The tables turned on lending giant Bank of America earlier this month when a Florida couple was granted permission to seize the bank’s assets.
As we have mentioned in previous posts on our Miami bankruptcy law blog, the foreclosure crisis has affected thousands across the U.S., especially those in South Florida. Not only are many families in the process of losing their homes because they can no longer keep up with their mortgage payments or work with lenders to reduce payments, but lenders have also mistakenly threatened homeowners with foreclosure, causing homeowners unnecessary emotional and financial strain.
In 2009, a Florida couple purchased their home directly from Bank of America. They paid cash for their home and never took out a mortgage or any other loan on their property. However, the couple was surprised when Bank of America notified them that their house was in foreclosure.
Knowing that the Florida couple had paid cash for the home, one would assume that the mistake would have easily been corrected with Bank of America, but that was not the case. For months the homeowners tried to correct the issue with the lending giant and even wrote a certified letter to the president of the bank. After receiving no response from the bank, the couple finally hired an attorney to get the wrongful foreclosure dismissed.
The couple racked up $2,500 in legal fees defending their case, and a Florida judge issued a judgment against Bank of America to compensate the couple for the inconvenience. However, Bank of America failed to pay the judgment. Once again, the couple spent months attempting to collect their money from the lending giant. After five months passed with no response from Bank of America, a judge issued a writ of execution allowing the couple to seize the bank’s assets to make up for the unpaid judgment.
On June 3, the couple showed up at a local Florida branch with two sheriff’s deputies and a moving truck. Facing the threat of foreclosure, Bank of America chose to finally pay the judgment instead of losing their branch’s furniture and teller cash.
Although the couple is relieved to finally have the issue resolved, they commented that spending months trying to work with Bank of America has drained them emotionally.
Source
ABC News: “Bank of America in Florida Foreclosed On by Angry Homeowner,” Alan Farnham, 8 June 2011