Lender Broke Into My House!

[JusticeForAll]

This might should go in the Foreclosure section, mods, feel free to move.

I've been having a problem getting the town to turn off our water. So I call them today and they still refuse to turn the water off (been out of the house 7 months, in BK foreclosure, only recieved the first summons so far). They told me that 2000 gallons of water had been used last month and so they thought I was some scumbag landlord trying to turn the water off on my tenants. I did get that worked out, but check this out:

I sent my friend over to my house today (I now live 400 miles away) because I was worried maybe there was a plumbing leak as we turned the main valve off that supplies water to the house, so I knew that my neigbors couldn't be using my water to water their lawns or something.

She goes to the house, enters through the back door, gets into the house and gets to the front door and the deadbolt lock is completely destroyed and sitting INSIDE the house. She opens the front door and there is a sticker covering the hole where the deadbolt lock was that said "this house has been winterized by blah blah blah"!!!!!!!!!!!

At first I was relieved, cuz I didn't have to worry about it, but the more I think about it, it pisses me off!

I am still the legal owner of the house, it's still in PRE-FORCLOSURE. What gives them the right to BREAK INTO MY HOUSE?

Do they have a legal right to enter the property before they have the title? What if I was still living there? What if I had valuables left there for storage. They have NEVER been notified that I officially moved out. No eviction notice has been served and a sherrifs sale date has not been set, and probably won't be till Spring 2007. The first court hearing date hasn't even happened. The date on the sticker was only 10 days after the deadline they gave me to answer the summons.

The house is in (pre) foreclosure, but I am the legal owner of that property and they DESTROYED the deadbolt lock and broke the front screen door to get in.

I'm not gonna do anything about it, don't even know if I could! I'm just venting.

Does this seem extreme?

[JusticeForAll]

On another note:

Who used the 2000 gallons of water? Does a plumber even need water to winterize the plumbing and if so, 2000 gallons????? What up with that?

[miss puff]

Any new pools up on either neighbor? lol. Seriously though, that's really creepy that they broke into your house. Sounds almost illegal.

[chmastal]

Just curious...how do you know it was the lender???

That seems like something shady for a lender to do (or maybe I'm just naive). Could it have been someone casing the neighborhood & noticed no one living there? Those foreclosure web sites list homes that are in pre-foreclosure & those house-flipping people do drive around checking the houses out. A friend of mine almost lost her home when her ex let it go into foreclosure & just about a week before it was foreclosed she managed to get a loan to buy out the lending bank & keep her home. She was always getting those things in the mail from people wanting to buy her out & strangers knocking on her door inquiring about the foreclosure on the property.

[JusticeForAll]

It is creepy! The main water valve going into the house is shut off from the inside, so the outside plumbing has no water going into it. So there is no way for the neigbors to have used this water, unless someone's been going into the house!

It's giving me the heebie jeebies LOL

[JusticeForAll]

The sticker on the door said "this house has been winterized by blah blah (contractor's name) for (Lender's name), there was a phone number on it and a website address.

I checked out the website, and it's a national company that does such things for the lending industry to protect the Lender's interest.

Still, I understand why they did it. But to BREAK IN and DESTROY the locks just seems extreme to me.

They know how to reach me. I just don't get it. It's wigging me out.

That seems like something shady for a lender to do (or maybe I'm just naive). Could it have been someone casing the neighborhood & noticed no one living there? Those foreclosure web sites list homes that are in pre-foreclosure & those house-flipping people do drive around checking the houses out. A friend of mine almost lost her home when her ex let it go into foreclosure & just about a week before it was foreclosed she managed to get a loan to buy out the lending bank & keep her home. She was always getting those things in the mail from people wanting to buy her out & strangers knocking on her door inquiring about the foreclosure on the property.

[JusticeForAll]

add insult to injury...........

there was also a notice from the Town that they have imposed a $500 fine for not keeping the grounds "properly maintained", you know, not cutting the grass!

There's a snowballs chance in hell I'm gonna pay that. If Lender wants to play hardball, they can pay for EVERYTHING out of the proceeds of the sale, including this fine which will be added to the tax bill....

Good grief! Will this ever end? In 16 days it will be ONE YEAR since I filed BK, and I'm OVER IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JusticeForAll]

A very kind soul has pointed out to me that the Lender may have had a court order to enter my home.

In my state, if you don't answer the orginal summons (which why would I, I'm bankrupt and letting the house go), that the homeowner/debtor relinquishes their right to be notified as to the events of the ongoing foreclosure.

So, I bet they had a court order, or it was legal in some way. I just can't imagine a lender hiring someone to BREAK AND ENTER

[anonymuse]

You'd think they'd at least get a locksmith to do the breaking and entering since it doesn't sound like your house is secure now.

[SinkingFast]

You'd think they'd at least get a locksmith to do the breaking and entering since it doesn't sound like your house is secure now.

Yeah! I go with that too Anon!!

You'd think, if they are going to the trouble to winterize the house to "protect" their investment in the property, they would hired a locksmith too. Someone to open the door for the contractor and change the locks, keyed for the Lender or the Lender's Rep in the area to gain access in the future.

Just does not make any sense at all.

[BassBoy]

LOL....stupid is as stupid does.

[JusticeForAll]

Agreed! I've uttered those very words today! Why bother to winterize to protect the property when now anyone can just walk up to the door and kick it in.

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING:

I was also notified today that the town is taking legal action against me because I have a pool in the backyard with no permit and that my fence is not locked (it was when I left).

Not sure what to do about this one, didn't know you needed a permit. What can they do about it?

Yeah! I go with that too Anon!!

You'd think, if they are going to the trouble to winterize the house to "protect" their investment in the property, they would hired a locksmith too. Someone to open the door for the contractor and change the locks, keyed for the Lender or the Lender's Rep in the area to gain access in the future.

Just does not make any sense at all.

[SinkingFast]

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING:

I was also notified today that the town is taking legal action against me because I have a pool in the backyard with no permit and that my fence is not locked (it was when I left).

Not sure what to do about this one, didn't know you needed a permit. What can they do about it?

Is this NUMBER 3??!!

Don't they always come in THREES??!!

I seem to remember the fence and locked gate thing when we were househunting before. We never owned a property with a pool, but I remember looking at houses 4 Sale that had them. And our Realtor mentioned that.

Something to do with Homeowner's Insurance and liability issues. You'd want a fence around the pool with a locked gate for when the pool was unattended. But I don't remember anything about needing a permit. Maybe a local thing??!!

[FilingOnMyOwn]

And '2,000 gallons' is nothing really. Thats 2 showers a day x 30 days, not including other water use like toilet flushing, laundry, and everything else etc.

[anonymuse]

And '2,000 gallons' is nothing really. Thats 2 showers a day x 30 days, not including other water use like toilet flushing, laundry, and everything else etc.

If it's from a broken pipe in the upstairs bathroom, it really is something. ;)