Living Word says it has ‘no interest’ in listed foreclosure property
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 2:20 pm
- 6 Comments
Despite being named by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Living Word Christian Center, though public relations firm Rotenberg Associates LLC, says that the church did not own property listed as being sold in a sheriff’s foreclosure sale on July 28.
“Unfortunately you didn’t have information before you went to press with your story which is important,” said Amy Rotenberg on Tuesday. “Living Word Christian Center actually sold that property to another entity and has had no continuing interest in it since 2006.”
She said that TCF Bank had released LWCC from the mortgage at that time.
The Minnesota Independent checked with Hennepin County officials on Monday for information about the sheriff’s office foreclosure notice, which lists LWCC as the holder of the defaulted mortgage.
Lisa Kiava, public information office for the sheriff’s office, said, “The document listed online is the extent of the information that the sheriff’s office has. We don’t have any addition information than what you see online.”
Rotenberg passed along a document dated June 15, 2010 (PDF), that describes a transaction in 2005 with HMW-Brooklyn LLC.
She told CityPages this morning that the Hennepin County listing was “misleading.”
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Comment posted August 25, 2010 @ 8:34 am
Apparently, LWCC is of the mind that it can assume a public profile by endorsing a controversial and divisive public official like Bachmann but avoid such publicity when it doesn’t suit its or Michele Bachmann’s purposes. Like it or not, this church is forever tied to the fortunes of Bachmann and vice versa.
Given the antics of this free lance pastor who seems to like the fringe benefits of shepherding a prosperous flock, the property transactions here bear close scrutiny. Okay, so Hoyt Property or HMW, LLC or whatever assumed the mortgage and “forgot” to record the title transfer. Then it defaulted on the mortgage. TCF ends up holding the bag. That seems fishy to me.
This story needs more information. What kind of property is this? Was this an “arm’s length transaction? or was this transfer and assumption of the mortgage a gift by one of LWCC’s members? What’s going on here?
Comment posted August 25, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
The Hennepin County listing may or may not be “misleading”, but it IS official. If LWCC did not make sure that the title transferred correctly, that is their fault – IF you take things like personal responsibility and moral hazard seriously.
Comment posted August 25, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
It appears that Amy Rotenberg is trying to say that HMW-Brooklyn LLC assumed the loan. The problem is that if the loan goes into default then Living Word Christian Center is held responsible unless there is there is a release written into the contract at the time of the assumption. Apparently Rotenberg did not release such documentation. Is Rotenberg also saying that a large REIT, Hoyt properties (HMW’s parent), did not do the due diligence in recording this transaction? Or that Hammond’s church did not do the due diligence? Why wasn’t this apparent transaction recorded? Something fishy here. Smells a lot like mortgage fraud. Has the FBI checked into this as they are the Fed’s that go after mortgage fraud?
Comment posted September 14, 2010 @ 9:56 am
http://finance-commerce.com/2010/09/hoyt-property-in-foreclosure/
Read 14th Paragraph.
Hoyt’s group bought its site from the Brooklyn Park-based Living Word Christian Center in 2006. The church had planned to build a new campus on the site, but the project never moved forward.
Comment posted October 12, 2010 @ 7:21 pm
Is Fox News fair and balanced?
Is the Minnesota Independent really independent?
Is Andy Birkey really a journalist?
I think we all know the answer to these questions.
Aren’t real journalists expected to find at least two independent sources before going to press?
I don’t see anybody here that is seeking truth.
If you want the truth, read the September 7 article at the Finance & Commerce site.
“Hoyt property in foreclosure.”
Pingback posted January 2, 2011 @ 2:51 pm
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