Bank Returns Possession Of Prematurely Padlocked Home In Foreclosure To Ailing Senior Who Spent Winter In Homeless Shelters; Slept In Parked Car Since

In Schaumburg, Illinois, the Daily Herald reports:

• A Schaumburg man who was living in his own yard after being padlocked out of his house during foreclosure proceedings was able to move back inside [last week]. John Wuerffel, 62, [...] was returned access to his home by representatives of HSBC Mortgage Corp., which is handling the foreclosure case on behalf of Freddie Mac.

• HSBC spokesman Neil Brazil said the house was padlocked last fall to protect its value after it appeared to have been abandoned by Wuerffel, who couldn't be found. Wuerffel said he was living out of state when the house was padlocked, and he returned to find it in that way. He spent the winter living in homeless shelters and took to sleeping in one of his several vehicles parked in the driveway when the shelters closed in the spring.

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• Wuerffel said he is supposed to be on medication for bipolar disorder and a heart condition, but that his financial situation has sometimes kept him from affording either one. In fact, Wuerffel said medical bills are to blame for the threatened foreclosure of the home he's owned since 1971.

For more, see Schaumburg man regains access to padlocked home.