We all know foreclosures have been a mess for years. Homeowners trying to communicate with their lenders and the loan servicing companies cannot obtain straight answers, submit documents which are lost and must be sent over and over, and are kept in limbo for months if not years.

Two recent newspaper articles give a prime examples of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. As reported in the SunSentinel on December 5, 2010, one home was sold twice. The owner was approved for a short sale and the closing took place. The new owner moved in to the home. However, the bank’s attorney did not cancel the foreclosure sale at the courthouse. Another individual bought the home at the foreclosure sale. (The second purchaser later agreed to vacate the foreclosure sale).

In the December 11, 2010 Miami Herald, an article reprinted from the Palm Beach Post, describes a case in with the homeowner lost ownership of the home in foreclosure. The owner did not know the foreclosure sale had taken place, and had tried to obtain a loan modification. After moving out and losing title, the bank notified the foreclosed homeowner that they had been appoved for a loan modification. It is common practice for the modification process to be ongoing waiting for approval while the attorneys continue with the foreclosure. A chapter 13 bankruptcy is often necessary on an emergency basis because the homeowner has been led to believe that the loan would be or has been modified, but nothing is finalized and the foreclosure sale date is about to take place.