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Rancho Cordova Couple Turns Tables On Lender’s Foreclosure Attempt

February 16, 2014 11:23 PM

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RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) — A Rancho Cordova couple is staying in their home after it was nearly sold out from underneath them by their bank.

Cheryl Alimena and her husband Charles say their home was full of life and celebrations.

“We planned on being here for the rest of our lives,” he said.

It was also filled with grief after their son died in a car accident just two years ago.

“This house, it has a lot of memories for us, and it meant a lot to us before, but it means a lot more now,” Cheryl said.

The family nearly lost that home, but they won it back from a pending foreclosure after suing their lender.

“It was like a bad dream,” Charles said.

They’re one of a growing group of foreclosed California owners taking their lenders to court following the foreclosure crisis.

Loans from the housing bubble were repackaged as securities and sold on Wall Street. That put the true holders of the mortgage debt in question.

“The entity that’s trying to foreclose on them has no legal standing to do so,” said attorney Stephen Foondos.

“This is of course something the banks want no one to know about, because otherwise you would have everyone running to the court trying to file a claim.

The legal ruling turned into a reversal of fortune for the Alimenas. The nightmare they’d lose their dream home is over.

“For the little person to actually be able to win, I think that’s what people need to know,” Cheryl said, “is that there is hope out there for them.”

As part of the settlement, the couple also reduced their monthly mortgage payment by $800 a month.

Couple Fought Wrongful Foreclosure In Court, Emerged Victorious

It’s nice to hear about a battle of consumer vs. bank that ends with a consumer victory. Better still when it means that the consumer gets to stay in their home, which they were in danger of losing to foreclosure. That’s the heartwarming story of one California couple who fought back in court.

They spoke to a local TV station with the mission of letting other California homeowners know that they too have a weapon against wrongful foreclosure. Anyone can sue. They didn’t name their bank on the air, but did explain how after the confusion of the housing bubble and packaging of mortgage-backed securities, sometimes it isn’t immediately clear who owns the mortgage on a given house. It’s possible that the entity foreclosing on a house has no right to do so.

“This is of course something the banks want no one to know about,” their attorney explained to the TV station, “because otherwise you would have everyone running to the court trying to file a claim.”

Homeowners in other states may not be so lucky: as you may remember, California passed legislation a few years ago that gives homeowners special protection from abusive lenders and potentially wrongful foreclosures.

Rancho Cordova Couple Turns Tables On Lender’s Foreclosure Attempt [CBS Sacramento]