Oregon couple in their 70s win over $8 million after firms foreclose on home they still lived in

An Oregon couple in their 70s have been awarded more than $8 million after a jury found that companies involved in the foreclosure of their home had committed unlawful trade practices and financial abuse. The couple, Wallace Owen and Barbara Owen, had continued living in the property even after the loan companies claimed they had moved out.According to Exlitem, a legal research platform, the house, located on Skyline Road South in Salem, Oregon, was sold at a foreclosure auction in September 2022.

The sale went ahead even though the couple had not left the property. The buyer, Lantern Gate Properties, later filed a lawsuit seeking to remove them from the house.The dispute began after American Advisors Group (AAG), which serviced the couple's reverse mortgage, claimed in 2021 that they had moved out.

AAG was acting on behalf of Reverse Mortgage Funding, the company that held the mortgage deed. The loan companies treated the claim as a default and began foreclosure proceedings.However, the couple had continued to use the property as their home.