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I Forge Iron

Getting down to the wire, may lose the house next week.


BIGGUNDOCTOR

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As some may remember a couple of years ago the the county came in and trashed around $15K of my belongings and took a few cars. Luckily I was able to save the smithing gear and collectible cars, but lost far more due to some lady in the next town over taking offense to my property out in the county. Well, the county got their fines attached to my mortgage payment recently without my knowledge and almost doubled my payment. As such , I was making my normal payment through my bank, and accruing missed payments unknowingly. The mortgage company stopped taking my payments, and will now only take a lump sum which I do not have, and cannot get a loan for due to the foreclosure notification.. I went from excellent credit, so good that when I refinanced, the person who did it thanked me for giving him the easiest one he had ever done, to so low I can't get a $10,000 loan to cover what I don't have in the bank. You would think it wouldn't be hard for someone who brings home a minimum of $4,000 a month. What really sucks is that I have assets- work trucks up for sale, great paying job now, and a few more things , but they are not liquid funds.  Then there are the people I loaned money to keep a roof over their head, and start a business, that now can't help me. Sucks to be the nice guy. The house goes to auction on the 16th, wish me luck on scrounging the funds in time.

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Sounds like an absolutely horrible nightmare of a situation to be stuck in.

Other neighbors and I were being harassed and threatened with fines for our stuff on our property not long ago. (Even had to go to court to beg for an extension on time) luckily was able to do enough to have them ok it. Thankfully the offended nutcase is now gone and replaced with a Good neighbor. We had to hastily move and get rid of stuff to appease the township. Thankfully it's been quiet since the offended offender moved away. 

I really hope and pray you are able to save your property. If there was anything I could physically do I would. 

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Dear BGD,

This advice is probably too late.  I wish I could have had input when you got the junk/inoperable vehicle complaint from the county.  Talk to a lawyer!  You may get lucky and be able to work out some sort of payment schedule.  Yes, I know that many attorneys wouldn't want to mess with this at this late date or would want an unreasonable retainer up front but it is probably worth your time to contact a number of them.  And, yes, I know lots of people think that all lawyers are scum and don't want to deal with them even if it is in their best interests.  Unfortunately, I don't know any practicing Nevada lawyers.

Good luck and you'll be in my prayers.

George

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To add a thought:  Just based on what you stated you may have an opening based on inadequate notice from either the county or the bank.  It would depend on the facts.  If they didn't properly notify you of attaching a portion of your mortgage payment or the bank didn't give you proper arrears notices you can probably reset the clock.  On the other hand, if they did send notices and you didn't open them or ignored them you may be SOL.  It's worth raising this issue with a lawyer.  If nothing else, he or she may be able to play out the clock by making the other side provide proof that you were properly noticed.  I'm not an expert in foreclosures but there have been some federal reforms in recent years that made the banks, etc. follow a very specific notice procedure and provided the debtor with remedies if the proper notice procedure was not followed.  There were a lot of abuses during the housing bust about 10 years ago.

I hope this helps.

G.

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It made me angry to read about what's being done to you, BGD. If people would just tend to their own biscuits, these things wouldn't happen. I was thinking I wish I knew of some legal action you could take, so I'm glad George N.M. has at least some idea to offer you. I hope and pray everything goes in your favor. 

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I second everyone's sentiments - what a horrible nightmare of a situation.

I'll also second George's advice - talk to a lawyer, if anyone can come up with ideas to help you with this problem, it would be a lawyer. It would be money well spent. Especially if you find one who has an introductory meeting is free policy - some do that, and you could get an idea of what can be done and where you stand.

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I remember the issue with removing dead cars but this really sucks. Things keep coming to mind like "Abuse of Process" and "Malicious Abuse of Process". Might have a lawyer look into just who and what the public official in charge is associated with, maybe some conflict of interest at work. 

Just the thought of being ruined by some old biddy or crooked public official really gets my blood up.

Makes me thankful the one BAD neighbor we had moved and the others are nice folk. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Dear Frosty,

Just for legal edification and interest things like "abuse of process" and "malicious prosecution" have to be based on a false premise.  For example, if you really do have a zoning violation (junk, cars, unpermitted building. weeds, etc.) then a complaint or a prosecution isn't malicious no matter how much the neighbor who reported it or the prosecutor might dislike you.  It's like the old legal adage that truth is a defense to defamation (libel or slander).  For example, it isn't defamation to call someone a thief if they have been convicted of that crime.

Sidebar:  In the southern US, as I am informed by my wife (originally from FL), it is not mean or defamation to say any bad thing about someone if you add, "Bless his/her/their heart."  e.g. "He's so dumb that he couldn't pour pee out of a boot if the directions were printed on the heel, bless his heart."

So, it is not improper to report or prosecute someone if there really is a violation.  Actual malice doesn't come into it unless there isn't an actual violation.

My experience with zoning violations (fairly extensive) is that the local government always wants the property owner to take care of the problem themselves.  Actually prosecuting someone is the enforcement action of last resort.  It's the hard heads who won't cooperate that have to have a court come down on them to get compliance.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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Can't argue law with a lawyer, not in my area. I had a different understanding of what may or may  not constitute "abuse of process."

Agreed, the truth is as good a defense as is. 

I'm not looking to argue the issue but here's my thinking for the suggestion. Something very similar happened to us once with the BAD neighbor who left the area. 

Hypothetically: a public servant is or has a relative/friend who deals in real estate. There's an attractive piece of property but the owner isn't interested in selling. However there are potential code violations but like around here the county can't move on them unless there is a complaint. Soooo, someone's Aunt Biddy makes the complaint and the mill begins to turn.

I'm sure this isn't the case but like I said similar happened to us here. Fortunately the BAD neighbor was too stupid not to make threatening phone calls at 3:00 am and leave the threat on the answering machine. She even threatened to impersonate law enforcement. She crashed and burned hard when she made a formal complaint about our dog barking. A livestock guardian dog protecting the goats on a small farm isn't a violation. We're rural your dogs can bark 24/7 over nothing and if it bothers the neighbors they should move. 

I'm just a suspicious kind of guy sometimes. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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The bank has accepted the paperwork I sent in, and the auction date has been pushed out to December. I will be assigned a person at the bank to work this out. 

That phone call yesterday took a huge burden off my mind.

"George N.M. said : My experience with zoning violations (fairly extensive) is that the local government always wants the property owner to take care of the problem themselves.  Actually prosecuting someone is the enforcement action of last resort.  It's the hard heads who won't cooperate that have to have a court come down on them to get compliance. "   Or in my case, one feels so overwhelmed that that they were not able to comply in the time frame given. The county also does not make the process easy, nor do they offer any assistance, just threats of massive fines. My neighbor recently told me that she found out who caused this, and chewed her out for doing so. What made her angry about it is that she lives in the next town down the road. It isn't like I was a bad neighbor, just disorganized, and depressed over some issues back home, so things got a bit messy.  Whenever a neighbor needed a hand, borrow a trailer, or a forklift I was always willing to help out, and never asked for anything in return, like neighbors should do. I am one of those people who will help others out at the drop of a hat, but will rarely ask for help myself. Too independent for my own good at times.

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I'm glad you got some relief.  It's very true the powers that be do not make it easy. They almost try to stymie you at every turn. Giving you the wrong forms, losing paperwork, and just making the process seem like it's shrouded in mystery and not transparent whatsoever. I'm glad you got an extension. I bought a house at 18 and paid for it in full. The neighbors were jealous the town didn't want no longhairs living there and made my life miserable until I finally got so sick of it I sold it at a small loss and moved across the country. 

I'm glad you got an extension

Pnut

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We found out that my Mother had skipped a property tax payment on some family land that had been due around the time of my Father's death. None of us knew anything about it; nobody at the Courthouse told me there was a problem when the property was transferred to me. The first thing we knew was when they told us we had lost title to the property and had a short amount of time to petition to get it back!  The tax payment + late charges + etc was under US$100.  I figured they spent way over that on costs to take it!

We paid and the petition was granted; but now that's on our history. We transferred the property in person at the courthouse; so I know they had the correct address for me too.

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DHarris,  Depending on when that happened a complaint to the OK Supreme Court legal ethics committee or regulator.  That is the sort of thing that gets lawyers disbarred and fined.

BGD:  Glad you got an extension.  If there is anything I can help you with from a couple of states away let me know.  I can talk their talk and tell you what "magic words" to use.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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