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SOUTH JORDAN -- Close to 50,000 homes face foreclosure in Utah, which often means they're sold at auction.
One South Jordan woman faces that possibility, even though she claims she's trying to pay her bank for the house.
Related:
Bank of America halts foreclosures sales in Utah
Bank of America has halted nearly 1,000 foreclosure sales in Utah because of a court-ordered preliminary injunction.The woman, Andrea Dailey, says her name isn't on the home loan or the deed. It's all in her husband's name, and after he died last year without leaving a will, she's been trying to buy the house from the bank -- but she says the bank won't work with her.
The Salt Lake Board of Realtors says this is just one example of foreclosures that happen all the time.
"I'm a bit stressed out," Dailey said. "I try to take it one day at a time."
More than a year after her husband's death, Dailey is still hoping to get their South Jordan home in her name.
"Since my husband died without a will, I can't technically set up an estate because there's no assets to put in the estate," she said.
Three years ago, she moved to South Jordan while her husband finished his job in California.
The day before closing on their new home the mortgage company went out of business, so her husband scrambled to get a new loan. But she wasn't there to sign papers, so he signed them -- everything in his name.
When he died in March of 2009, she says Bank of America moved to foreclosure even though she's willing to buy it.
"I can just take over the home, fair market value, for what other homes are going for on my street," Dailey said. "I'm willing to do that, and they pretty much said, ‘Nope, we'll see you at auction.'"
"It's in the interest of banks to work with a homeowner," said Dave Anderton with the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. He says foreclosures hurt everyone and are happening more often.
"The people in this neighborhood, everyone loses if they foreclose on her," he said. "The value, what her home will sell for in a foreclosure sale, is going to be a lot less than what she is willing to pay for the home."
Bank of America has halted nearly 1,000 foreclosure sales in Utah because of a court-ordered preliminary injunction. The ruling came as the result of a lawsuit filed by a Utah woman.
Doug Clark with the Foreclosure Boys -- a group that buys foreclosed homes and helps people like Dailey through the process -- says not every foreclosure case should be treated the same."This is someone who legitimately wants to pay for and keep her home," he said. "Logic plays no role in what the banks do."
For now, Dailey is just waiting for the auction.
"My biggest fear is probably that I will get outbid and have a very short time to pack up my things and move out with my kids," she said.
The auction is in a couple of weeks, depending on what a federal judge decides Thursday.
That judge has put a temporary stop to all Bank of America foreclosures in Utah, ruling lenders should have offices in the states they do business in and that homeowners should be able to negotiate with them face to face.
That ruling could become permanent.
A spokesperson with Bank of America told KSL Wednesday they will look into Dailey's case.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
