Be Wary When Selling Your Tampa Bay Home as a Foreclosure

Thursday, December 23, 2010

by Nathan Bangs

Be Wary When Selling Your Tampa Bay Home as a Foreclosure

If the sale of your Tampa Bay home as a foreclosure is pending, you will want to be aware of a few suspicious practices that are being investigated in the area. The Florida attorney general is launching an investigation into two companies that are accused of handing foreclosure notices to homeowners that contain some inconsistencies. Some of the Tampa Bay home foreclosures have been filed after the process servers said they handed the summonses to defendants. However, in one instance, a couple was in another state and a house sitter said no one delivered papers to the house.

One of the processing services being investigated has been the recipient of complaints that many of the documents filed were back-dated and various other complaints. There are questions about the billing on the documents and general slipshod business practices are also being investigated.

The problem has escalated to the point it has a nickname, Sewer Service. It is being alleged that the foreclosure notices are being tossed into the sewer and the servers are then claiming to have personally given them to the homeowner. A newspaper story published last month questioned one company’s ties to other law firms that are known for their suspect methods when it comes to foreclosures. Tampa Bay home owners should be aware of the companies that are being investigated.

One of the largest processing services being investigated on slipshod practices is Tampa’s ProVest LLC. Another is Gissen & Zawyer Process Service Inc. of Miami. The Florida Sun-Sentinel ran stories on the companies after complaints were filed by lawyer for Tampa Bay home owners. Gissen & Zawyer has many employees and those who contract from the company to serve summonses. ProVest hires independent contractors for the purpose of serving the papers.

A spokesperson for ProVest said the company was cooperating with the investigation into the claims of whether or not foreclosure notifications were being handled properly. Gissen & Zawyer is being investigated for several complaints by Tampa Bay home owners including questionable billing and back-dating documents.

If your Tampa Bay home is in danger of foreclosure, you should discuss all dealings with your Tampa Bay realtor. Protecting yourself from the questionable methods that are allegedly being used by process servers is paramount.