Houston Family Foreclosed On Through No Fault of Their Own

In the ever-widening foreclosure crisis, stories of families losing their homes from predatory lending practices, free-falling property values and modification scams are legion. But for one Houston couple, the reason for their foreclosure was entirely out of their control.

Brian and Khanklink Pryon purchased their Houston home in 2008 from Wells Fargo, after the previous owner defaulted, according to Fox 26 News. They had never missed a payment on their $700-a-month mortgage. But unknown to them, the title of ownership was never delivered to Wells Fargo because the title company tasked with sending the paperwork went bankrupt shortly after the purchase.

As a result, the couple has been stuck in legal limbo for close to two years, with the bank maintaining that the couple doesn't own the home.

Now Wells Fargo, which still technically owns the property because of the oversight, is attempting to foreclose on the couple. That is, unless they're willing to pay $170,000 to buy the home back -- $30,000 more than the bank had agreed to sell it for in 2008. Pryon claims that the bank has jacked up the price because of purported "late fees."

Unfortunately, the Pryons (pictured at left) are far from the only homeowners fighting a questionable foreclosure. In 2010, Fort Lauderdale homeowner Jason Grodensky was served with foreclosure papers –- on a home he purchased entirely with cash, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. As in the Pryons' case, the confusion started when the deed to Grodensky's home, which was purchased at short sale, ended up in the hands of a government-backed lender.