Foreclosure wait period can lead to problems

LAKEWOOD RANCH

Jodie Meyers knew she was losing her Hollybush Terrace home to foreclosure, but never expected the bank to be so quick in taking it.

She and her three children already were in the process of moving out when GMAC Mortgage won a foreclosure auction of the four-bedroom house last month. Just three days after the auction, the locks had been changed — even though the family still had personal belongings inside.

That angered Meyers, who contends that amounted to trespassing because GMAC couldn’t legally take ownership for another week.

“They should have played by the rules and they didn’t,” she said.

Neither the bank’s attorneys or the real estate agent involved in the case returned calls Friday. But foreclosure experts said while the lock-changing was done unusually quickly, it appears the lender and its representatives acted within their rights to secure and protect the property.

Still, experts said the episode highlights a little-known and sometimes gray area of the foreclosure auction process: A waiting period before winning bidders can take possession.

“It has caused some problems,” said Shari Olefson, a Fort Lauderdale real estate attorney and author of “Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream,” Olefson is not involved in the Meyers’ case.

State law requires winning bidders to wait at least 10 full days before they can take title to a foreclosed property, in case there are any objections to the auction or new filings in the foreclosure court case. The waiting period begins when a court clerk issues a certificate of sale, usually on the same day as the auction.

If there are no objections or new court filings at the end of that 10-day window, then the clerk can issue a certificate of title.

But winning bidders, usually lenders, or their representatives sometimes change locks, board up windows and take other action to secure the property before that time is up — especially if they suspect it is abandoned or vacant, experts say.

“They’re mostly worried about further damage to the property,” said Dawn Bates-Buchanan, managing attorney of Gulf Coast Legal Services Inc. in Bradenton.

She said lenders and their attorneys usually hire local real estate agents to inspect properties after they are auctioned, usually within 24 hours, and secure them as needed. Whether to do anything — such as have the locks changed — before the 10 days are up frequently is a judgment call on the agent’s part.

May Aston, a RE/Max Alliance Group agent who specializes in distressed properties, said agents typically knock on doors, look through windows, check with electrical providers and talk with neighbors to determine if a just-auctioned house is occupied. Despite those efforts, there’s always the chance of being wrong.

“You can’t get it right 100 percent of the time,” said Aston, who was not involved in the Meyers’ case. “Sometimes the curtains are drawn and you can’t see inside. You just do the best you can and if you find out later that you were wrong, you make it right.”

Meyers said nothing was taken from her home and she later was allowed back into the house to gather more belongings. But the episode so steamed her that she called the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in hopes of pressing criminal charges.

Deputies declined, telling her it was a civil matter. She later filed a report at the sheriff’s office.

Nearly a month later, Meyers has moved out but still simmers over what happened.

“The house still was mine,” she said. “The bank had no business being there.”

Duane Marsteller, transportation/growth and development reporter, can be reached at 745-7080, ext. 2630.