Las Vegas Woman Victim of Foreclosure Mistake

Brovane

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2001
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http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11710384#

LAS VEGAS -- A Las Vegas woman says she was the victim of a horrible mistake that left her with an empty condominium and a lot of questions.

Nilly Mauck lived in her condominium for two years and said she never had problem until a series of strange events eventually led to a company coming into her home and throwing away everything she owned.

As Mauck walks around her now empty condo, she can't help but remember how things used to look. Every room in the home is empty and Mauck says the reason is a mistake of address numbers. Her address is 1157, which is right next to 1156, a condo that is in foreclosure.

SLIDESHOW: Pictures from inside the condo before the trash out

A few weeks ago, the foreclosed home was supposed to get locks changed but Mauck says that's not what happened. "I came home to pick up something and there was a note on my door from the Brenkus Team of Keller and Williams Realty stating that they accidentally re-keyed the wrong door," she said.

It was a problem Mauck thought was fixed, until she came home to find a man going into her home. Mauck says everything inside was missing.

She says she later learned her home had been trashed out, a process done to foreclosures where everything left inside is thrown away.

Mauck says she contacted the Brenkus Team. "I said give me $100,000 to $200,000 to replace my things because it will take time and that is being generous. And they said, ‘Ok, that is too much.' She called me that day and told me they were only willing to give me $5,000," she said. "My clothes, my wedding dress, baby pictures, wedding photos, my dishes, my towels, my jewelry, anything you could possibly have in your house. I kept asking them, ‘Where did you take my things because I was ready to go and dumpster dive,' and they had no answer for me."

She is now staying with friends, because she doesn't want to go back to her condo. "I do not feel secure because I know someone has access to my door," she said.

Attorney Michael Joe is a foreclosure specialist with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. He says a mishap similar to this happened six years ago when Countrywide emptied a condo belonging to Gerald and Katrina Thitchener in a mistaken foreclosure. "A number of people were sued. Countrywide ended up paying over $1 million in damages in that case," he said.

Joe says proper legal steps and notifications must be followed when homes go into default.

Mauck admits she is behind on her payments, but that doesn't change the fact they got the wrong house. For now, she is getting an attorney as she learns to live with just the clothes on her back.

Realtor Teri Brenkus with the Brenkus Team could not elaborate on the whereabouts of Mauck's belongings, but says they are doing what they can to resolve the matter.

The company hired to remove everything from the condo is Rob and Renea's Home Preservation. They also had no idea where Mauck's belongings are.


This really sucks. However she is probably looking at a big payday once the lawyers get done. The realtor offered her $5k, what a joke. What I don't understand is that why the police are not involved. Basically they broke into her condo when they had no lawful right to be there and stole all her belongings. Sounds like several felonies where committed by Rob and Renea's Home preservation to me.
 
Dec 10, 2005
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I can't believe they only offered $5000. That's just a slap in the face. She should have called police right when the lock was changed. But that doesn't matter - the foreclosure company should have made sure all its shit was in order before fucking over the wrong person.
 

Brovane

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2001
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$5k is a joke. but so is her $200k

Probably it is more about the items that cannot be replaced like pictures etc. There are some items that cannot be simply replaced with money. However from reading the article somebody else that this happened to got over $1 million judgement against them. I also think it is ridicoulous that nobody knows where her possesions are. If they would have apologized and then made sure that all of her belongings where put back in her house and then would have offered her $5k for disturbing her they probably would have been ok. However if they continue acting like pricks they could wind up with a 7 figure judgement agains them from a court.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
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^

her stuff is probable in their house, friends, and/or the people the threw it away.
If they say where its at then I am guessing they are admitting to haveing stolen items?
 

mav451

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
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Lol wow. They should disclose everyone who was involved and take that settlement money out of all their accounts. Or better yet, throw away all their belongings, change the locks, and claim "oh noes, it was a mistake".
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
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My guess is that the "preservation" company does some shady shit with all the belongings they collect, so that is why they're acting clueless when pressed for answers.

If it were me, I'd sue their asses for several million AND pursue criminal charges as well.
 

CrackRabbit

Lifer
Mar 30, 2001
16,642
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My guess is that the "preservation" company does some shady shit with all the belongings they collect, so that is why they're acting clueless when pressed for answers.

If it were me, I'd sue their asses for several million AND pursue criminal charges as well.

Yep, Pawn, Ebay or Craigslist what you can and haul the rest to the dump.
I sure hope the Realtor and the preservation company have very deep pockets, they are going to need them.
 

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
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$5k is a joke. but so is her $200k

yea 200K is way to low. if i lost all my stuff in my house including our antique furniture and other heirlooms along with family pictures. the foreclosure company, lock smith, moving company and anybody else who had a hand in this would be going out of business. along with me screaming at the DA to press charges for burgerly, grand theft, and robbery.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
yea 200K is way to low. if i lost all my stuff in my house including our antique furniture and other heirlooms along with family pictures. the foreclosure company, lock smith, moving company and anybody else who had a hand in this would be going out of business. along with me screaming at the DA to press charges for burgerly, grand theft, and robbery.


For many I would agree. But her photos show a more very basic life setting. Like wal-mart type stuff and a basic computer etc...

Even then i still lean more toward the 200k then 5k. Just having to take time off, get the stuff setup, change locks, etc... let alone my wife would want to move thinking how "unsafe" we are.
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
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Probably it is more about the items that cannot be replaced like pictures etc. There are some items that cannot be simply replaced with money. However from reading the article somebody else that this happened to got over $1 million judgement against them. I also think it is ridicoulous that nobody knows where her possesions are. If they would have apologized and then made sure that all of her belongings where put back in her house and then would have offered her $5k for disturbing her they probably would have been ok. However if they continue acting like pricks they could wind up with a 7 figure judgement agains them from a court.

Generally, judges don't award damages for lost sentimental value. But who knows.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,703
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This reminds me of that story a while back where they sent a wrecking crew to knock over a guy's house so he could rebuild and they got the wrong address...
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
25,556
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my wife would be 6 figure pissed if they tossed her wedding dress, our albums, and the computers with all the hi res originals on them
I can solve most of your 6-figure problems for $80. Add in a scanner if necessary for the photos not in digital form yet. Put them on the disk and take it to a close relative, friend, or even your drawer at work. Now all you will miss is a wedding dress that will likely just gather dust for the next 50 years. That'll be $100,000 for my advice since it will save you 6 figures worth of items.
 
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Oct 30, 2004
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I hope she gets a big payday and that the perpetrators of this crime are made to suffer large financial damages and the loss of whatever business licenses they have.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
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Yea I don't think $200G's is enough. I might have $25,000 worth of stuff in my house, but if someone tossed my personal stuff, ohhh, I'd want to get paid. If I just lost all my stuff I would be depressed for a long time.
 

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,218
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I can solve most of your 6-figure problems for $80. Add in a scanner if necessary for the photos not in digital form yet. Put them on the disk and take it to a close relative, friend, or even your drawer at work. Now all you will miss is a wedding dress that will likely just gather dust for the next 50 years. That'll be $100,000 for my advice since it will save you 6 figures worth of items.


unneccesary since no one should be evicting me from my own house unlawfully and throwing my shit away.

I have a copy of the photos on DVD in my Firesafe. My parents have a much smaller one so they just have a few photocopies of important documents

not to mention, unless you used a high end taiyo yuden DVD, in 10 years when I might need them, it will probably be unreadible trash anyways.
 

Brovane

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2001
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Reading the comments on the site about the article http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11710384#

It seems that the woman tried to go to LV Metro PD and basically they didn't help her at all. They just thought she was in denial about being forcolosed on so they didn't look into the matter any further. If that is true, that is kind of crappy by the LVPD.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
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Something doesn't smell right here, and not just that realtor re-keyed the wrong door. By law, foreclosures resulting in forced evictions with removal of belongings require that those belonging be put in secured storage for at least 30 days to give the tenant time to retrieve them.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
Reading the comments on the site about the article http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11710384#

It seems that the woman tried to go to LV Metro PD and basically they didn't help her at all. They just thought she was in denial about being forcolosed on so they didn't look into the matter any further. If that is true, that is kind of crappy by the LVPD.

The foreclosure rate is sky high in Nevada the past year or so. So while I'm normally not forgiving of police bureaucracy and apathy, it's kinda tough to blame them in this case.