Can a mortgage company change the locks on your

[Rick F]

house if you are not in foreclosure? We live in Indiana, and have a rental property that is between renters right now. Our mortgage company, American Service Company, sent out a property preservation service rep. to the house, and the inspector incorrectly assumed we had abandoned the house. Then they proceeded to break into the house and changed the locks. One of the doors was damaged, and won't even latch now, let alone lock, so our house is not secure now. Do we have a legal leg to stand on by taking these people to court? We are behind in our payments, but have not received any papers on foreclosure or any kind of eviction notices. The mortgage company claims that it can do what it wants with the property because the inspector reported that it was unoccupied. This same inspector ransacked the house and garage before changing the locks and damaging the door.
We called the mortgage company and complained about this. They basicaly said,"Not our problem, call the property preservation service we hired."

[winningmoves]

No legal advice, but if your loan was set for investment property and the utilites were on someone may have jumped a bit to quickly. On the other hand if the records indicate the home as a primary residence and appeared abandoned, you could have another issue to work out. Laws in your state may be differant from mine. Since I am a Realtor not an Attorney and not in your state my first suggestion is to contact a local real estate Attorney to see if you have a case.

[877YouKeep]

anytime a house is in default it is the responsibility of the servicer to check at least every 30 days and if a property is abandoned they are required to secure the property to protect their asset. Not sure your deal with property and preservation but as far as the servicer they are only responsible for the asset to the investor. If they did not secure the property they would be in breach of the contract and possibly have to buy the house from the investor.

[Becca/FL]

Do you know the name of the property preservation company or the inspector? If so, I would file a complaint with the company/inspector and demand that they provide you with the name of their E&O and/or general liability insurer. Then, file a claim against the Co./individual. Much cheaper than an atty.

[877YouKeep]

seems like great advice Becca thanks