Sarasota Realtor turns to BETTER strategies for helping homeowners avoid foreclosure…after experiencing betrayal first hand.
I learned a damn hard lesson recently.
…at the expense of good people like property owners and landlords Mike & Sandy of Port Charlotte, Florida.
The lesson (tragically) resulted in Mike & Sandy falling into foreclosure…unnecessarily!
What happened to Mike & Sandy should be a wake-up call to any homeowner facing foreclosure and relying on a realtor (or a BUYER that is) to save you from foreclosure.
Click Read More below now for Mike & Sandy’s shocking betrayal when buyers bail AND hold the house hostage.
APPROVED SHORT SALE TURNS IN TO HOSTAGE SITUATION!
Mike & Sandy owned an investment property occupied as tenants (on month-to-month lease) by Kenneth & Adriane Pellegrino, who had been on a lease option.
Tenants’ monthly payment did NOT cover Mike & Sandy”s monthly obligation. For two years, Mike & Sandy drained their savings attempting to pay the mortgage.
Finally, Mike & Sandy no longer could afford the house.
Mike & Sandy informed Ken & Adriane about their inability to make monthly payments
NOTE: Most landlords do NOT inform tenants. Most landlords take all the money they can get from tenants and allow tenants to come home from work one day to an EVICTION notice attached to the front door.
Instead, Mike & Sandy wanted Ken & Adriane to get this house, as the Pellegrinos claimed they wanted.
Perfect solution, right?
That’s what I thought too.
Unfortunately, the Pellegrinos still could bank qualify for a mortgage…even after a couple years:
- Mike & Sandy allowed Kenneth & Adriane Pellegrino did not accept Pellegrino’s monthly rent payments, since they (the owners/landlords) weren’t making the payment. Instead, Mike & Sandy insisted Pellegrino’s put this “rent money” aside for a down payment.
- Ken Pellegrino still needed to satisfy a judgment against him before any mortgage banker would consider his mortgage application. I helped him satisfy the judgment, clearing the path that should have been cleared months earlier.
- Pellegrinos knew the short sale process…that they would continue to enjoy their “home” as I negotiated a short sale. Ken & Adriane were THRILLED to (possibly) get their home at a price much lower than they initially had agreed to pay before the bottom fell out of the real estate market.
I thought the Pellegrinos were “on board.” Boy, did I get a shocker months later when I showed up with good (no, GREAT) news.
Keep in mind, all the while I’m staying in constant contact with Pellegrinos, updating them on the progress.
A Real Shocker….
It was then I received shocking news. Turns out, Pellegrinos were BUYING another house while under contract to purchase Mike & Sandy’s house.
Worse, the Pellegrinos chose to hold Mike & Sandy’s house HOSTAGE, hiring a local Clermont attorney to keep us (me, the realtor, and Mike & Sandy, the property owners) away from the OWNER’S property.
What, hard to believe?
This attorney’s “warning” came separately as an email to me, referencing the property owners as well:
Dear Mr. Payne:
While my formal letter of introduction shall undoubtedly reach you by US mail within the next few days, I would like to take this opportunity via email to inform you that I have been retained by Kenneth and Adriane Pellegrino as legal counsel. I am now attorney of record in the cause of action known as 2008 CC 2387 in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, in and for Lake County (emphasis added).
Please direct all future correspondence and communication, including any attempts at email, to my office. As an agent of the landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Tuell, I charge you with the responsibility of informing them of this communication. Do not attempt to contact my clients directly, or I will ask the judge to hold you or your clients in contempt of court (emphasis added).
Sincerely,
Leigh Tucker,
Attorney for Kenneth and Adriane Pellegrino
2215 Cluster Oak Drive
Suite 1
Clermont, Florida 34711
Telephone (352) 394-3109
Facsimile (352) 394-3109
NOTE: Ms. Tucker NEVER sent her alleged “formal letter of introduction.” Various attorneys suggested the aforementioned “strategy” simply to keep Tenant in house.
Unfortunately, Mike & Sandy did not have the money to evict or to take legal action against Pellegrinos…and various attorneys confirmed this hunch as well.
You see, you can be 100% RIGHT in the eyes of the law, but if a property owner doesn’t have the money to fight injustice it doesn’t seem to matter how RIGHT or WRONG someone is.
Mike, Sandy & I called every attorney in the Orlando area, desperately seeking help. Every single attorney “suggested” the Pellegrinos had violated their contractual obligation.
However, NO attorney would touch the case without Mike & Sandy coughing up (upfront that is) a $15,000-$20,000 retainer!
Every attorney said the same thing: “Anyone facing foreclosure doesn’t have the money to afford to pay us.” Hence, pay upfront or else….
Ken & Adriane Pellegrino rode off into the sunset and into their new home in Clermont…as THEY forced Mike & Sandy into foreclosure.
Sandy is a 25-year TEACHER.
Mike is a county government worker.
Never in my life have I encountered people such as the Pellegrinos. I NEVER could imagine they had in them to force Mike & Sandy into foreclosure by not buying the house as contractually agreed.
Still, it was holding the house hostage that forced Mike & Sandy into foreclosure. Pellegrino’s attorneys prevented access to the house. Even if Mike & Sandy had had the money to evict Pellegrinos, the courts were backed up…and this “attorney” knew it.
If you’re a landlord, I hope you NEVER encounter people like the Pellegrinos.
When tenants appear on TV Nightly News sobbing about getting screwed by a ruthless landlord, I think of Ken & Adriane Pellegrino and how THEY ruthlessly threw Mike & Sandy into foreclosure.
Sarasota Realtor (ME) copes with painful lesson about people and short sales. The traditional ways of trying to help homeowners (like Mike & Sandy) avoid foreclosure don’t work. In a different post, I’ll address the strategies I’m utilizing today. Without doubt, it’s painful to recall Ken & Adriane Pellegrino. How would you like to be in Mike & Sandy’s shoes believing one moment you will avoid foreclosure only to have the likes of Pellegrino hold your house hostage while buying another house (while under contract to buy YOUR house)? Your turn…. What questions, comments or horror stories do you want to share about foreclosure? Scroll down a bit to leave a comment.
