Video by Bill Sorem, text by Mike McIntee

TheUpTake-

Minneapolis resident Connie Gretsch was bracing to be evicted from her longtime Minneapolis home.

“I had this plan that when they came to take me out of my house that I was going to chain myself to my washer and dryer,” said Gretsch. “And when they would take me away I’d ask them to put the load in the dryer for me.”

Gretsch then laughed at the thought. She could laugh now, because she had discovered the company trying to evict her had no right to do so. Pacifica didn’t own the mortgage on her home.

Hennepin County property tax records show the company hadn’t owned the home since at least May 15 and may have sold the home as early as February (see timeline at right.) Yet lawyers for the company signed documents on June 14, nearly a month after title on the home had changed hands, swearing to the court that the company still owned the home.

The gaffe, once discovered, may have led to the quick dismissal of eviction proceedings against Gretsch. But the case opens a whole host of questions about how foreclosure and eviction cases are handled as well as the incentives some companies have to ignore government rules and foreclose anyhow.

[TheUpTake]

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