freespirit
28th June 2011, 11:04 AM
http://realestate.yourmoney.ca/2011/06/accidental-foreclosures-florida.html
There have been more than a few recent stories of people in the U.S. who have had their homes foreclosed on them for no good reason.
There was the Florida man who filed a lawsuit after a company hired to clean and remove the belongings of a home in foreclosure by Countrywide Home Loans, mistakenly went to his home and emptied it completely including all the furniture, appliances, even family photos (they were supposed to clear out a home a few doors down the road).
"The lawsuit filed by Benito Santiago Sr. in Hillsborough Circuit Court, claims that Field Asset Services Inc., took all of his property, including the garbage in the trash cans and then changed his locks while he and his son, Benjamin, visited in New Mexico," reports the TambaBay.com.
Another, perhaps even more alarming incident, happened to Jason Grodensky who bought his modest Fort Lauderdale home in December outright, in cash. But seven months later he learned that the Bank of America had foreclosed on the house, even though Grodensky did not have a mortgage. Since then the Bank of America has acknowledged the error and will correct it at its own expense, said spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens.
This kind of news begs the question: Could this happen in Canada?
Probably not, and here’s why (keeping in mind that laws go deep and differ from province to province).
Foreclosures in Canada work differently from places like the United States of America or any other country that allows owners to hand over the property to the lender. Instead, the lender does not take responsibility for resolving the debt because the money owed is what is being sought, not the property. When faced with foreclosure and selling is the only option then, two methods of sale are possible: Power of Sale and Judicial of Sale.
Power of Sale allow owners to sell the property to clear the amount owed without the courts. The lender essentially allows the owner to settle the debt without taking legal action. From a Realtor’s perspective, this is more commonly seen out in the field, and when bringing buyers in to these types of sales there are specific processes to approach the sale different than a more standard transaction.
The other type is a Judicial Sale where the lender goes through the court to sell the property in order to recover the money owed instead of allowing the home owner to sell privately and settle the debt. Be aware that methods differ based on provinces.
I have never heard of any "accidental" foreclosures in Canada, but you never know, perhaps we’ll hear differently as time goes on…
Emily Norris is a full time Realtor with Team DeClute/Re/Max Hallmark Realty Inc.
There have been more than a few recent stories of people in the U.S. who have had their homes foreclosed on them for no good reason.
There was the Florida man who filed a lawsuit after a company hired to clean and remove the belongings of a home in foreclosure by Countrywide Home Loans, mistakenly went to his home and emptied it completely including all the furniture, appliances, even family photos (they were supposed to clear out a home a few doors down the road).
"The lawsuit filed by Benito Santiago Sr. in Hillsborough Circuit Court, claims that Field Asset Services Inc., took all of his property, including the garbage in the trash cans and then changed his locks while he and his son, Benjamin, visited in New Mexico," reports the TambaBay.com.
Another, perhaps even more alarming incident, happened to Jason Grodensky who bought his modest Fort Lauderdale home in December outright, in cash. But seven months later he learned that the Bank of America had foreclosed on the house, even though Grodensky did not have a mortgage. Since then the Bank of America has acknowledged the error and will correct it at its own expense, said spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens.
This kind of news begs the question: Could this happen in Canada?
Probably not, and here’s why (keeping in mind that laws go deep and differ from province to province).
Foreclosures in Canada work differently from places like the United States of America or any other country that allows owners to hand over the property to the lender. Instead, the lender does not take responsibility for resolving the debt because the money owed is what is being sought, not the property. When faced with foreclosure and selling is the only option then, two methods of sale are possible: Power of Sale and Judicial of Sale.
Power of Sale allow owners to sell the property to clear the amount owed without the courts. The lender essentially allows the owner to settle the debt without taking legal action. From a Realtor’s perspective, this is more commonly seen out in the field, and when bringing buyers in to these types of sales there are specific processes to approach the sale different than a more standard transaction.
The other type is a Judicial Sale where the lender goes through the court to sell the property in order to recover the money owed instead of allowing the home owner to sell privately and settle the debt. Be aware that methods differ based on provinces.
I have never heard of any "accidental" foreclosures in Canada, but you never know, perhaps we’ll hear differently as time goes on…
Emily Norris is a full time Realtor with Team DeClute/Re/Max Hallmark Realty Inc.