(Disabled) Minneapolis man accidentally boarded in his (foreclosed) house

[sabra]

Source: Star Tribune

On May 12, the day the city inspector came to board up his house, Ted Poetsch was eating lunch. After living all of his 53 years at 823 Penn Av. N., Poetsch had an hour left to pack his stuff and get out.

Cane in hand, he lurched around, throwing a few things in bags, putting Kitty in the carrier. He heard the contractor outside starting to drill into the door frame.

Poetsch made his way down his narrow stairway, resigned to the end he had resisted for three years, through personal financial missteps, the false promise of a foreclosure "rescue" and a court victory that gave him short-lived hope.

He came to the door and realized that he was too late. A truck had driven away from the house, prompting those outside to think the tenants were gone. Poetsch had been boarded up inside his house.

City officials say Poetsch had ample warning that they were coming that day, but they say his brief incarceration was an unprecedented mistake. In many ways, Poetsch's experience is emblematic of the forces that have fastened plywood over so much of the North Side and urban neighborhoods across America.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/local/47167767.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUss&loc=interstitialskip

[Vinca]

1. I'm sorry, but this must warrant a lawsuit that would result

in damages enough to get his house back. Boarding a disabled guy up in his house . . . amazing.

[joeglow3]

28. Really?

I feel terrible for the man. The company certainly should have to pay the price. But tens of thousands of dollars for being boarded into a house for a few hours? Seems a bit high.

[marshall]

43. The "company" is Fannie Mae

One of the hallmarks of FDR's New Deal.

[liberalmuse]

2. Jesus Christ.

This is unacceptable. So they'd rather board up a house than allow a disabled man to keep his home somehow? There is something deeply wrong with our society. Not to mention that they should have checked inside the house first before boarding it up.

[47of74]

3. That'd require human compassion

And the leaches that brought about all of this have none of that.

[DBoon]

10. they think "empathy" is a bad word

nt

[aquart]

25. It prevents self-reliance.

Yeah. That's the ticket.

[w4rma]

6. Of course. The banks are 'insured' against foreclosures as long as those insurers are bailed out.

If Geithner and Summers had not bailed out the insurers then those insurance companies would have gone bankrupt and the banks would have no recourse but to work with homeowners.

Because of Obama's economic team, the incentive is to foreclose and take the insurance money while it lasts.

[notadmblnd]

13. It's entirely crazy. No apparent rhyme or reason why banks won't work with people.

I talked to someone who said he worked for my mtg company today. The caller was from India which really pissed me off. I explained to him that I applied for their hardship program in March before I fell behind due to loss of income. I was told then that since I wasn't behind they could do nothing for me. I had no choice but to get behind. In the call today, he told me that I have to pay before I can be eligible for help. I can't get in touch with a live human in their hardship program when I call. It's a complete runaround. It's absolutely insane that they won't work with me to reduce my interest rate and lower my payment, but they'll repossess and sell the home for a fraction of what I owe.

[Kali]

4. god damn

heartbreaking
so fucked up

[superconnected]

20. Agreed!

Poor man. I hope he gets to keep his house, somehow.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Was it boarded up due to foreclosure or because it was unsafe?

From the article:

The city determined that the house was potentially unsafe and that Poetsch was essentially a squatter in the only home he had ever known. Now this North Side neighborhood has one fewer neighbor and one more boarded house.

Or did the city inspector who boarded up the house just come up with that after boarding the man and his kitty inside?

[Soylent Brice]

7. wow, just when you think things can't get any worse. n/t

[superconnected]

21. If you go on other news site -repubs are quick to slam, insult the poor and the homeless.

I don't get it.

I so hope this man gets to keep his house or gets an adequate replacement.

[Soylent Brice]

26. it's another modern day tragedy.

[CreekDog]

8. I wonder if we gave aid to the bank that foreclosed and the city that boarded him in there

:eyes:

[lib2DaBone]

9. The greedy banks will not let even one crumb fall to the homeowners...

Wall Street controls CONgress. Even Maiin Stream Media is not afraid to talk about it openly anymore.

They don't want people to stay in their homes and make payments. They want to steal the homes for pennies on the dollar and re-sell them to consortiums backed by the banks.

[WriteDown]

11. I don't think I've ever seen a post more wrong...

:rofl:

[brentspeak]

17. When you're done rolling around on the floor, chortling...

...care to refute the previous poster?

[WriteDown]

29. I used to work in the mortgage industry...

Mortgage servicers lose their shirts in foreclosures, especially if they are risk-based loans. To think that they make money off foreclosures is simply laughable. Its also easily seen today with how many mortgage servicers have gone under recently or needed bailouts.

[brentspeak]

35. The issue here is the mortgage lender, not the mortgage servicer

Unless the servicer and the lender are one-and-the-same, I don't see why you're bringing up the topic of the servicer. Was the bank involved in this particular case also the servicer?

[WriteDown]

38. Can be one and the same...

but more likely the mortgage was originated at one place and then securitized and sold along with other similar loans to a servicer. Or its sold to an investor who then pays a servicer to maintain the loan. Also, if its the city inspector boarding up the house, then it has nothing to do with the mortgage. They do not work in conjunction.

[LanternWaste]

40. Thanks for the information. very clear, very concise.

Thanks for the information. very clear, very concise.

Possibly the next time this sort of thread appears, one could simply give out that relevant information rather than the alternative used earlier. Just a suggestion is all... as civility is respected as a teacher much more than is discountenance, and allows all involved to keep their sense of honor.

[WriteDown]

41. Sorry...

It was just my initial reaction. Sometimes the distribution of misinformation can provoke that response. Thanks for your suggestion though :).

[superconnected]

22. Really, how is that?

[WriteDown]

30. See post #29. nt

[Kali]

23. WTF?

Did you post the wrong smiley?:wtf:

[WriteDown]

31. See post 29. nt

[iamthebandfanman]

12. *sigh* makes ya wish that new movie"UP"

was factual and that poor guy could just tie a ton of balloons to his house and fly away

[Stellabella]

14. Isn't that just the perfect symbol of this fucked-up country?

We're all screwed.

[avaistheone1]

15. YES!

[EFerrari]

18. No kidding.

[Wednesdays]

16. K&R

:kick:

[New Dawn]

19. Meanwhile, the richest 20% of the US own 85% of the country's wealth.

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

[TheMadMonk]

24. That's not the problem.

It's the 1% owning 2/3 of the wealth.

That leave's 19% owning 19% of the wealth or about what they should. (except of course it's no more evenly distributed amongst them than it is elsewhere.)

And another major part of the problem is the huge number who have negative wealth as a result of chosing to buy discretionary items on credit.

[KamaAina]

27. I thought people with disabilities were only *symbolically* walled in

:grr: :banghead: :argh:

[jmowreader]

32. I'm having a slightly hard time feeling sorry for Poetsch

According to the article, Poetsch couldn't work because of knee and hip problems, but he could make model cars. Well...if you have the dexterity to make model cars, you also have the dexterity to work at 3M making medical devices--and because he'd help them show they were proud supporters of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 3M (or some other medical device manufacturer) would have been happy to hire him. Medical devices are just what came to mind first, but there are quite a few jobs that you do while sitting.

[dmr]

37. We don't know what he can do or not do

It's not always about sitting.

We don't know if he is on pain medications.

We don't know his endurance.

He may be able to build model cars, but we have no idea if he can sit at great lengths of time, or sporadically because the pain and/or pain meds limits his activity and concentration.

Pain is unpredictable. He may have days where he can spend a few hours or only a few minutes at his hobby.

[Javaman]

33. So I was thinking, he lived in the house for 53 years and still had a mortgage?

but then I read further. Medical issues.

how often is this type of story repeated around this nation?

people having to choose between medical bills and trying to exist?

we live in one truly sick society.

single payer now.

[WriteDown]

34. I am also curious what...

a financial misstep is.

"Poetsch made his way down his narrow stairway, resigned to the end he had resisted for three years, through personal financial missteps..."

[xxqqqzme]

36. used the equity in his house to pay medical bills? nt

[WriteDown]

39. Maybe...

but is sounds like the misstep is a separate issue. As I've stated previously, if the city inspector was boarding up the house, this has nothing to do with his mortgage.

[jmowreader]

42. Used the equity to pay for renovations and repairs

According to the article, he took out a home equity loan to put a roof on the house, among other repairs. It doesn't look like he was a profligate spender.