Action 9: Home sold by bank after it was paid off

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County woman called Action 9 after a bank foreclosed and sold her home even though she had just paid off the mortgage and didn't owe anything.

Goitree Ramprashad lived in fear expecting to be evicted from the Orange County home she's owned since 2001.

“I'm having a nightmare. Many nights, I don't sleep,” said Ramprashad.

What makes Ramprashad's story so unbelievable is she doesn't owe a dime on her mortgage. Documents show she paid the total amount owed, $44,000, by electronic wire to her lender, Bank of America.

But according to court records, three days later at the Clerk of Courts Office, her home was sold to the highest bidder, sold in a foreclosure sale.

“I paid them three days before and they still end up selling the house," she said.

Ramprashad said after her husband died of brain cancer, she fell way behind in payments, but her family found the cash to pay off the loan 72 hours before the foreclosure sale.

They paid but the bank still foreclosed.

“I feel very humiliated by Bank of America,” said Ramprashad, who challenged the sale in court but said the new buyers still threatened eviction.

Action 9 showed the documents to real estate attorney Karen Wonsettler, who said Florida law protects any homeowner facing a foreclosure sale.

“She has the first right to pay that off until the sale starts," said Wonsettler.

After Action 9 contacted Bank of America, a spokesman said the eviction threat had been stopped and it's working with the new buyers to undo the sale and keep Ramprashad in the home she owns.

“And that's a really big thing and thank you so much for Channel 9,” said Ramprashad.

Bank of America told Action 9 the homeowner had wired the money on a Friday night before a Monday morning sale, so it was very last minute and the sale would have been reversed at some point.

WFTV