Tired of seeing innocent renters caught in the middle of the
foreclosure crisis, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is putting the breaks
on evictions unless lenders can provide evidence that officers are
being sent to toss the right people from their homes.
Dart is specifically demanding a signed affidavit that spells out the target of each individual foreclosure proceeding. Once lenders provide that to the sheriff's office, and it's confirmed that the homeowner and resident are one in the same, the eviction can proceed.
"I'm not asking [banks] to forgive the loans," Dart said at a press conference today. "All we're asking is due diligence."
Roughly a third of the foreclosure-related evictions handled by the sheriff's office (it's on pace to carry out some 4,500 this year) involve renters rather than property owners. Under state law, renters are entitled to 120 days notice, but in aggressive foreclosure proceedings their rights are often overlooked. Too many times officers have been called to toss children and families out on the street, even though they've kept up with their rent, Dart said. Beginning tomorrow, the practice will stop.
"We're talking about people who live paycheck to paycheck," Dart said. "They're living on the edge."
The eviction moratorium won't do much to reverse the foreclosure crisis, said Geoff Smith of the Chicago-based Woodstock Institute. But he added that buying time for households in foreclosure -- of which there are more than 17,000 in Cook County so far this year -- isn't a bad idea.
"It's reached the point that there needs to be some action around the way foreclosures are structured ... to make sure that a homeowner has more time to negotiate with their lender," Smith said.
Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user manos simonides.
Mark G. from Georgia (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 15:21
I applaud the Cook county sheriff for discontinuing the eviction of homeowners.I think that all officials in every state should do the same.
Dave A. (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 22:20
The world has 'progressed' enough. Lets start making sure everyone has a roof and good food. People cheating and lying to get money are dispicable and have handicaped the entire world. They should be prosecuted and sentenced and the sentence made to stick so others will be afraid and not emboldened when they see them get away with it. Econamies must become much much more local, so that what one does, or doesnt do in one area doesnt become the reason many become poor in another. Maybe we will have to do without some things. But Our conscience will be clean. I get sick every time I hear of one more homless or the working poor without a roof. A curse on Progress, a curse on "profit", a curse on liars, and a curse on thieves.
thecookie (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 06:28
I am suffering some serious sheriff love here!
http://lifeisacookie.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/hero/
Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 10:50
There is another reason Dart should do this and maybe he doesn't even know, but one major problem is that with the complete disarray in loan servicing, no one knows who owns these notes. Lenders may be foreclosing on mortgages the underlying debt of which they don't even own. As these assets are bought up in the bailout plan and as regulators go through the assets of failed banks, they will start fining notes that others have foreclosed on and will be able to open up these foreclosures because a lender cannot foreclose on a mortgage when they don't own the note. Courts in Ohio and Texas have already started rejecting some of these foreclosures.
trey_trey (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 11:10
sad! do any of you understand what will happen if this continues? MORE PEOPLE WOULD STOP PAYING THE MORTGAGES ON PURPOSE! the same people that were given homes they did'nt deserve are losing those same homes. it makes perfect sense! let 'em eat cake! you can thank obama for this mess.
the Obama backed (ACORN) sued to make banks provide loans to recipients who were not able to repay. In these lawsuits, ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) abused the law by forcing banks to make hundreds of millions of dollars in “subprime” loans to often uncreditworthy poor and minority customers.
(ACORN) makes a bogus claim of Redlining, (denying poor people loans because of their ethnic heritage). filed tons of these lawsuits and ALL of them allege racism, this was a strong arm tactic that was backed by bill clinton and janet reno to garner votes for the then upcoming elections. these loans were then sold off to the government backed fannie and freddie. you know the rest… or do you? did you know that the top three men at fannie mae and are now PAID advisors on the staff of obama? these three men, franklin raines (former ceo of fannie mae), tim howard (former cfo of fannie mae) and jim johnson (former lehman brothers AND fannie mae exec) between them had over 288 million in “golden parachute” money! whay did obama recently hire them after the companies that they “ran” collapsed? i cant think of a single reason.
hmmmmmm, unless...
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