A Phoenix, Arizona woman is taking on two mortgage giants, Bank of America and Fannie Mae, and the case is making its way through federal court. Lilly Washington is representing herself, and seeking ownership of her home and compensation for belongings that were thrown out when her home was wrongfully foreclosed.
Washington was in the middle of a loan modification with Bank of America when her son who is in the military was wounded and sent to a hospital in Germany. She informed the bank that she needed to go be with her son, and BoA assured her in a letter that they were aware of her trip and: "will await your return so that we can finish the loan modification process." She thought everything would be fine until her return.
But just days after leaving, the bank foreclosed, and Fannie Mae took ownership of her home:
Via:
"Everything was empty. Everything. Upstairs, downstairs everything was empty," says Lilly Washington.
Washington was stunned when she returned home and found a "for sale" sign in her yard. She managed to get back into the home and immediately started making calls.
"I said 'where did you put my stuff from the house. Which storage.' They said, 'we don't put in storage, it is at the city dump.'"
Washington had just returned from visiting her wounded son in Germany. She was gone for a month and half. Her son's Purple Heart was thrown away too.
"I said, my gosh how can you take that. He is fighting for this country. And you steal from his home, everything," says Washington.
Washington's church helped her refurnish the home as she wasn't able to recover any of her belongings, and she has been fighting for two years now to regain ownership.
Update after the jump...
This is Lilly Washington on her local news with Monica Sandschafer of LUCHA to discuss her foreclosure. Washington now has LUCHA to help her in her fight as well as a new organization, the Home Defender's League.
Sandschafer said that there have been millions of foreclosures with millions more on the way, and the homeowner's groups seek to stop all foreclosures until the banks can assure that every homeowner will receive due process.
The Home Defender's League is holding a community barbeque to support Lilly Washington at her home at 5 pm at 3805 W. Oregon Ave., in Phoenix, Arizona.
To find out how you can help put an end to fraudulent foreclosures, be sure to check out The Home Defender's League website for information.