The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and members of the community gathered in San Francisco’s Bayview district on Sept. 20 to mark the beginning of a campaign to re-occupy the home of Alcides Perla. Perla’s home was sold by Bank of America without his consent over a year ago.
Smiling and waving excitedly, Perla welcomed the crowd of approximately 30 protesters on his driveway with a brief speech. Shortly after, the crowd gathered inside his home and began to clean the formerly abandoned home.
The ACCE is a group dedicated to reclaiming the homes of citizens who experienced foreclosure due to unfair banking practices. The organization encourages citizens to protest their foreclosure and demand that the banks restructure their loans. Some choose to live in their foreclosed residences as a form of protest.
Perla’s story began in May 2012 when he contacted Bank of America hoping to modify his loan after losing his job as a cement mason and carpenter. According to Perla, on July 10 of that year, his home was sold after he was told by the Bank that they were canceling the sale date. Two days later, Bank of America sent him a notice that his loan modification was still under review.
“We’re not seeing justice in any form” said Grace Martinez, an organizer with ACCE.
The home was sold to DMG Asset Management by Bank of America for an undisclosed price. DMG purchases and resells homes through a process called “dual tracking,” in which a bank forecloses and auctions off a home while telling the homeowner that their loan is being modified, according to ACCE.
Dual tracking was made illegal on Jan. 1 of this year under the Homeowner’s Bill of Rights.
Low-income neighborhoods with single-family housing such as the Bayview are easy targets for property resellers who wish to make a quick profit by selling recently foreclosed homes.
“Because you have single-family houses here it’s easier for landlords to evict people because Costa-Hawkins doesn’t allow you to have rent control,” said Sarah Sherburn-Zimmer of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which became effective Jan. 1, 2006, banned rent control for new tenancies in single-family homes.
For those who have lost their homes and don’t know where to turn, housing rights advocates such as the ACCE can be a lifesaver. In the case of Perla, ACCE has so far been able to help him occupy his home until something changes.
“They have tried to help me get the house back, keep me motivated, support me, and tried to get others involved in the case” said Perla.
When asked about what he would do now that he’s back home, Perla added:
“I’m going to keep protesting”.