Lawsuit Alleges Foreclosure Law Violations by Lender-Hired Company

If you were thrown out of your house pending a foreclosure case, this might interest you:  The Illinois Attorney General recently filed a suit against Safeguard Properties, a large national company that maintains foreclosed properties for lenders.  According to the Illinois Attorney General’s office, more than 200 homeowners have complained that Safeguard Properties wrongfully removed their personal property from their homes, even though the homes had not yet been foreclosed, and even had their utilities shut off.

Moreover, Safeguard Properties supposedly told homeowners they could not continue to live in their homes pending foreclosure.  Under state law, homeowners are allowed to stay in their homes until the foreclosure process is complete.

The suit also alleges that Safeguard told tenants of properties in foreclosure that they must also vacate.  Again, this is a violation of state law, which allows tenants to remain in possession until their lease ends, even if the lease ends after the foreclosure is complete.

Safeguard has announced its intention to defend this suit vigorously.  It remains to be seen what happens!