Paying off your mortgage is perhaps one of the biggest milestones most people hope to achieve in their life. Filmore Brown from Brooklyn felt similarly and had managed to pay off his $800,000 home.
What happened next is shocking. Keep reading to learn more.
Filmore Brown owned his $800,000 in Brooklyn. Recently, the property was foreclosed without his knowledge. According to Brown, the foreclosure was because of an unpaid water bill for $5,000. B
rown revealed that he had been paying his water bills regularly. He initially bought the home in 1996 and paid off the mortgage for it in 2019.
He lives on the top floor of the three-unit building and rents out the lower two apartments. The New York City Department of Finance is claiming that he was sent notices to his home and someone at the property was also handed over court documents stating that an impending foreclosure was in November 2020. However, Brown maintains that he never received any of them.
He maintains that he had no knowledge of the unpaid water bill of $5,057.71, which dated back to 2019.
He also says that he had no idea his home had been put for sale until a group of contractors came to his home in the middle of the night, trying to access the property.
“He said he didn’t know anything about this and I believe him,” Brown’s attorney, Alice Nicholson said.
According to reports from the media, the city of New York had sold Brown’s water debt to a trust which is comprised of a group of investors who wanted to recover money with interest.
The water bill is worth under 1% of the cost of Brown’s home but the trust was still able to foreclose on his property to settle the debt that remain unpaid.
His attorneys argue that Brown paid thousands of dollars in taxes and water bills when the debt went into trust as well.
“He just paid a water bill this year in the thousands of dollars, so it’s just heart-wrenching,” attorney Yolande Nicholson said.
She also explained that when his old bill went to the trust, he was unable to see it on his current bills as the two systems are not connected. She said, “There needs to be some type of notification that there’s another bill out there that needs to be paid.
“There needs to be more done to make sure that these hardworking older people who paid off their mortgage and have fixed incomes don’t get into that kind of rut,” she argued.
Brown is understandably distraught and does not want anyone else to go through what he did. He said, “I cannot eat, I cannot drink, and I cannot sleep.”
The spokesperson for the Department of Finance said, “Our goal is never to see a homeowner lose their property. Last year, we implemented reforms to specifically prevent unfortunate situations like this from happening by giving property owners more time, information, and resources to resolve their debts.”
“For this year’s lien sale, we strengthened our outreach efforts to make sure we reached as many owners as possible, working with non-profit groups and other City agencies to conduct door-to-door visits, direct phone calls, and other targeted communications.”
“Homeowners have several options for resolving their debt with the City, whether it’s related to property taxes, water and sewer charges, or other municipal charges. This includes property tax exemptions for eligible residents, flexible payment plans, and other forms of assistance,” they went on.
“Our priority is to connect property owners with these resources early, so they can protect their homes and avoid the lien sale altogether.”
In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said that it hopes that mortgage lenders will work with homeowners instead of foreclosing on their properties.
However, the new proposal is yet to be finalized. It aims to streamline the process so that borrowers can access communication related to their debt.
“When struggling homeowners can get the help they need without unnecessary obstacles, it is better for borrowers, servicers, and the economy as a whole,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra shared in a statement.
“The CFPB’s proposal would reduce avoidable foreclosures and make the mortgage market more resilient during future crises.”
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