance is not a form of police protection. The chain of title was good and the title was insured, as it should have been. If any of you really think that there are educated people in the banking industry, wake up! As for the national title insurance underwriters allowing these off shore title mills, the underwriters deserve all the claims that are coming their way.
Where was the homeowner's attorney? Did she ever consider hiring one? As a Florida foreclosure attorney, I'm not well versed in California's foreclosure process, but I know enough to say that even the trustee's private sale takes at least 5 to 8 months. The article doesn't mention the homeowner hiring an attorney and she very well might not have. An attorney should have been able to stop this foreclosure dead in its tracks. And with prevailing party attorney's fees and costs awarded under the provisions of most mortgages or deeds of trust, she would have been reimbursed every penny she would have spent.
Kevin L. Deeb
Coral Gables, Florida
http://www.deeblaw.com