Does This Sound Right?

[Kathleen in WI]

Hi All,

I haven't been on in quite a while. We moved to our 40 acres in Colorado and have been frantically trying to get back on our feet. I've been working endlessly and have been sick (just as endlessly). However, I have a situation I am concerned about and I'd like your thoughts on it. (Sorry in advance for this being so long)

We are purchasing this place on a lease-purchase. We have a year to get regular financing. Yesterday a guy drove into my driveway (with his dog!) and started taking pictures of my house. The dogs were inside going crazy. I went out to see what the heck he was doing.

He gave me a small envelope and said he gets paid to take pictures and hand out these papers. I asked, "for what purpose?" He said they don't tell them much because of privacy. I said, "but you can take pictures of my house without my permission?!" He stated he didn't need my permission, got in his truck and tore out of the driveway.

I opened the envelope and there was a paper that said: Important Please Call Homeowners Assistance" It listed a phone number that turns out to be Chase bank. Of course, I can't talk to a person without putting in my account number, which I do not have. I have never done business with Chase.

Another number on the paper was for the Homeowners HOPE Hotline. I called them and asked what was going on. They said they just work with mortgage companies to help people avoid foreclosure and I should call my mortgage company. I don't have a mortgage company.

I contacted the company we are buying through and they said there is no foreclosure. He said they must just routinely contact their properties. He said:

"I am not sure what he was referring to, the account on your home is current so there is no need to worry about a foreclosure. The only thing I can think of is this is something that they routinely do just to keep up to date with the homes that are financed through them."

Does this make sense? Is Chase going to send someone out to all of their properties and give them info to avoid foreclosure if there is no concern of foreclosure? I feel like they are just blowing smoke and I am going to lose my home because they are getting foreclosed. Am I just paranoid?

This guy wouldn't identify himself, by the way. He just said he was hired by "a mortgage company." Really ticked me off too.

Your thoughts?

[moonspirit]

Did you get his license plate? If not I would make sure to get it if he comes around again, seems fishy..

[Kathleen in WI]

I couldn't get it. He left too quickly. All the blinds were closed to keep the sun out and keep the house cool. I couldn't see it from the door. Quite honestly, I was so mad that he was taking pictures, I was shaking. Couldn't really think straight.

I think he thought no one was home. There were no vehicles here. My chickens were out though. He's lucky his dog didn't bother them. There would have been a dead dog.

[Helena]

Are you financing through a private person or a company ?? Either way I would get in touch..again..with them. Especially, if it is a private person. I would be afraid that a private person might be in trouble with their mortagae company. Check into it further. For piece of mind if nothing else. Not to scare you but...my daughter had a lease agreement with buying a home and the owner went bankrupt and lost the house that they were paying on because of the owner not making payments..even though they were current.. Check it out..

Sounds like the land owner isn't paying the mortgage and you might get tossed out on your ear.

I'd call the land owner and see what's going on.

[Harry Chickpea]

Mortgages through major banks are generally shown in county records as a lien on the title of the property. Go to the tax assessor and get the details of the property plat # and check at the courthouse for any liens against the property. I agree with Tonya, and think the owner of record of the property may be banking or using your money and not paying the mortgage he has on the property. If you have any contracts in writing about the property being a lease to buy, bring them down to the tax assessor and courthouse. Chances are they may know where you have to start to protect your interests.

[Bloomer]

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

Mortgages through major banks are generally shown in county records as a lien on the title of the property. Go to the tax assessor and get the details of the property plat # and check at the courthouse for any liens against the property. I agree with Tonya, and think the owner of record of the property may be banking or using your money and not paying the mortgage he has on the property. If you have any contracts in writing about the property being a lease to buy, bring them down to the tax assessor and courthouse. Chances are they may know where you have to start to protect your interests.

Please listen to this advice and the others above. This happened to my sister and BIL before they were married. He was making payments on time through a so called lease purchase on a home they were going to live in after the wedding. The owner (a relative on his side of the family) was not paying the mortgage company, and the house was foreclosed on, forcing him to move and look for an apartment to rent.

Bloomer

[Wolf mom]

Yuppers - call the landlord/homeowner. This does sound like he may not be paying the mortgage. Ask him to show you a current mortgage status sheet from the mortgage company. Due to privacy issues, you can't do anything with them so going to the county won't do much good.

If he is going into foreclosure, talk to him, find out how much is due - see if he can sign a quick claim deed over to you if the mortgage company is willing. The benefit to him is that it will help save whats left of his credit. That's your leverage.

I bought a nice rental that way

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Kathleen in AR

We are purchasing this place on a lease-purchase. We have a year to get regular financing.

I said, "but you can take pictures of my house without my permission?!" He stated he didn't need my permission, got in his truck and tore out of the driveway.

Your thoughts?

Yea, that doesn't look good.

It is not 'your house', it belongs to the fella you are making payments/rent to.

If he goes bad on the property, your payments will be viewed as rent, and end of that story.

Hope it's not all that bad, but certainly something to check out!

--->Paul

[Kathleen in WI]

The lease-purchase is through a company that buys houses and sells them this way. They have numerous properties and have been in business a long time, but that doesn't mean they aren't having financial issues (like everyone else is right now).

I did ask them what was going on and they told me what I posted above. "the account on your home is current so there is no need to worry about a foreclosure. The only thing I can think of is this is something that they routinely do just to keep up to date with the homes that are financed through them." How do I know if he is lying or not?

I did check the county records online. All I am finding is a warranty deed with some guy I have never heard of as the grantor and the company I am buying from as the grantee. Not that I even have a clue what that means.

I don't know if I should take his word that everything is fine and make my payments as usual, or assume he is lying and bail as soon as I find another place.

The kicker is, all of my money got us here. I have nothing else. It took longer than we expected for husband to find work so we are really struggling to just keep our heads above water right now. Moving is not going to help that situation much.

It's hard for me to call anyone. I am way out in the boonies with only a cell phone that gets lousy signal. I've taken to telling people I don't have a phone because no one can hear me on the phone anyhow. I also have no vehicle all day (and don't drive anyhow).

I will email them back and question further. However, I don't expect he will change his story whether it is true or not. Going into panic mode...

[wy_white_wolf]

...Yesterday a guy drove into my driveway (with his dog!) and started taking pictures of my house....

Not sure about CO but in WY he would need your permission to enter your property to take the pictures. He could legally take them from public property but not a private driveway.

If he shows back up get the plate number before talking/confronting to him. I learned to do the with anyone I don't know who's on my property. You'd be surprized how people act when you pull a pocket notebook out and start writing everything down.
.

[SirDude]

First, I would keep an eye on the county clerks records, make sure noting new pop's up.

Second, to give you a little piece of mind, once my landlord was re-financing the unit I was living in, and he didn't tell me, one day this guy showed up at my door taking pictures of the outside of my house and when I stepped out all he was allowed to tell me is "he was from the bank and that there was nothing to worry about." I called my landlords and they explained that they were just doing a re-fi and nothing to worry about.

Chase is a funny company, and lately they are doing even weirder stuff. I had a business credit account with them, and was current, nothing had changed, but they went around closing a large number of accounts, at least here in FL. That leave businesses without the credit limits they thought they had, and were counting on.

So in your case, Chase might just be going around checking to see if the property is as listed on their books. And since you said you lease-bought from a company who buys houses and then flips them *fast* they may have bought this place off of an owner who was heading for hard-times, but who didn't have a foreclosure started yet. So no paperwork in thru the clerks office, but maybe he has been 10 days late every month for the last year or something, anything to set up a red-flag at Chase.

Keep in mind, with all that's been going on with the credit market, someone coughs wrong and creditors are looking at how they can prevent from getting stuck with holding the bag.

Last piece of advice, since you said you are not working and your husband just found work, I would call the Colorado State Bar Association (not to be confused with the Honky-Tonk Bar Association ) and see if you can get some free legal advice for people with low in-comes / unemployed. 30 minutes of a lawyer's time is priceless when it's working for you.

Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out.

SirDude

PS, welcome to Colorado. (haven't made my move yet)

[FarmersDaughter]

Originally Posted by Wolf mom

Due to privacy issues, you can't do anything with them so going to the county won't do much good.

Actually, county records are public and will show if the foreclosure process has started on the property. I look up county property records all the time and they show liens, foreclosures, and anything else affecting the property (mortgages, easements, etc.). If you don't know how to look up the property yourself, one of the county records employees can help you.

[Kathleen in WI]

Sorry, I was unclear SirDude. I am working. I work from home. I don't drive (I have a DL but I don't drive--I have panic attacks when I drive). But it takes both of our incomes to make it. While it is cheaper here than in the Keys where we moved from, this is still a fairly expensive place to live. I love it here though (even with the insane wind!) and it will kill me if we have to leave.

I have dreamed of land in the country since I as a little girl ( a LONG time ago ) and I thought this was going to be my dream come true. I hope it isn't going to turn into a nightmare.

If I call Chase and ask what the status is on this place without requesting specific account information, do you think they will tell me anything. I wish I could email them. My phone is pretty worthless so I don't know if it's worth the aggravation of trying.

[chewie]

when/if this fella, or anyone for that matter, shows up like this (and i dont' know bout you but i get a sense of oddness from the second they pull up!) i bring my digital camera and snap a shot asap. that is proof they were there, and i snap of the plates on the car. THEN talk.

you'd better be doing some homework tho., this is odd.

i came home a couple years ago to a guy wandering my yard, snapping photos. he says hi, i'm gonna take some pix over here, there, etc. i say, uh, ok (not my ranch, we managed it and lived there and odd visits weren't unusal) then i ask but why are you doing that?? oh! says the man, i'm the realtor and have just listed it for -owners name-. we had no idea.

[fransean]

He might have been a home inspector. Those positions are advertised frequently on craigslist. They do go around taking pictures and measuring property for mortgage companies - generally for those that are foreclosing.

Unfortunately, as you are not the property owner on record he may not owe you an explanation.

[texican]

Sorry for your troubles... sounds like you've gotten some good advice so far.

Someone drives up and won't tell you who they are? If they leave the vehicle, let the air out of their tires... either through the air valve, or make a new one. I've found vehicles parked on my place, with no humans nearby. I let the air out of the tires... when they come back, they get to answer some questions... Answer, and I air the tires... don't, and I call the Sheriff for trespass...

If you don't have a warranty deed, with your name on it, all you have is faith and trust and a big old sand castle... If you know this person and trust your life to them, it's not a problem. Some random person? Ouch! Pig in a Poke comes to mind. Hopefully you haven't put everything down without some paperwork, and alas, maybe even a title agent or lawyer to guarantee there is no fraud. Saving several hundred bucks on title sometimes comes back and bites you.

[Kringees Mom]

I would check with the Dept. of Real Estate for your state. Check to see if these folks are licensed realtors, and if there have been any complaints. I would definitely speak to an attorney as well. You may want to renegotiate your lease option and just lease for a time, depending on what portion of your lease payment is going towards the purchase. If the property is foreclosed on, contact the bank ASAP and see if you can work out a deal with them directly. Banks love to turn foreclosures as soon as they can, and there's a chance you can get a good deal. Good luck to you.

[rancher1913]

same thing happened to me awhile back. found out a few weeks later the mortagage company had screwed up with their accounting and overnight I owed them 40 thousand dollars that was past due and they were starting the forclosure process. somebody somewhere is fixing to screw you--get a lawyer and quick.

[lisa's garden]

Yes, you need to hire a real estate lawyer. They will have more info about a situation like this. And your lease to own situation should be all written up in a contract. To enter a deal like this without a contract puts you in a powerless situation. Check the public records too...someone said you can get this info and they are right. All of this info has to be made public and one of the employees at city hall or the county records office will help you.

Also, check the Better Business Bureau to see if there is any record on the company that is handling the real estate.

Sounds fishy to me too. Yes, it could be for a re-finance or insurance quote or something like that and there is nothing to worry about. But if you don't have a contract, they can take your money and say that you were renting. And yes, it is possible that there could be a foreclosure in the process. Protect yourself, find all of your records about the cash you have paid into this, any paperwork at all and keep it in a fire proof box.

Let us know what happens.