Miscellaneous

The Face of Foreclosure

By Anne Skove, Esq.

We love connecting the dots from a wider societal or economic phenomenon to a narrower court result. Foreclosures, although blightful in so many ways, provide a good opportunity for this exercise...and, like Bill Cosby used to say "if you're not careful, you might just learn something."

We leave the whys of the foreclosure bubble to the experts. From a court perspective, these sad cases spread like weeds and bedbugs across various sections of the court-o-sphere:

• Mental health: 90-year-old Addie Polk of Akron shot herself on her front porch when authorities came to foreclose on her home. She and her late husband bought the house in the early 70s. We hear that people touched by this story are helping her through the mess, and she will keep the house after all. Let's hope the mental health needs of this woman (and others like her) are taken care of, lest they end up like the family in L.A. who fell victim to their distraught jobless father's gun before he killed himself. See Akron Woman, 90, Facing Foreclosure, Shoots Self, Beacon Journal (October 2, 2008); Greed, Unethical Lending Practices Can Be a Dangerous Mix, David Giffels, Beacon Journal (October 4, 2008); and L.A. Man Kills Family, Himself over Financial Woes, Reuters (October 6, 2008).


• Criminal (and again with the mental health): You get what you pay for! An Ohio couple who bought a foreclosed home found that the deal wasn't so simple after all. The former owner stalked and threatened them. What they might have spent on improvements, they spent on security. After 8 (!) years of being stalked and menaced, they moved to a rental home. See Couple Say Home's Ex-Owner Tried to Scare Them Out, Matt Reed, AP (September 28 2008).


• Family and neighborhood relationships: Even when there is no disgruntled owner in sight, foreclosed homes can strain relationships. Our local news recently ran a story about a vacant house. The weeds and vermin from that house are encroaching upon the occupied yard and house next door. The woman who owns the encroached-upon house spends an inordinate amount of time and money battling blight. She said "I can either pay my bills or buy bug spray." She indicated that the situation is causing marital stress in her own family. This would make a great case for environmental court or community mediation, if only a responsible party could be found.

Foreclosure ripples are all around us. f/k/a can put that in a haiku. Court administrators can put the information to good use when planning, budgeting, and staffing.

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on October 06, 2008 (boomark / email).