The Recorder’s July 21 article [“Residents push rules to curb equity theft”] regarding home equity reforms in Greenfield was important for several reasons:
For more than a year, we have urged the city to publish an annual report by the tax collector of the number of homes “taken” to public auction, and how much money the city made from each. We are pleased that such a report now has been promised.
Under current state law, chapter 60 section 87, the mayor has the power to direct the tax collector not to take properties to public auction and grab all the surplus equity in the property, but instead to use the “power of sale” process now practiced by banks, which leaves all the excess equity over debt in the hands of the property owner. This could be done tomorrow.
As a result of the May 25 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning home equity theft, cities and towns across the state are going to be approached by victims who had excess equity taken from them, asking for restitution to be made. The mayor suggests she has no “legal path” to return such money to the homeowner, but the reality is the courts will be receiving legal complaints if cities and towns don’t settle with the people they have unconstitutionally taken money from. We hope Greenfield will take the lead to settle such cases and make the victims whole again — avoiding costly litigation.
Joan Marie Jackson, Mitchell Speight and Al Norman
Greenfield