Here is a map of property owners and their locations.
Let me preface this with the fact that we spend about half the time living in our home in Arizona and about half in Indiana. We left Indiana on or about December 16, 2010 and arrived in Arizona on December 18, 2010. When we left, the house was secure. We had purchased the home from Basset Funding through a realtor on or about November 22, 2011 and had signed a lease on it starting September 28,2010 to date of close. We changed the locks on the house and put a dead bolt of the front door. We paid for the house and property in cash in full. We never even applied for a mortgage.
In early May 2011, a neighbor called and said someone had mowed our yard. Not thinking much of it, I waited a few days and called the neighbor to thank him and send him some money. He had mowed it the previous year so I didn't think a lot of it. When I called him, he said he did NOT mow it. I was kind of puzzled. At about that time, I got a call from a neighbor saying there was a realtor sign on Matt Bijaks property for a day, then it was moved to my lot number four so my neighbor took it down. I looked up the listing on Realtor.com and called the realtor. I found out the bank owned property to the North (lot 7&8) and South (N 1/2 of Lot 6&7) and they were for sale. I told the agent that his sign was posted on my property(on lot 4), and I also told him the listing on the internet was the address for our home and the picture was of our property. I told the agent, Clay Whaley of Landmark Realty that I'd like to make an offer on the land and I did, confirming it by email. I told him I owned a home and land around it and I'd like to purchase the additional 15 acres. Tahara and I submitted an offer. There was another offer, and an acceptance time of 10 days on the market before the bank would award the decision. After the 10th day they asked us to put in our highest and best offer. We did, and were awarded the winning bid.
This is the information we discovered on the ownership of Lot 7&8 to the North and 6 & 7 to the South
LOT 6 & 7
LOT 7 & 8
This is the listing of the bank owned property for sale which shows a picture of my land (east end of lot 4)
On June 2, 2011, I had one of my friends check on the house, he called from his cell phone and said there was a sticker on the door. He took this picture and texted it to me.
We told him to see if the house was secure and he said the door was open. He took some pictures and shot a brief video of the inside of the house. It had been cleaned out. It was a disaster among the mess was a dead duck on the floor.
Recorded Phone call June 2, 2011 I called the realtor and asked him if he had heard of Safeguard Properties, he said he had and they were a bank property preservation company. I told him I thought they had broke into my house and the place was trashed and things missing. There was a sticker on the door. Clay told me that he advised the bank a long time ago that that they did not own the house. I let him know I was filing a police report.
I called Newton County Sheriffs office and ask to have an officer call me so I could file a report.
Recorded Phone call June 2, 2011 4:41pm I called Newton County Sheriffs Dept. 219-474-5661. Deputy Adam Suarez called me back and I explained the situation to him. I told him I wanted to file a report and gave him the information that was posted on the door and the phone number to the real estate agent. He called and spoke with them. He told me to contact Safeguard and file a claim. I told him I wanted to file charges. He said that he thought is was a civil matter. I insisted he write a burglary and theft report.
Recorded Phone call June 2, 2011 Later I spoke with Clay Whaley, the real estate agent and he told me that his dad (Greg Whaley) was in the house on February 18, 2011. He said his dad entered the house and took pictures. His dad told him that the door was open, he did not go upstairs or down stair and that the dishwasher was in the center of the room. He said that his dad said that he didn't feel something was right. He called Butch Cain (Newton Co. Building Inspector 219-285-6080) and talked to him about it. Butch said something to the matter that he knew the owners (as we had sat down with him face to face when we purchased the house.) Butch told him that the bank did not own the house.
Recorded Phone call Deputy Suarez 5:46pm, said I would need to make a legal claim through Safeguard. Person he talked to was Jenny at Safeguard. Deputy said they were there to winterize it at some point in February 2011.
Recorded Phone call June 2, 2011 I contacted Safeguard Properties. I wanted to know who authorized the lock out trash out. They told me Greg Whaley from Landmark Realty. Admittedly, I was very pissed of at Safeguard and I let them know it.
Up until the sheriff called the realtor Clay Whaley, Clay never let on to knowing anything about my house, the lockout, winterizing, vandalism, being left unlocked, etc.
Below is a screen capture of the Newton County GIS showing the address of my home as being 1984 W State Road 10.
I have emailed the realtor and told him to cease using my homes address and photograph of my property on the listing as it is deceptive.
I have reason to believe that the clean out company and realtor have compromised the security of the house and in doing so, allowed other people inside my house under the assumption that the house somehow may have been a part of the property for sale. It shows a mfd/mobile home built in 2004 on the listing from the screen capture below.
I am currently in Arizona and am having a difficult time leaving work to secure and inventory my house in Indiana. I had a friend go there on Saturday and check all the doors to see if they were secure. I wont know if the locks were changed until I send a key or go there myself.
These are the names, addresses, and phone numbers of involved parties that we are aware of:
Landmark Realty Greg(broker) & Clay Whaley, 207 West Washington Street, Rensselaer, IN 47978-2821 (219) 866-8003 http://www.landmarkrealty.us/
Safeguard Properties 216-739-2900
Vericrest Financial
This is the deed to the property we own with the house on it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our contact information is
Gerald Gordon & Tahara Brown
928-427-4653