Botched foreclosures: Lenders not the only problem
Lenders weren't the only ones involved in Sidnetta Smith's foreclosure difficulty. Her attorney, Charles Pekor, said a company hired to essentially evict Smith and seize the home failed to follow Georgia law.
After a foreclosure, if a home is not clearly abandoned, the lender is required to go through a legal process known as dispossession, which is similar to eviction, to remove inhabitants. Pekor said a number of his clients who have gone through foreclosure have had their property illegally seized from the premises because lenders failed to follow the law.
"They just back a couple big trucks up to the back door and haul everything off, and people never see their property again," he said.
A spokeswoman for Lender Processing Services, the Jacksonville, Fla., parent company of the repossession firm, declined to comment citing Smith's pending lawsuit.
About the Author
J. Scott Trubey is the senior editor over business, climate and environment coverage at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He previously served as a business reporter for the AJC covering banking, real estate and economic development. He joined the AJC in 2010.
