Gets Keys Back after
Confusing Foreclosure
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In 2008, Kimberly Clark was behind on the mortgage of her duplex that she rents out, but not in foreclosure. Her mortgage debacle since has been a roller coaster that many times has not made a lot of sense.
"I was behind about 30 days, but I made a payment Oct. 15 and about two weeks after that they came and put the locks on the door," she said.
Five months after the bank locked her out, on February 2009, Clark was served with a foreclosure lawsuit. She protested the foreclosure filing as a mistake, she said, but March 2010 the lender won a final judgment in court.
But in December 2010, nine months after winning its judgment there was a strange turn in the case: For an unexplained reason, the lender filed a motion to vacate the judgment and dismiss the foreclosure lawsuit.
Then, on Feb. 4 the bank filed a court document releasing the mortgage on the property in question.
And perhaps strangest of all, today an attorney gave Clark the keys to the property. "No one gave me a specific reason," she said.
But returning the keys to Clark has presented her with a new problem. The duplex rental has been vacant so long both units have been vandalized, she said. The air conditioning units and some of the plumbing fixtures are gone, and there is graffiti on the walls.
"At this point, I will have a contractor assess the property, what value has been lost and go from there," she said.
Clark filed a counter lawsuit against the lender in January, and she believes that's why her keys were returned. She doesn't know if she'll win, but she wants other property owners to know in this foreclosure environment, mistakes are being made.
"You do have rights and fight back. This was a source of income for me and my family so this was detrimental, so continue to fight and never give up," she said.
The law firm of Murphy and Anderson represents National Field Representatives, the bank's subcontractor which changed the locks.
The attorney refused comment, saying the case is still in litigation. The lender, Wells Fargo is reviewing the case, and a spokesperson said she also could not comment until the review is finished
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