One foreclosure, dozens of people potentially losing homes

The complex is full of people in fear. Foreclosure paperwork says an auction is scheduled for Jan. 31, and anyone who doesn't own their condo could be forced out two months after that.

On its website, Tuscany Villas is sold as luxury living in one of Fresno's most desirable neighborhoods. In reality, the northwest Fresno condominium complex features sagging roofs, water damage, and a notice of foreclosure on 53 rental homes.

"We had no knowledge this was under foreclosure or in the pipes or else I wouldn't have come this way," said one shocked renter who didn't want to be identified.

He moved to Tuscany Villas one month ago, looking for a quiet place to raise his son and send him to the nearby Clovis schools. Now, he wants someone to make noise about a foreclosure process that started long before he moved in.

"It seems like management would've known that and mentioned that, but I feel like I got stiffed, you know?" he said.

An Orange County company called Tuscany Villas LLC financed the complex in 2006 and sold off more than half of the 120 condos.

A descendant of the company called Tuscany Villas Partners LLC rents out the remaining 53 and those are the homes facing foreclosure.

Meanwhile, the other owners see their investments deteriorating.

"Anything that could be wrong has been wrong, has gone wrong, and nothing ever seems to get fixed," said condo owner Shannon Brown.

Brown says the condos are poorly built, poorly maintained, and poorly managed. There isn't even an office on site any more.

Brown says the worst part is, she's trapped under the weight of her decision to buy.

"I think, just like everybody else that's bought here, if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't," she said.

An Action News reporter talked to James Meehan, who runs Tuscany Villas Partners LLC. Meehan has a lawsuit against the lender, Imperial Capital Bank, scheduled for trial in May.

Meehan claims the bank is just using the foreclosure process as a scare tactic. He says there won't be any auction on Jan. 31.