Whoops! Bank Sells House by Mistake

(MoneyWatch)  If you don't think the foreclosure crisis has reached new proportions, just ask Anna Ramirez.

The poor South Florida woman found that her lender Washington Mutual (now part of Chase) mistakenly sold her house out from under her at auction.

According to an article by Todd Wright of NBC Miami.com, Ramirez came home one day in mid-August to find her stuff scattered all over her front lawn.

The 52-year-old woman, who works as a cook, had fallen behind on her house payments, but had worked out a payment plan in local court, the Associated Press noted.

Only someone forget to tell the new "buyer" of Ramirez's house, who showed up with the police to take possession of "his" property.

A neighbor who witnessed the surprise eviction said that Ramirez and her family -- her husband, her daughter, and her grandchildren -- were told that they had three hours to get out of their own home.

The mistake, apparently, was in the Miami-Dade County clerk's office, and was reversed two days later by a judge.

Ramirez is suing for damage to her furniture.

"It was so embarrasing," Wright's article quoted her as saying. "They did this in front of all my neighbors."

The story relates the woes of the South Florida housing market, since Ramirez's parents had bought the 3-bedroom, 2-bath home for $260,000 in 2006 and the auction buyer had paid just $87,000.

The most ironic part? The town Ramirez lives in is called Homestead.

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