Woman sues over misleading house note

A Jefferson County woman has filed suit against Master Financial and Housing Opportunities of Texas, claiming she lost more than $10,000 after the sale of her home because of misleading information the companies supplied.

Patrice Thibodeaux Seelke sold a home at 5690 Phyllis in Beaumont on Dec. 5, 2006, to Angela Williams, according to the complaint filed Dec. 1 in Jefferson County District Court.

At closing, Seelke was told she was required to hold a secondary and inferior note from Williams in order to sell the home, the suit states.

The note was for $10,900 for 30 years at 5 percent interest, she claims.

However, Seelke did not understand the terms of the note because it was misrepresented to her, according to the complaint.

Since then, Williams has defaulted under the agreement, the suit states.

Both Master Financial and Housing Opportunities of Texas have violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act because they caused confusion about the source of services and represented that services had characteristics they do not actually have, Seelke claims.

In addition, the two companies further violated the act because they represented that an agreement confers rights it does not and that are prohibited by law, failed to disclose information about services that were known at the time of the transaction and because of its unconscionable conduct, according to the complaint.

Master Financial and Housing Opportunities of Texas made false representations of fact about the second lien, made a false promise and benefited by not disclosing that a third party's promise was false, the suit states.

Seelke is seeking actual, consequential, incidental, statutory treble and mental anguish damages, plus attorneys' fees, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and other relief to which she may be entitled.

She will be represented by Wyatt D. Snider and Jason M. Byrd of Snider and Byrd in Beaumont.

Jefferson County District Court case number: E182-788.