By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/Yuma Sun
Arizonans who lose title to their homes in foreclosure actions are legally entitled to stay while they appeal, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.
In a precedent-setting decision, the judges rejected arguments by a bank that once it gets title to the property it can automatically evict the owners.
Instead, the judges said that title to the property and eviction are two separate legal issues.
More to the point, they ruled that property owners are entitled to the same protections as tenants who appeal an eviction in a landlord-tenant dispute.
The ruling is not a license for those who default on their mortgages to remain indefinitely and without cost. The homeowners seeking to remain have to post a bond.
But an attorney for the couple involved in this case that should equal no more than each month’s market rent. And that, he said, is most likely to be less than the mortgage payments that the owners could not meet.
