Is Entry Legal?

[fpancoe]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

I am financial POA for an elderly low income woman,. Two years ago in the midst of being over extended financially, she abandoned her house. After the mortgage lender was notified they put their own locks on the doors. The house remains vacant and the bank has not commenced foreclosure proceedings.



Recently a home flipper expressed interest in the house. He offered to have locksmith to gain entry. so he could determine if paying off the bank would be worth his while. The lender is a huge national bank. Its impossible to reach anyone at the bank to obtain consent. Do we have legal exposure by giving the home flipper permission to enter the house?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

I am financial POA for an elderly low income woman,. Two years ago in the midst of being over extended financially, she abandoned her house. After the mortgage lender was notified they put their own locks on the doors. The house remains vacant and the bank has not commenced foreclosure proceedings.



Recently a home flipper expressed interest in the house. He offered to have locksmith to gain entry. so he could determine if paying off the bank would be worth his while. The lender is a huge national bank. Its impossible to reach anyone at the bank to obtain consent. Do we have legal exposure by giving the home flipper permission to enter the house?

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=073500050HArt.+XV&ActID=2017&ChapterID=56&SeqStart=108200000&SeqEnd=117100000

Has there been a deed in lieu of foreclosure?

Has any action been taken by the lender to terminate the woman’s interest in the property? Is a foreclosure pending?

Has any real estate agency been assigned the marketing of the property?

You should not break the lock on the property until you know the status of the home ownership.

 

[adjusterjack]

Two years ago in the midst of being over extended financially, she abandoned her house. After the mortgage lender was notified they put their own locks on the doors. The house remains vacant and the bank has not commenced foreclosure proceedings.

Did she abandon her mail? Or give a forwarding address to the post office? To the bank?

It's possible that she got notices that she ignored or won't admit to.

You can also check with county records to see if any documents have been filed since the abandonment.

The lender is a huge national bank. Its impossible to reach anyone at the bank to obtain consent.

Go to the bank's website and see if there's a foreclosure or collections dept listed that you can email. It might be called something else. Might be a short sale dept. Be sure to include your POA with your inquiry.

If that doesn't help, go to one of the branches. People there often have internal phone numbers that they can get through on.

 

[quincy]

The bottom line is that, until you learn the legal status of the property, you should not break the lock on the house.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

I am financial POA for an elderly low income woman,. Two years ago in the midst of being over extended financially, she abandoned her house. After the mortgage lender was notified they put their own locks on the doors. The house remains vacant and the bank has not commenced foreclosure proceedings.



Recently a home flipper expressed interest in the house. He offered to have locksmith to gain entry. so he could determine if paying off the bank would be worth his while. The lender is a huge national bank. Its impossible to reach anyone at the bank to obtain consent. Do we have legal exposure by giving the home flipper permission to enter the house?

The whole thing is a little unusual. The housing market is booming so it is odd that the bank hasn't pushed the foreclosure and sale of the home. It is also odd that the bank put a lock on a home that they did not own yet.

I would guess that the whole thing boils down to whether or not the woman still is the legal owner of the home. If she is, then she is free to do as she likes. If she is not (if the bank foreclosed without her being aware of it somehow) then she cannot do as she pleases.

 

[FarmerJ]

When property tax records are looked up , do they show a change in ownership ( listing the bank ) ? Even though the banks foreclosure agent secured the property there is a chance complete foreclosure has not happened yet.

 

[FarmerJ]

When property tax records are looked up , do they show a change in ownership ( listing the bank ) ? Even though the banks foreclosure agent secured the property there is a chance complete foreclosure has not happened yet.

 

[quincy]

The whole thing is a little unusual. The housing market is booming so it is odd that the bank hasn't pushed the foreclosure and sale of the home. It is also odd that the bank put a lock on a home that they did not own yet.

I would guess that the whole thing boils down to whether or not the woman still is the legal owner of the home. If she is, then she is free to do as she likes. If she is not (if the bank foreclosed without her being aware of it somehow) then she cannot do as she pleases.

It is actually not all that unusual for a bank to hold onto property for two years or more.

 

[Zigner]

Why do you believe that a "financial POA" gives you control over the property itself?

 

[FlyingRon]

When property tax records are looked up , do they show a change in ownership ( listing the bank ) ? Even though the banks foreclosure agent secured the property there is a chance complete foreclosure has not happened yet.

Probably not, but there is likely a redemption period where you pay off 100% of what was owed and you can get it back (if you have the means to do it).

 

[quincy]

Probably not, but there is likely a redemption period where you pay off 100% of what was owed and you can get it back (if you have the means to do it).

The redemption period is different depending on whether the house was foreclosed on or abandoned but, yes, there is a redemption period during which the woman potentially could pay off the existing loan balance (and all costs and fees) through a direct cash payment to the lender or through a refinance with another lender.

It does not appear the woman has the means or desire to do either.

 

[LdiJ]

It is actually not all that unusual for a bank to hold onto property for two years or more.

Prior to the current boom I would have agreed with you. In the last bust banks held off doing foreclosures at all in some cases, let alone sitting on property for two or more years. However, they did not change the locks on property that they had not foreclosed upon.

Today, its a boom market and the bank could turn the property quickly, and quite possibly for more than the mortgage balance. Therefore it does not make sense that they have been sitting on it. On top of that, they don't "own" it yet because they have not foreclosed, therefore them changing the locks is questionable.

 

[quincy]

Prior to the current boom I would have agreed with you. In the last bust banks held off doing foreclosures at all in some cases, let alone sitting on property for two or more years. However, they did not change the locks on property that they had not foreclosed upon.

Today, its a boom market and the bank could turn the property quickly, and quite possibly for more than the mortgage balance. Therefore it does not make sense that they have been sitting on it. On top of that, they don't "own" it yet because they have not foreclosed, therefore them changing the locks is questionable.

We don’t really know what the legal status of the home is. We don’t know what the condition of the home is. There can be all sorts of reasons why a bank might lock up the house and not be working to foreclose or sell.

Locks are placed on vacant homes to prevent vandalism so, if the house has been abandoned, the fact that there is a lock on the door is not surprising.