What else could possibly banks fail at?...Being a landlord

Across the country, big banks and other large investors are buying up tens of thousands of foreclosed rental properties. They're not always model landlords, according to tenants and regulators. Some banks are failing to follow local and state housing codes, leaving tenants to live in squalor — without even a number to call in the most dire situations.

Pedro Jimenez signed the lease for his second-floor apartment in Oakland, Calif., in 2006. Since then, he says, "Here was leaking water. Part of the ceiling [fell]. See all the windows crack." The panes are completely shattered; vandals broke them, he says.

East Oakland is a rough part of town. It's known for abandoned buildings and a high crime rate. Still, it's home for Jimenez, a single dad with four kids.

His 7-year-old son, David, plays handyman. While his father patches the walls with plywood, David covers holes with sticky notes. There are yellow squares in every room but one: a bathroom that has been nailed shut.

"It's dirty and it's nasty," David warns. That's code for "dangerous." It has broken plumbing, splintered wood and exposed electrical wires. The original landlord was renovating when he lost the place in foreclosure, back in 2007.

Jimenez recalls a real estate agent coming by one day to collect rent for the new owner, Deutsche Bank. Soon after, the water stopped running altogether because no one paid the bill. The utility company wouldn't let Jimenez pay just his part; it accepts only full payment for all units in a building.

Jimenez recalls not knowing whom to call for help. So he lifted a meter from a vacant home and reinstalled it in his. "It was the illegal way," Jimenez admits. "I'm not going to say I was doing it legally."

Managing Banklords

Jimenez doesn't know that Deutsche Bank actually isn't his landlord. It's the trustee representing a pool of investor-owners. JPMorgan Chase, the loan servicer, handles maintenance and tenants. Jimenez has never spoken with bank employees. He and JPMorgan Chase disagree about why repairs haven't happened, and why rent payments stopped last year.

Read on.