Truth To Tell (2010-05-26)
Record-breaking foreclosures continue apace across the country – and in Minnesota, but, despite laws designed to help tenants avoid premature eviction, renters are getting taken for a ride by banks and realtors who want them out of their homes and units so the properties can be turned over for a profit much sooner than the law allows. Stay tuned for stories and what could be the fallout from continuing the underwater real estate mess. It’s one thing to foreclose on unemployed or even irresponsible homeowners who have failed to keep their mortgages intact, but renters cannot and should not be held accountable for their landlords’ failure to maintain properties and the payments on them. It’s a mess and one which victimizes the renter over and again for others’ failures and exploitation following foreclosure.
What recovery? TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN talk with a victim and her legal aid attorney.
Thousands of renters are unaware of the law and thus fall victim to corrupt real estate and banking practices.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! A list of links to laws and rules protecting renters from predatory foreclosure practices is HERE.
NEED HELP? Call one of these numbers:
HOME Line: METRO: 612-728-5767 / TOLL FREE: 1-866-866-3546
LEGAL AID of MINNEAPOLIS: 612-332-1441
Also, for more information, click on one of the links below:
• KENNER HARROWAY – Former Foreclosed Tenant
• ERIK WILLIAMSEN – Attorney, The Housing Discrimination Law Project (HDLP) of Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis
• RON ELWOOD – Attorney, Legal Services Advocacy Project (LSAP) of Mid Minnesota Legal Assistance (”Legal Aid”)
• ERIC HAUGE – Lead Tenant Organizer, HOME Line Statewide Tenant Advocacy Organization