Reply #70: Ummm, that is NOT legal in California.

[Xithras]

Unless the law is different for banks. I used to own several rentals, and had to evict tenants on more than one occassion. When it happened, I was legally required to move their belongings into storage and hold them for 18 days before disposing of ANYTHING. To obtain their belongings, the evicted tenants simply had to pay the charges for the storage rental (I only had to resort to that once, and I ended up waiving the rental fee and just gave the guy his stuff). I couldn't hold them ransom for the back rent or ANYTHING. If they weren't claimed in 18 days, I had the right to auction or sell the property to cover the debts owed to me.

I was told point blank by my lawyer that if I disposed of a tenants property, the tenant had grounds to sue me for the properties value. If I dumped it into the yard, the tenant merely had to claim that their property was stolen because of my actions, and again could sue me.

I feel for these people though. My sister is going through foreclosure right now, and now how desperate it can be. They let all of their other bills go overdue in a desperate attempt to keep up with their skyrocketing mortgage payment, so now their credit score is shot AND they're still losing the home.

This reinforces something that many financial experts have been saying for a while. DO THE MATH NOW. If your skyrocketing mortgage is not affordable and you will be broke in a few months, you are better off walking away before that happens. You will be MUCH better off financially if you leave the home with money in the bank and otherwise perfect credit, than if you wait and drain your life savings to fight a battle you can't win, destroying your credit in the process. A foreclosure looks very bad on a credit report, but if it's the only negative mark in an otherwise solid credit history, rental owners will typically understand. If you destroy your credit and blow your savings in a pointless attempt to save a home you'll never be able to afford, you're simply making the bank richer and are hurting yourself immensely.