Locked out in the blizzard

An email from WAMM and the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout tells a dramatic story: In south Minneapolis, during Tuesday night’s blizzard, Leslie Parks arrived home to find the locks changed, leaving them outside in the blizzard. Parks and her mother have been trying to negotiate a way to reverse last May’s foreclosure and stay in their home. According to the press release:

After the start of national call-in week to IndyMac officials, IndyMac informed Leslie, in writing, on November 25 that they were rescinding both the foreclosure and the sheriff’s sale. According to Ms. Parks, “I got an email from IndyMac stating, and I quote, ‘In an effort to work with you and your mother and come to a resolution, we have started the process of rescinding the Trusteed Sale which took place on May 29, 2009.’ They go on to say, and again I quote, ‘You expressed concern that at the end of the redemption period (on Monday November 30, 2009) you and your mother will be evicted from the property. Rest assured, that will not take place due to the rescission of the foreclosure sale.’” …
Bailout lawyers also point out that even IF IndyMac had not come to the table, the next step would be a notice to come to court for eviction proceedings. In no case should the locks be changed. “They did the same thing in May of this year – changed the locks illegally. We had to take them to court and fine them, and we will do it again,” said Deb Konechne, of the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout.

According to Linden Gawboy of the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout, Parks and allies went to court Wednesday morning, and the judge ordered IndyMac to let her back into her house. Negotiations between Parks and IndyMac/OneWest are still on-going, and the next court date is December 16 at 8:30 a.m.

(I tried calling IndyMac to get their version of the story, but no one at their corporate office was authorized to talk about the lockout, or even knew anything about it. They gave me a phone number for “the people they use” for PR — but there was no one answering phones at that office either – only voicemail.)