Tenants In Foreclosed Million $ Home Used As Rooming House Score Moving Cash In Negotiated Settlement With Bank

In San Jose, California, the San Jose Mercury News reports:

• Nine remaining tenants in a foreclosed million-dollar San Jose home have been given until May 1 to move out, under an agreement that also gives them $1,500 each to cover rent deposits and moving expenses.



• The agreement with Bank of America, which foreclosed on the foothills home last November, was filed in San Jose Superior Court Thursday. The bank had no comment. At one point, as many as 15 renters lived in the home, which its former owner continued to rent out after the foreclosure.



• "The tenants did nothing wrong," said Deborah Thrope, a lawyer with the nonprofit Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.(1) "It's not your fault if you move into a house where the person hasn't paid their mortgage," she said. The Law Foundation represented the tenants in negotiations with the bank.



• Neighbors in the upscale neighborhood complained of noise, and San Jose police said they had responded 16 times since September to resolve disputes and disturbances at the house.



• The tenants said the former owner didn't tell them the home was foreclosed. They said they only learned that after moving in and discovering an eviction notice from the bank. Thrope said the foundation frequently receives requests for help from tenants facing eviction due to a foreclosure.

Source: Tenants in foreclosed San Jose home given help with moving expenses.

(1) The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley provides free legal services to residents in Silicon Valley, California, representing clients affected by unfair housing discrimination, educational and parenting teen issues, AIDS, mental or developmental disabilities, or civil injustice.