WOW!!! This would REALLY suck...

[caseydog]

My Bad! Woman's House Mistakenly Auctioned by Bank

By Todd Wright, NBC Miami


You know times are tough when people are getting kicked out of their house when it’s not even for sale.

That’s what happened to Anna Ramirez after she found all of her stuff out on the front lawn of her Homestead home last week and a strange man demanding she get out of his newly purchased house.

The eviction came after Ramirez’s home was mistakenly auctioned off to the highest bidder by her bank, Washington Mutual. Usually, you get a warning before you get the boot. A foreclosure letter. Maybe a sign saying your house is up for sale. Not Ramirez, who found her belongings bashed and battered in the street.

"This came out of nowhere," Ramirez said. "The bank took the house from right under my feet."

The man who bought the house told Ramirez he paid $87,000 for it, which shocked Ramirez, who bought the house for $260,000.

What's worse is her husband, daughter and grand children were also kicked out by Homestead and Miami-Dade police officers, said Martha Taylor, who witnessed the unexpected eviction.

"I have never seen anything like it," Taylor said. "They literally threw all her stuff on the front lawn. I didn't sleep that night and it wasn't even my house."

Ramirez and her family had three hours to get out of the house, police ordered. They had to stash their belongings at multiple locations and shacked up with a friend for the night as cops chained the doors of their home. With Taylor's help, Ramirez appeared before a judge two days later to explain what happened.

"I had all my stuff scattered everywhere," she said. "They did this in front all my neighbors. It was so embarassing."

A mistake in the Miami-Dade Clerk's Office appears to be behind the mishap, which landed Ramirez homeless for more than 24 hours.

The sale was eventually reversed by a Miami-Dade judge, allowing Ramirez to return to her old digs. Ramirez said she wants to sue for the damage to her furniture.

Ramirez has lived in the house for three years and recently refinanced the home with the bank.

"This shouldn't be happening, you know, because we did the right thing," she said. "We went step by step."

[eaglesdare]

[Oasis Maker]

I lean more towards thinking we have a sue-crazy society that needs to be curtailed... but this is one of those things that's so blatantly wrong, I hope she gets a bundle. Not just for her own personal retribution, but as an example of the cruel and careLESS way banks are treating people in these hard times. This is a case of just flat out negligence.

Scott G.

[planovet]

I lean more towards thinking we have a sue-crazy society that needs to be curtailed... but this is one of those things that's so blatantly wrong, I hope she gets a bundle. Not just for her own personal retribution, but as an example of the cruel and careLESS way banks are treating people in these hard times. This is a case of just flat out negligence.

I could not agree more...

[JenniferandPups]

How awful. I can't even imagine. She deserves every penny that can roll her way from the bank.

[caseydog]

If I were the bank's CEO, I would immediately fly to meet this woman in person, and apologize in front of all her neighbors -- and then, I would take her shopping for new furniture and other stuff to replace what was damaged.

But, that would be to easy, and too ----- right.

CD

[mikeschn]

That really sucks... and to think that could happen to any one of us here...

Mike...

[tk]

Whoa a minute. Why is the bank being called all sorts of bad here? The article says "a mistake in the Miami-Dade clerks office appears to be behind the mishap". I'm no fan of banks, and perhaps the bank did not exercise due diligence, but there is no evidence of that in this article as written.

Best,
Tom

[chorizon]

Whoa a minute. Why is the bank being called all sorts of bad here? The article says "a mistake in the Miami-Dade clerks office appears to be behind the mishap". I'm no fan of banks, and perhaps the bank did not exercise due diligence, but there is no evidence of that in this article as written.

Best,
Tom

Because it's much easier to say than County Tax Assessor Clerk...

<edited> some syntax errors...been drinking a lil'

[dreadcptflint]

Wow, I actually wish that they would do that to us. (I am stuck with a white elephant for a house).

[High Desert]

sounds like a whole string of mistakes made, and no one double checking anything. Incredible.

[mechmagcn]

That really sucks... and to think that could happen to any one of us here...

Mike...

Well if it did, it would mean a war. Mine is paid for!!!!!! Unless you count the rent I pay to the county every year Taxes, taxes, taxes

[caseydog]

Whoa a minute. Why is the bank being called all sorts of bad here? The article says "a mistake in the Miami-Dade clerks office appears to be behind the mishap". I'm no fan of banks, and perhaps the bank did not exercise due diligence, but there is no evidence of that in this article as written.

Best,
Tom

Because it's much easier to say than County Tax Assessor Clerk...

<edited> some syntax errors...been drinking a lil'

Here is more on the story...

Authorities say the woman’s lender, Washington Mutual – now part of J.P. Morgan Chase – mistakenly foreclosed on her house, then auctioned it to a new owner. Then, after WaMu realized the mistake and reversed the sale, a Miami-Dade county court clerk failed to notify the home’s new owner – who chucked Ramirez and all her stuff off the property.

So, the bank messed up first, and then the clerk messed up after the house was sold to a new owner.

Personally, it seems to me that if the bank made the mistake, they should have contacted the new owner they sold the house to, instead of expecting the county clerk to do it for them. They sold him the house. They reversed the sale. Then it is the county's responsibility to notify people of all this?

CD

[PanelDeland]

Sounds like the legal system working the way it's supposed to.There's a reason why there'sa not a clear cut law on this.The elected officials are lawyers and they may need to work some day.Keeping stuff like this keeps lawyers working.(this is of course a generalization)

[thefirebuilds]

if the bank had any sense for PR they'd tear up her mortgage, gift her the house, and replace her sh**. what a blunder.