Deed Theft: Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:
I am a victim of property deed theft. I have a horror story to tell you about my experience.
I am fighting like hell to stay in my property since I have become a victim of this cancer that is illegally forcing black and brown people out of their homes. What needs to be exposed is the terrorism-style tactics that these investors dish out to the homeowner. First, the investor showed up and changed the locks on my exterior doors. He has sent his people into my house all hours of the day and night making noise in the hallways and stomping up and down the stairs. They tried to move their own people to one of the vacant apartments. I shut that down. They have shown up three times now to change the exterior door locks. The next day I always have a locksmith install new locks because their actions are illegal. Any little noise I hear at night or during the day makes me a nervous wreck. I know if I strike out to retaliate, they will have me arrested for assault. Throughout this ordeal, I have tried to remain calm.

How did this happen? When the conventional banks (Chase, Citibank) would not give me a refinance, I was referred to these predatory lenders. I was naïve about how they operated. I learned from this terrible experience that these investors have a “loan to own program”. Once they loan you money when the conventional banks reject your request, these investors do not have any intentions of returning the property, especially my $3.5 million brownstone in Clinton Hill that had so much equity. I had recently been approved by another finance company to repay this investor. The deed theft happened before I could have my refinance closing.
On November 9, 2022, I arrived home late evening and some men were sitting on my stoop. They announced that they were the new owners of my property and showed me paperwork to verify their claim. The men had changed the locks to the exterior doors and had gone through the apartments in the building terrorizing the tenants with the threat of eviction.
I immediately called 911. But, before I could explain the incident to the dispatcher, two policemen, a black and Hispanic officer, appeared out of nowhere on my stoop and stood in front of me. The investor showed the officers the fraudulent paperwork he claimed proved that he was the new owner. I was in such shock and paralyzed that the police were involved, that I did not think to get the names and badge numbers of the officers from Brooklyn’s 88th Precinct. The investor came up to my face and told me that I had 30 days to vacate the premises. He did not present any paperwork from the court to prove I was being evicted. Eight months later, I am still in my property. Recently, on May 31, the investor’s maintenance man took the locks off the vestibule door and left it sitting open. Anyone could have walked into the house off the street.

How did I find out that my house had been sold? Three weeks after experiencing this nightmare, the New York City Department of Finance sent me a letter because I am registered with its property fraud prevention program. The information in the letter noted that “there may have been fraud on your deed.” Once I checked the city records, I found out that my house was sold via a private online auction that these investors conduct among themselves when they want a property. Can you believe that these investors and their attorneys can sell your property in a private auction that nobody knows about? One investor bought my house for $550,000 at this bogus auction and on the same day sold it to another investor for $2.1 million.
There are more horror stories from homeowners whom I have recently met. There have been instances where the homeowner has arrived home only to find that their personal belongings have been thrown in the street.
The community respects Our Time Press. I feel this publication, which is the sword and the lion’s voice of the community, has to become the warrior on the front line to expose this horrific nightmare for many homeowners in Brooklyn,
Sincerely,
Vira Lynn Jones