Another Foreclosure Screw Up Forces South Florida Family Into Temporary Homelessness

In Homestead, Florida, NBC Miami reports:

• You know times are tough when people are getting kicked out of their house when it’s not even for sale. That’s what happened to Anna Ramirez after she found all of her stuff out on the front lawn of her Homestead home last week and a strange man demanding she get out of his newly purchased house. The eviction came after Ramirez’s home was mistakenly auctioned off to the highest bidder by her bank, Washington Mutual. [...] What's worse is her husband, daughter and grand children were also kicked out by Homestead and Miami-Dade police officers, said Martha Taylor, who witnessed the unexpected eviction.

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• Ramirez and her family had three hours to get out of the house, police ordered. They had to stash their belongings at multiple locations and shacked up with a friend for the night as cops chained the doors of their home.

• With Taylor's help, Ramirez appeared before a judge two days later to explain what happened. "I had all my stuff scattered everywhere," she said. "They did this in front all my neighbors. It was so embarassing." A mistake in the Miami-Dade Clerk's Office appears to be behind the mishap, which landed Ramirez homeless for more than 24 hours.

• The sale was eventually reversed by a Miami-Dade judge, allowing Ramirez to return to her old digs. Ramirez said she wants to sue for the damage to her furniture.(1) Ramirez has lived in the house for three years and recently refinanced the home with the bank.

For the story, see My Bad! Woman's House Mistakenly Auctioned by Bank (A Homestead woman's home was auctioned to the highest bidder).

(1) In a related post where the Nevada Supreme Court approved a court judgment of over $1 million for a homeowner involved in a similar mortgage lender/loan servicer screw up, see Nevada High Court OKs Damage Award To Homeowner Due To Mortgage Company Misidentification Of Home In Foreclosure.

For the Nevada Supreme Court decision, see Countrywide Home Loans v. Thitchener, 192 P.3d 243; 2008 Nev. LEXIS 79; 124 Nev. Adv. Rep. 64 (September 11, 2008).