FOLLOWUP: Court fight continues over foreclosed Gatewood house, briefly put up for sale

(WSB photo from August 2nd; house has since been taken off the market)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It’s been almost two years since a high-profile foreclosure fight led to disabled veteran Byron Barton and wife Jean Barton being evicted a second time from the Gatewood house they long owned.

Their fight, it turns out, is not over.

We heard from Byron Barton recently when the house at 6548 41st SW went on the market, listed at $1,299,000.

The listing didn’t last long. Barton said he pointed out to the listing agent that the title would be “clouded”; a court case involving the foreclosure had not been resolved. He told WSB, “I have spent $20,000 in legal fees and waited two years to get my home back.”

The house was taken off the market two and a half weeks later, according to NWMLS records Barton obtained.

The case is still before the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 1, as the Bartons challenge the King County Superior Court ruling in their wrongful-foreclosure lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase, Quality Loan Service, and Triangle Property Development, the house’s current owner of record. The COA heard oral arguments in early June (see the docket here), and a ruling is pending. (As linked from the COA’s website, the Bartons’ brief is here; QLS’s brief is here; Triangle’s brief is here; Chase’s brief is here.)

In September 2015, the COA declined to overturn a separate decision against the Bartons’ challenge related to the eviction, but that ruling (see it here) specifically noted that it is not meant to be a reflection on anything involved with the still-pending wrongful-foreclosure suit.

Triangle bought the house in April 2014 for $646,000, according to King County records, half the recent listing price. In a comment on our first report about the Bartons in 2014, a Triangle representative said they intended to do remodeling/renovation work, not a teardown/rebuild, and city records show they did.

Meantime, Jean Barton is now president of SAFE (Standing Against Foreclosure and Eviction), the housing-justice group that rallied with the Bartons as they challenged the evictions in 2014.

(Added 5:43 pm: We asked Byron Barton where they’re living now; Renton, he replied.)

Seaweed August 17, 2016 (4:03 pm)

JPMorgan and Triangle should be licking something, and it’s not the Blarney Stone.

RC August 17, 2016 (4:37 pm)

Put up $awant’s money. Oh, wait, if it’s not yours, she’s not willing to spend it.

ktrapp August 17, 2016 (4:37 pm)

It’s disappointing that this is still ongoing. For those who don’t feel like clicking on the links in the article to read the backstory, the family apparently owned the house free and clear, but mortgaged it in 2007 and refinanced it later, for a total of $650,000 in new debt. They then stopped making payments in 2011, and weren’t evicted until 2014. They ignored repeated efforts by the city to be moved somewhere more affordable, where the husband could also receive proper care (he was apparently living in squalid conditions when removed).

While it might be sad that yet another family got into debt way beyond what they could afford to pay back, that doesn’t mean they just get to ignore the substantial amount of money they borrowed and continue to live in that house without paying a cent. It’s not their house anymore, hasn’t been for a while, and they really don’t have any legal standing to claim that it is. They need to let it go, and let another family start a new life there.

weber August 17, 2016 (5:14 pm)

KTRAPP…agree totally. Yes it’s sad they got into debt like a lot of people are in but as you said they refinanced and then decided not to pay back their debt. Sad all the way around but move on…

Joe Dirt August 17, 2016 (8:07 pm)

I agree too.

WS_Dad August 17, 2016 (9:35 pm)

While I certainly have empathy for the Bartons, the above comments are absolutely accurate. If you borrow money, put your house up as collateral, and choose not to pay the money back, foreclosure is an absolute legal recourse for the lender. I appreciate Mr. Barton’s service to the country and his sacrifice. However, that does not exempt him from the responsibilities to which he agreed and mortgaging his home. His ability to repay the debt is certainly something the lender should have established, but it is nonetheless his responsibility to pay the debt which he has legally incurred.

WSRenter August 17, 2016 (9:56 pm)

Agreed they owe the money, but after reading the briefs, they took out a mortgage of $456,500 in 2007. How is that $650k?

gigelsmith August 19, 2016 (1:17 pm)

If he can afford to spend $20,000 in legal fees as per his quote, then why didn’t that money just go toward mortgage payments? It’s hard to have sympathy for this family when I have my own mortgage payments and bills to pay and do so on time every month.

It’s one thing to be late or due to unforseen circumstances have to miss payments and hope to make a deal with your morgage company for help, but to flat out not pay and expect to keep your home? Nobody forced them to take out a mortgage they did so themselves. . .

I call B.S.

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