Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Military Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Military Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Show all posts

Sunday, February 13, 2011

DAYHOFF: SCRA Military relief provisions of past offer practical help today

EAGLE ARCHIVE


The dire straits of our local and national economy continues to dominate the news these days. Despite of what our national and state leaders tell us, things are still bad out there for families, especially for the number of people losing their homes to foreclosure.

Locally, the ability to overcome financial challenges may have something to do with the collective history and personality of Carroll County.

When Carroll was formed Jan. 19, 1837, our nation was entering one of the worst depressions in its history.

According to Carol Lee in "Legacy of the Land," by 1843, a local newspaper was carrying "an average of twenty" bankruptcy and foreclosure notices a week.

Today, on a national level, what is even more distressing is the number of foreclosures on the homes of the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is on the increase.

Many news accounts of such shabby treatment of our veterans, by many of our nation's largest financial institutions, has occurred despite the fact that the federal laws related to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act financially protect military personnel. These provisions have been on the books, in one form or another, since the Civil War… http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/5163/military-relief-provisions-past-offer-practical-help-today/


*****

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

The Tentacle - Kevin Dayhoff: Veteran Foreclosures – A National Disgrace http://tinyurl.com/4cuxb78

February 9, 2011

Veteran Foreclosures – A National Disgrace  http://tinyurl.com/4cuxb78
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act (SSCRA) of 1940 was passed into law just prior to World War II to provide certain legal protections for members of the military in such matters as civil actions, foreclosures, and bankruptcy caused by lengthy absences from home while on duty.

Never heard of this law? Well, you are not alone. Apparently some of the nation’s largest financial institutions – that should know the law – have never heard of it, either.

Just last Thursday, The New York Times carried a front-page story involving an Iraq veteran who lost his home through foreclosure.

What is particularly upsetting about the story is that it is alleged that the servicemember had his home taken away from him in violation of a law intended to protect active military personnel from creditors, according to The Times. “(A)gents of Deutsche Bank foreclosed on his small Michigan house, forcing Sergeant Hurley’s wife, Brandie, and her two young children to move out and find shelter elsewhere…”

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have seen our nation utilize a large number of reservists and National Guard men and women in uniform. The deployments have often caused financial hardships, especially when military personnel find themselves trying to make ends meet on military pay that is far less than what they make in their civilian lives.

The New York Times article notes: “Even though some of the nation’s military families have been sending their breadwinners into war zones for almost a decade, some of the nation’s biggest lenders are still fumbling one the basic elements of this law — its foreclosure protections.”

And last week USA Today carried an article by Gregg Zoroya, “20,000 military members, vets faced foreclosure in 2010,” which began with the chilling news that “…veterans, active-duty troops and reservists who took out special government-backed mortgages lost their homes last year — the highest number since 2003.”

According to various disturbing media reports, the “rate of foreclosure filings in 2010 among 163 Zip Codes located near military bases rose 32% over 2008, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure research firm. This compares with a 2010 increase in foreclosures filings nationally of 23% over 2008...  http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4219


The Tentacle - Kevin Dayhoff: Veteran Foreclosures – A National Disgrace  http://tinyurl.com/4cuxb78 
*****

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt

Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt

Capt. Michael Clauer's homeowners' association foreclosed on his family's $300,000 house and sold it for $3,500.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/soldier-iraq-loses-home-homeowners-association-foreclose

Hat Tip:Michael Yon

Fri May. 28, 2010

Michael Clauer is a captain in the Army Reserve who commanded over 100 soldiers in Iraq. But while he was fighting for his country, a different kind of battle was brewing on the home front. Last September, Michael returned to Frisco, Texas, to find that his homeowners' association had foreclosed on his $300,000 house—and sold it for $3,500. This story illustrates the type of legal quagmire that can get out of hand while soldiers are serving abroad and their families are dealing with the stress of their deployment. And fixing the mess isn't easy.

[...]

That was why she missed multiple notices from the Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association informing her that the family owed $800 in dues—and then subsequent notices stating that the HOA was preparing to foreclose on the debt and seize the home.

[...]

At no point did anyone from the HOA—which is, after all, composed of the Clauers' neighbors—appear to have tried to visit May Clauer's house to talk to her about the problem. "The HOA board members...don't live very far from me at all," Michael Clauer says. There were "neighbors owing much more than us [who] were notified in person of pending foreclosures, but my wife only received a few letters." David Schechter of the Dallas/Fort Worth television station WFAA, which first reported this story...

[...]

There are a bevy of laws that are supposed to protect servicemembers from losing their homes or jobs while they're on active duty, including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The homeowners' association's lawyer filed an affidavit wrongly claiming that neither of the Clauers was on active duty, says Barbara Hale, the couple's lawyer...

[...]

Mother Jones UPDATE: UPDATE: Several people have emailed asking how they can help. The Clauers have set up a legal defense fund to help pay for their court battle. You can send checks (made out to Clauer Legal Defense Fund) here:

Clauer Legal Defense Fund

c/o Plains Capital Bank

1629 Hebron Parkway West

Carrollton, TX 75010

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com