VTDIGGER.ORG
Tropical Storm Irene upended houses, personal property and lives in Vermont. The natural disaster, which destroyed more than 700 homes and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to state and local roads, also led to unprecedented legal questions.
Vermonters, in some cases, not only lost their belongings and homes, but also their land. Should towns redraw property boundaries in situations where a former dooryard has been reduced to river bed?
Other residents faced the sure knowledge that they would never repay hundreds of thousands of dollars on mortgages for properties that no longer exist. In rare instances, victims of the raging floodwaters faced both stark realities. What, if anything, can banks and municipalities do if residents walk away from their mortgage obligations?
Meanwhile, mobile home owners are unable to take on more debt because their housing devalues quickly over time and they don’t have asset capacity.
Though the state’s community banks have been quick to respond, certain out-of-state banks, namely Bank of America, have not been as generous with property owners’ who face foreclosure, according to Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell …
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