The Sarasota Herald Tribune recently published a story detailing the new depths that banks are stooping in order to retake Florida homes. Allegations of breaking an entering and changing the locks, plundering personal possessions and theft are just a few of the allegations many homeowners are making regarding the banks behavior.
In one instance, a family of Canadian tourists returned to their rented beach house only to find their keys no longer worked, a half empty beer bottle sitting on the kitchen counter and their laptop computer, MP3 player and 6 bottles of wine were missing. The tourists were so alarmed by the turn of events they believed the home had been broken into by burglars and called the police. As it happened, the lender hired a Sarasota company to break in and change the locks in an effort to retake the property. Under Florida law it is illegal for a bank representative to enter a home if the bank has not yet taken the property through a foreclosure sale, especially if that property appears to be occupied.
In this case, the tourists decided that they no longer felt safe in their rental home and the homeowner was forced to return a portion of their money and pay for some of the missing property. This presents a problem for the homeowner because most police investigators categorize the break-ins at civil disputes because the banks and their hired contractors do not display the necessary criminal intent, making monetary recovery for the homeowner almost impossible.
Many foreclosure experts predict that as instances like this become more commonplace, law enforcement officials will be less and less inclined to help homeowners. If you have had an instance where you believe your mortgage company has broken into your home, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer and Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.
