Vallejo Foreclosures Devastate Owners and Tenants

Posted in Foreclosure, August 18th, 2008 |

James Doering and Muriel Thrower with their infant son Jacob are one of the many enduring shocks as Vallejo foreclosures devastate owners and tenants. They have to give up their rented house in Vallejo as the foreclosures crisis worsens across the nation. The one bed roomed unit with a bath has been foreclosed upon. Thrower has been living here with his family for a year. They regularly paid their rent of $1,000 that was inclusive of utilities but last month the PG&E was shut off. They casually came to know from another tenant that the house was in foreclosure. This house in central Vallejo has been sliced into independent units. Steve and Virginia Kaloczi are the owners. When contacted over the phone they denied as false, rumours about foreclosure. Their contention is that the tenants use this as an excuse to sue when the time comes for them to move on. Taking this chance they stop paying rent.

As per law, even if the house is foreclosed, the owner can collect rent until the unit is sold off at a court auction. This is the case in this particular above mentioned instance. According to David Owen of Quality Loan Services, this particular house is scheduled for auction on 19th August 2008. To this effect Quality Loan Service pasted a trustee sale notice on a prominent site on the building in July as per legal regulations. The bulk of the correspondence regarding foreclosure is mailed to the owner of the foreclosed unit. The process starts off with a default notice. The tenants do not come to learn of the foreclosure until the arrival of the eviction notice.

Virginia Bufkin is a tenant occupying the front portion of the building. She reported to have seen a foreclosure notice on the front gate in June. She gave it to Kaloczi. Another notice was posted the following month of July. Bufkin comments that knowing the situation the Kaloczis took in the tenants. Bufkin has been a tenant since the beginning of this year. Marie Miller, who claimed to be a daughter of the Kaloczis, said that the tenants like the Throwers and Doerings take advantage of the situation and try to cheat on the rent. Upon hearing about the foreclosure from the landlords they started a hue and cry about being thrown out with an infant baby. Their argument is that since mortgage payments are not being made why should they pay rent?