Deadline Looms for Homeowners Fighting Foreclosure
Industry Update
December 22, 2016
WORCESTER – People who are fighting – or who someday may want to fight – foreclosures of their homes that predate 2014 need to file legal paperwork before the end of the year to preserve their rights, foreclosure activists warned Wednesday.
“It’s the best-kept secret in the commonwealth,” John C. Schumacher declared Wednesday at a press conference on the topic hosted by the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team.
Mr. Schumacher, of Lancaster, said he is one of many homeowners fighting illegitimate foreclosures that many label illegal. But because of a law that went into effect last year, people whose homes were foreclosed on before 2014 will need to file legal challenges by Dec. 30 or they will lose their ability to try to get their homes back.
“People need to act quickly,” said Grace Ross, coordinator of the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending. Citing figures she said were provided by the Worcester South District Registry of Deeds, she said 11,081 homeowners have been foreclosed on in the region from 2001 to 2013 – 3,821 in Worcester – all of whom would lose their rights if they fail to act.
Ms. Ross said the new law effectively curtails the statute of limitations to challenge a foreclosure in Massachusetts from 20 years to 3 years. She contends the law – which was conceived by lobbyists for the title insurance industry – is a sweetheart deal for insurers, allowing them to shirk liability associated with problematic titles.
Ms. Ross said many people who lost their homes to foreclosure during and after the 2008 mortgage crisis were victims of predatory lenders. Such lenders used unscrupulous practices in many different areas, she said, and the Supreme Judicial Court in 2011 invalidated thousands of foreclosures across the state.
Ms. Ross said people fighting to win back their homes need to know that if they do not file paperwork with the register by Dec. 30, they will lose their right to a court challenge. She stressed that even people who have been evicted from their homes can try to get them back and should file paperwork if they plan to do so in the future.
Those who want to learn more about how to file the paperwork can contact the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team at (508) 614-9238, email worcesterforeclosureteam@gmail.com or visit www.maapl.info.
The law that precipitated the deadline, An Act Clearing Title to Foreclosed Properties, was a bill by state Sen. Michael O. Moore, D-Millbury, that passed in 2015.
While Ms. Ross and other advocates oppose the bill, Mr. Moore said it was necessary. That’s because there are many homeowners who bought foreclosed homes and saw their titles muddied up after the 2011 court decision. As a result, many cannot refinance or sell their properties.
The bill will clear up those titles, Mr. Moore said, so that people who legally bought homes will no longer be in limbo. Mr. Moore said in his eyes, a 20-year statute of limitations to reclaim a home is too long.
“How do you do that to a family who has purchased a home, whether it’s five years, 10 years or 15 years later?” he said.
Mr. Moore further noted that under the law, people who believe they were foreclosed on improperly can still file legal challenges that could yield awards of triple the value of their loss.
“I think my legislation is a good compromise,” he said, noting it actually passed the Legislature twice, after an initial veto in 2014 by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
Ms. Ross said while Mr. Moore’s intentions may be good, she does not believe the legislation is constitutional, and plans to file a lawsuit challenging it. Ultimately, she believes the legislation will end up protecting those in the insurance business more than homeowners stuck with a bad title.
Ms. Ross also criticized the office of Attorney General Maura T. Healey for, in her opinion, not doing enough to inform homeowners of the change.
The attorney general was charged in the legislation to let stakeholders know about the change. It posted an advisory notice to its website and also sent letters to “stakeholders participating in the foreclosure industry and stakeholders participating in foreclosure prevention, reduction or education programs,” according to a recent attorney general disclosure.
Ms. Ross said she believes the attorney general should have at least issued a press release and, ideally, made more of an outreach effort to homeowners.
Asked about the criticism after close of business Wednesday, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said the agency could not immediately respond, as the staff members who dealt with the topic had left for the day.
Source: telegram.com
