We’ve covered this before, the banks can’t press charges, the D.A. can’t charge them, it’s entirely legal and they had every right to sledge the granite and say that they did it on purpose because they were mad, even though they had a loan and no equity, it was their’s, they were on the deed and they owned it. You can also buy a house, decide you hate the appliances, replace them and throw the old ones away without offering to return them to the bank. You know that your entitled to slash your own tires even if you have a loan on the car (rental cars are different, you aren’t the registered owner). California law requires vandalism is committed on the property of another (loans do not change property rights). You also can’t be tried for attempted murder for attempting suicide, murder is another one of those laws that has a pesky clause requiring you do it to another person.
In an devious way, I’m happy it is happening. The reason I am happy is that the banks deserve it and they need to have these images burned into their memory. The lenders permitted the bubble to take place and hopefully they will learn their lesson and not give loans to people with nothing down and no ability to pay. If I were a bank executive I would be making a scrapbook so that in 20 years when someone proposed we reinstate zero down pay option loans to make more profit, we can sit down and have a little history lesson.
