by Jesse Gonzalez
Foreclosure is traumatic — but so is being misled by a system that claims to protect homeowners while offering little more than a performative gesture. A recent opinion piece in The Tennessean warns against a bill that would eliminate the requirement to publish foreclosure notices in newspapers, replacing it with a centralized, online system. Critics say this would reduce transparency and harm vulnerable populations.
But let’s stop pretending that what we have right now is working.
I’ve worked in foreclosure for over 20 years. I was in the field during the Great Recession, contracted by lenders, loss mitigation companies, and government agencies to handle defaulted properties. I knocked on doors. I met homeowners face-to-face. I’ve also seen what happens when homeowners and tenants exploit the system. My perspective is balanced, because it has to be. The current system is broken for everyone involved.
Yes, there’s a strategic benefit for lenders, trustees, and foreclosure law firms when notices aren’t broadcast to the wider public. But there’s also a very real, very understandable reason they support change: they’ve seen the system abused. I’ve personally watched small-time landlords go under because a non-paying tenant exploited squatter laws to delay eviction. The owner couldn’t collect rent, couldn’t cover the mortgage, and eventually lost the property to foreclosure. In many of these cases, the tenant had more rights than the property owner.
We need to acknowledge that not everyone in foreclosure is a victim. Some are, absolutely. And I’ve stood on doorsteps with families in tears, trying to find a way to save their homes. But I’ve also seen people game the system for years. When a system can be manipulated to keep property in limbo while everyone loses, that’s not justice.
Now let’s talk about the so-called transparency argument. The idea that removing newspaper notices will leave communities in the dark assumes that people are reading them in the first place. Let’s be honest: local newspaper readership has been on a steady decline for over two decades. Most people under 50 have never read a classified ad in print. Transparency doesn’t come from putting information somewhere no one looks. That’s not access, it’s optics.
During the housing crash, I was hired by loss mitigation firms to do the one thing that works: talk to people. I was sent directly to the property to determine occupancy, verify identity, assess conditions, and, most importantly, connect the homeowner to options. I gave them contact numbers, loss mitigation packets, even local nonprofit info. I didn’t leave a faceless notice, I left a real conversation. And you know what? It worked. People engaged. They asked questions. Some saved their homes. Others transitioned with dignity.
This kind of outreach isn’t theoretical, it’s already been done. We just need to do it again. Tennessee is full of licensed Realtors and real estate professionals who know their markets, their neighborhoods, and their people. And most of them work on performance-based models, meaning they don’t get paid unless something happens. So why not use them?
Instead of clinging to a print model that no longer serves the public, let’s modernize the outreach process. Here’s what I propose:
• Require mortgage servicers, foreclosure attorneys, or loss mitigation companies to hire a local licensed real estate agent to conduct an in-person occupancy check.
• Mandate at least three physical attempts over the course of seven days.
• Require the agent to post a standardized door hanger or blue-taped notice with contact information.
• Collect timestamped photo documentation of each attempt and submit it as part of the legal record.
This is real outreach. It’s traceable. It’s accountable. And it creates space for meaningful intervention, not just awareness.
The counterargument says public notices give nonprofits, attorneys, and neighbors a chance to intervene. But in practice? That rarely happens. I’ve done hundreds of these cases. Not once did a homeowner find out they were in foreclosure from a newspaper ad. They already knew. The problem was never awareness, it was what came next.
What people need isn’t another line of legalese in a dying newspaper. They need someone who understands property, who can assess their situation, and who can guide them through chaos with clarity and compassion.
If lawmakers are serious about protecting vulnerable homeowners and ensuring a fair process, then don’t stop with an online notice. Go further. Require real, physical outreach from licensed professionals. Build a new standard of transparency that doesn’t rely on 20th-century delivery systems.
Let’s stop pretending that a notice in the paper is doing the job. It’s not. Let’s build a system that doesn’t just inform people they’re losing their home—but gives them a real chance to keep it.
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Jesus ‘Jesse’ Gonzalez, a Nashville-based real estate broker and law student, overcame systemic poverty and homelessness to build a successful career in real estate and is now pursuing his Juris Doctor to advocate for consumer protection in the industry.
Photo “Foreclosure” by BasicGov. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Great article. I am a retired attorney and from my experience in California, Mr. Gonzales hits the nail on the head. First phase is embarrassment, then despair. On the other side, lenders do not want to stack up REOs even in good markets. Lenders look bad, the vultures come out and the properties sell for less than loan value, let alone market. In Tennessee, there is no owner protected status for the original purchase money loans. That needs to change. Anti deficiency statutes need to be put in place for those original purchase money loans. The horribly low and archaic bankruptcy exemptions that Tennessee mandates need to be elevated substantially and increased by inflation.