WFTV.com News 

Story

Wrong Home In Foreclosure Due To Deed Error

Posted: 5:08 pm EDT April 22, 2009Updated: 6:25 pm EDT April 22, 2009

A deed error has one family on edge because a bank is foreclosing the wrong home in Kissimmee.

A family's home is in foreclosure and was scheduled to go on the auction block next week, but it's isn't just another foreclosure story, it's a big mistake.

The problem is that a house that should be in foreclosure has the wrong address on its deed. So now, instead of the bank taking the correct house on Estancia Circle (see map) it's foreclosing on a neighbor's home who has nothing to do with it.

Eyewitness News reporter Mary Nguyen managed to get the foreclosure auction delayed. Nguyen told the foreclosure judge about the problem and he has decided to delay the sale of the house.

The property appraiser says it's a big mess and according to their records, six homeowners could have wrong addresses on their deeds.

Hector Ortega bought a Kissimmee condo for his daughter at the height of the market in 2006. However, when the real estate market tanked, so did his income.

Ortega closed his mortgage business and let the condo go into foreclosure, but then he realized there was a problem; the bank is supposed to foreclose on his home, but instead is foreclosing on his neighbor's house.

"It says the address is 1900 Estancia, which I do not own. I do own 1978 Estancia," said Ortega.

According to the property appraiser's website, Hector Ortega does not own 1978 Estancia Circle, his neighbor owns it.

WFTV looked into Ortega's records. The deed to his home has 1978 Estancia Circle, but the lot number belongs to his neighbor's home.

"There's another family that is basically going to be kicked out next week and they have nothing to do with me," he said.

Osceola County property appraiser Katrina Scarborough believes there were two documents with two different lot numbers and somehow the lots were reversed and the current addresses on file are what the courts and bank is using.

The deed needs to be fixed or else the wrong home will be foreclosed on.

"Our hands are tied there is not much we can do we have to go by public record. The owners need to go back to their title company to see how this can get resolved," said Scarborough.

The property appraiser believes other homeowners on Estancia Circle need to look at their deeds because they may have the same problem.
Click Picks
Video Clips
What do you get when you put a man's head on a baby's body and a baby's head on a man's body? It's a 'ManBaby,' possibly the freakiest way to tweak a family photo. View Images ››

Strange News Photos

From brilliant to bizarre, our 99-photo slideshow captures a variety of strange news. Photos are added often. Take A Look!

County-By-County News

Get Hyper-Local On WFTV.com

Visit our County-By-County section for the latest news headlines out of your county. » County-By-County

When you take videos or photos of Central Florida news or weather events, iWitness is your place to upload them. » iWitness

Visit your headquarters for county-by-county news and resources, and a place to share community videos and photos. » 9Central