Sudden Evictions Hurting Homeowners

Phoenix-area foreclosures aren't expected to drop significantly anytime soon. Last month, about 940 homes were bought at Valley foreclosure auctions, five times the number sold at auction a year ago. And one reason more homes are going to auction is because lenders are dropping prices so they don't have to take homes back, evict homeowners and fix houses up to resell.  

 

Under Arizona law, departing owners have five days to vacate the property, but in some cases people are being told to get out the same day their house is sold at auction. Facing aggressive foreclosure buyers who want to resell homes quickly, struggling homeowners often don't know their rights.

 

One resident was working with his lender on a loan modification when the house he had owned for 18 years was sold at a foreclosure auction. He had already given his lender all the necessary documentation and was told that his modification was pending and the foreclosure was postponed. Then a man appeared at the door and told him to get out, the resident demanded proof of the sale and wouldn't leave his house until he saw it.

 

Another family could only watch from the sidewalk as the movers packed up the house. The buyers, concerned the family might damage something or take the home's appliances, refused to let them back inside the home to get their belongings.

 

The foreclosure-auction process is regulated by Arizona law, but no state or county agency monitors the auctions or the initial eviction efforts by new owners. Arizona Revised Statutes 12-1171 through 12-1183 are the state's laws for the foreclosure-eviction process. According to these statues, "The buyer of a foreclosure home has to give the home's former owner notice to move out. If after five days the former owner doesn't move out, the new owner can file with the courts for a forcible eviction.

 

Many new buyers taking over recently purchased foreclosure homes know they can't legally evict the former owners for five days. And some new buyers don't want angry people trashing a home, so they might offer more time to move out. Beyond having a window of time to move, there is not much a homeowner can negotiate once the home is sold at a foreclosure auction.

 

Lenders have been offering homeowners facing foreclosure money for cooperation. The program, endorsed by the federal government's housing plan, is known as Cash for Keys. Homeowners are typically offered $1,000 or more if they don't strip or vandalize a home after losing it to foreclosure. There are also instances of new buyers offering former owners cash to move out quickly and leave behind appliances and other fixtures.

 

Some new buyers may rent the house to the former owners to give them more time to find another place. Arizona legislation was recently introduced to allow lower-income homeowners to stay in the house after foreclosure and rent it from the new owner.

 

Azcentral.com – Mar. 7, 2010