Unwitting Homeowner Finds Tenant In Former Home After Signing Away Deed Three Days Before Auction To Outfit Promising Relief From Foreclosure Issues

In Ione, California, news10.net reports:

• A homeowner who tried a creative approach to avoid a foreclosure on his credit report was surprised to see a tenant in his house complaining about the pending auction. "It seems kind of weird," said Phil Scantling, who sold his house in September for $10 to a "walk away" company with the understanding the company would attempt to negotiate a settlement with the lender, GMAC.



• The new owner, Home Advocate Trustees, placed a tenant in the Lake Camanche home in October, three days before an auction notice was posted on the door. Tenant Stephanie Swisher paid more than $1,200 to Home Advocate Trustees for a deposit and pro-rated October rent, and contacted News10 because she was worried the foreclosure auction would lead to her eviction.



• Scantling saw the story and called to say he had been unable to get any information from Home Advocate Trustees on the status of the negotiations, and was concerned the company was more interested in collecting rent than resolving his mortgage problem.



• "They pitched it as this would pretty much fix your foreclosure issues," Scantling said. According to the company's website, Home Advocate Trustees uses "aggressive legal tactics" to achieve high quality results for sellers.



• Home Advocate Trustees obtains houses from distressed homeowners through its sister website, walkawaytoday.org.

For more, see Foreclosed homeowner surprised to see house on TV.