All Forum Posts by: Jen Kapela

We have explored all our options regarding staying in the house (and we have thousands of dollars in attorneys bills to show for it!) Because we have a month to month lease and the homeowner gave us a written 30 days notice, we don't have any choice. Even though he is 2 years behind in his mortgage payments he still owns the house and has legal right to kick us out. And if we are not out by May 1st he can start the eviction process, and have us before a Judge in 10 days and possibly out in 12. Plus, we do not want to have an eviction on our record because of this guy.

In Castle Rock, CO the trustee sale properties are posted on line every Monday afternoon with starting bids for the sale on Wednesday. I know the public trustee at the court house very well, and she tells me that the bank tells the attorney when the property will go to sale, and what the starting bid will be. I have contacted the banks attorney and they have nothing to tell me other than they are waiting for MetLife to tell them when to send the property to sale.
So really, it is all dependent on when Metlife will Finally send the property to sale- and the date is scheduled for May 11th- but as I have said, the homeowner knows every trick in the book to postpone it.

Thank again to everyone for their posts.

Jeff, you make a great point- we are mixing a business deal with our home life, so the emotional component is very high- not the same as an investment. Lesson learned.

Bill (Financexaminer) you really had a great point that I am going to pursue. We have made repairs to the property, done routine maintenance and upkeep that would normally be paid by the landlord. We are going to look in to submitting a bill to the owner for these expenses and if he does not pay we like the idea of putting a lien on his property. Great idea- it is legal, it is an honest action and if it causes this guys some aggravation than GREAT!
Today the negotiator at MetLife should receive my FedEx packet with my letter stating the facts, copies of all the cancelled rent checks, and all the e-mail correspondences from the homeowner stating we should submit "bogus offers to the bank." Should be interesting to see what happens- 95% sure the negotiator will not read it or care, but if there is a 5% chance of someone listening to me I will take it!
Thanks again to a great group of very intelligent & savvy individuals!!

Hi Chris- thanks for your question. In fact it has been a question asked by many of our family members, neighbors and friends. My response to why we keep paying rent to this guys is because it is the right thing to do. We entered in to an agreement with the homeowner to rent his property while we tried to purchase it. Just because he has low morals and ethics, would lie, commit fraud and not pay his obligations and debts, it does not mean that we in turn should do the same. We are living in a home and never has it crossed our mind to try and live here rent-free, even though we probably could do it and get away with it.
Our example to our 3 sons is to be honest, conduct yourself with integrity, fight for what is right, and never stoop to the level of someone like this homeowner. We will always be able to look back and say we handled this situation with class and integrity.

Thanks to everyone who has replied back to my plea!! I believe Laura and Smitnlit are correct- there is really nothing I can do except wait for the property to go to foreclosure and purchase it then... which is what we have been waiting to do for the last 7 months! (We are cash buyers and feel very confident that we could get the property at the public trustee auction.) The problem for us has been that the home owner is still trying to short sale the property and will no longer rent to us and we need to move out by April 30th. The next foreclosure date is May 11th - so theoretically we would move all our things out of the house for 11 days, store all our furniture & belongings somewhere, and then move back in once we purchased the home at the foreclosure sale. UGGG.... with 3 children this is less than ideal.
But there is no guarantee that the house will actually go to sale on May 11th, because the home owner and his "short sale specialist" are so slimy and unethical they know every trick in the book to postpone the foreclosure date. The sale date has been postponed now for over a year.
So my last ditch effort has been to FINALLY track down the negotiator on the account at MetLife and on Friday I FedExed him a packet with a letter telling him about us renting the property for the last 10 months, copies of all the cancelled checks, and all the copies of e-mail correspondences from the owner and his SS specialist asking us to submit "bogus offers in order to string the bank along" and keep house from going to foreclosure (which of course we never did.)
My husband and our attorney said I was wasting my time because no one at the bank cares- but it was worth my time because someone should care that this guy is collecting money for rent and not paying his mortgage, as well as the fact that he is submitting bogus short sale offers in order to postpone his foreclosure.
Maybe my letter and e-mail correspondences will actually reach someone who gives a damn about what is right! I can always hope!!! :) Thanks again!

I am really hoping that the professional real estate experts (or even just really smart people) in this forum can help me!!
I have been trying to purchase a short sale property in Colorado for almost 10 months now and I have been renting the property from the owner this entire time- over $14,000 has been paid to the property owner while we have been waiting for this short sale to be approved.
A very long story short, it is now apparent to us that the home owner has not submitted our short sale offer because he has enjoyed collecting our rent every month. He is now giving us 2 weeks notice to get out so he can try to short sale the property again and avoid a foreclosure. We have refused to do another short sale with this sleezy guy, just hoping to purchase the property at the foreclosure auction, but the bank keeps extending the sale date and we cannot figure out why?? The home owner has not paid on his mortgage in nearly 2 years!!! but the bank still does not foreclose on him. This guy really knows how to play the system and it is obviously working for him.
We have maintained the property like our own, made repairs, kept it up very well, love our neighbors and have 3 kids in the local school. We do not want to lose this house, but it is no longer possible to work with the home owner to purchase the home. The property is scheduled to go to auction on May 11th, but we need to be moved out of the property by April 30th.
I have tried SOOO hard to get in touch with ANYONE at Metlife who will listen to my story, and look in to this guys situation and care at all about the rent skimming or other fraudulent tactics this guy is doing.
I would love any advice on how to get someone from Metlife to FINALLY send this home to the foreclosure sale or at the very least, how do I get in touch with someone at Metlife and have my situation heard?
Thanks