Deed-Rent Back Scam Adds to Foreclosure Fiasco

Much has been reported in the past year about questionable tactics by mortgage lenders and their attorneys in their efforts to foreclose on homes throughout Florida and the United States, despite the lenders’ inability to prove they owned the loans or otherwise had legal standing to foreclose.  This, in turn, has made short sales and foreclosure sales more difficult because the prospective buyers are unable to obtain title insurance if there is no clear evidence of ownership by the foreclosing lender.

As if the foreclosure situation in Florida wasn’t already fraught with issues of title and proper ownership, an Osceola County, Florida man has compounded the problem by placing himself on more than 100 deeds to foreclosed properties.  According to an article in today’s St. Petersburg Times, the deeds are improper because the man, named Jacob Dyck, convinced homeowners, who were desperate to remain in their home, to sign a deed to the property over to Dyck in exchange for a $2,500 fee and monthly rent.   The problem is that the deeds were signed after final foreclosure judgment had been entered in favor of the lender banks, meaning the homeowners no longer owned the home and had no right to sign the deed to Dyck.  Thus, Dyck has no claim to the properties, yet the effect of filing the bogus deeds continues to cloud title and hinder prospective buyers’ ability to purchase these properties.

The attorneys at PERENICH The Law Firm have more than 20 years of experience representing homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes, whether by the lender or an HOA.  We work to help homeowners remain in their homes by defending the foreclosure and and participating in mediation with the lender.  Depending on the situation, bankruptcy can also allow homeowners to keep their home and reinstate their mortgage.