Blame the big banks, blame whoever said they were “too big to fail,” or their corporate executives who were “too big to jail.” Blame the crooks on Wall Street who thought sub-prime lending was a good idea, or blame whoever you want—just don’t blame the couples and families who made the financial decisions to purchase property beyond their means. At least, that’s what a recent Utah Judge’s ruling tends to look like to a Salt Lake City real estate lawyer upon reading the headlines reporting that foreclosed-upon residents can’t be chucked out after years of not paying their mortgage.
But before we make snap judgments about who we can and can’t blame, it’s probably better to get a few more facts on the story. In this couple’s case, for example, Fifth District Court Judge Jeffrey Wilcox ruled that “because Bank of America’s foreclosure arm, ReconTrust, did not follow state law in foreclosing on Samuel and Courtney Adamson, they could not be evicted despite their lack of mortgage and tax payments.” This is when your Salt Lake City real estate lawyer leans over and reminds you that not following the rules (i.e. the law) can land you in a pickle.
Sandy Real Estate Attorney Find Further Aftershocks from Market
Bank of America can probably handle this pickle though—it’s wriggled itself out of far sourer and stickier situations before, after all. But what Judge Wilcox’s ruling does do is “further roils the legal waters in Utah” where BoA has been fighting lawsuits over whether it broke Utah law in its foreclosure strategies during the “real estate market meltdown” that began seven years ago. So what actually went down with the Adamsons? After attempting to negotiate a new mortgage when originally foreclosed upon, the couple fought back when BoA attempted to use its own personnel to carry out the foreclosure—something which Utah law stipulates can only be done by a Salt Lake City real estate lawyer (or any Utah attorney, really) or a title company. BoA says it was following the law—the Texas law, where its foreclosure arm is headquartered, and that U.S. bank laws have said that’s okay.
Well, apparently Utah doesn’t agree, when “the Utah Supreme Court ruled that Utah laws and not those of another state govern foreclosures here.” Balking at the ruling, BoA is trying to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court while currently waiting for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to issue a definitive ruling. And in the Adamson’s case, the judge declared the foreclosure sale void because it didn’t comply with the Utah state laws, so the Adamsons can stay. For now, BoA won’t give up so easily; after all, their tenacity in surviving what should have been the biggest bank failure in a century seven years ago shows some grit, even if their survival wasn’t wholly merit-based. In the meantime, though, Samuel and Courtney are among a few Utah families who feel that BoA may be finally being held accountable for some of its unscrupulous manipulation of the law.
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Sandy, Utah
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Sandy
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Sandy City Hall in September, 2009
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Location in Salt Lake County and the state of Utah.
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| Coordinates: 40°34′21″N 111°51′35″WCoordinates: 40°34′21″N 111°51′35″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Salt Lake |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Incorporated | 1893 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Monica Zoltanski[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 24.16 sq mi (62.58 km2) |
| • Land | 24.15 sq mi (62.55 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,450 ft (1,356 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 96,904 |
| • Estimate
(2019)[3]
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96,380 |
| • Density | 3,990.73/sq mi (1,540.84/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| ZIP codes |
84070, 84090-84094
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| Area code(s) | 385, 801 |
| FIPS code | 49-67440[4] |
| Website | www.sandy.utah.gov |
Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population of Sandy was 87,461 at the 2010 census,[5] making it the sixth-largest city in Utah. The population is currently estimated to be about 96,380 according to the July 1, 2019 United States Census estimates.[6]
Sandy is home to the Shops at South Town shopping mall; the Jordan Commons entertainment, office and dining complex; and the Mountain America Exposition Center. It is also the location of the soccer-specific America First Field (formerly known as Rio Tinto Stadium), which hosts Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC home games, and opened on October 8, 2008.
The city is currently developing a walkable and transit-oriented city center called The Cairns. A formal master plan was adopted in January 2017 to accommodate regional growth and outlines developments and related guidelines through the next 25 years, while dividing the city center into distinct villages. The plan emphasizes sustainable living, walkability, human-scaled architecture, environmentally-friendly design, and nature-inspired design while managing population growth and its related challenges.[7]
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