My house was foreclosed and sold to the bank 8/23/12. I moved out but the majority of my household goods and furnishings were still inside. ...

Question

My house was foreclosed and sold to the bank 8/23/12. I moved out but the majority of my household goods and furnishings were still inside. The mortgage company never issued a notice to vacate or serve eviction papers and even tho I had moved out I was in and out of the house on a regular basis, even communicating regularly with them and I told them I would be completely moved out and all my personal property removed by Dec 3rd. I was preparing to hold an estate sale and had just begun to move things out when the bank changed the locks, an incident i did not discover had occurred until this past Thursday morning when i went to the house to conduct last minute preparations for my estate sale (which was to be held yesterday and today). Upon arriving at the house Thursday morning I discovered Every last item of personal property had been removed and taken to a landfill. 17 years worth beautiful furnishings and memories including photos, birth certificates, etc. I am devastated! And wondering what legal right I have to sue for the thousands of dollars worth of furniture that I feel was stolen from me? As I said, they knew I was technically still occupying the house; they did not serve me eviction notice; I was regular contact with the mortgage company and they KNEW And gave consent for me to be there until Dec 3rd. They said that because I had turned off all the utilities and the locks had been changed for 1 week and I did not contact them they considered it abandoned, even tho they said and knew I would be there until dec 3rd. Do I have any recourse? Please help!

Answer

I think you are going to have a difficult time with this. Very likely, the order confirming the sale provided 30 days for possession and you should have taken better steps to cover yourself after that date. You may be able to make something out of the additional communications you had, but the burden to make the case is going to be on you. I generally work with a consumer protection law firm that deals in mortgage servicing violations to evaluate situations like this.