Posted on 04/14/2009 5:45:25 PM PDT by 1066AD
REAL ESTATE APRIL 14, 2009, 4:02 A.M. ET Older Borrowers, Out in the Cold By ELLEN E. SCHULTZ YUBA CITY, Calif. -- In 2006, Carol Couts, a 66-year-old widow in Yuba City, Calif., was living in her home, payment-free, when a mortgage broker persuaded her to refinance her no-cost mortgage for one that exceeded her monthly income by more than $400.
She can't afford the payments, and unless her lender modifies the loan to make it affordable, she'll lose her home of 25 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Wasn't Fannie CEO found to have cooked the books to max out his bonus ? What happened ? When does he go on trial ?
Here’s a paragraph in the story...
Legal-aid attorneys challenged the foreclosure on the grounds that the underlying loan was fraudulently made. Fannie Mae is now in the process of setting aside the foreclosure and modifying the loan. “We intend to work with the borrower to reach a resolution that will allow her to remain in the home,” says a spokeswoman.
I don’t know but my mother was 68 when my dad died and she couldn’t reconcile her bank statement. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t been there to do it all.
I've seen it and I am still amazed
Read into the article, she was told her reverse mortgage was going away and fell for an in-home con job.
“I’m sorry but how does one live to be 66 and be that stupid about finances?”
It’s actually quite easy, especially if one spouse handles the finances for the couple. The other spouse will often be quite in the dark about the condition of their finances and financial matters in general. Plus, they can be especially vulnerable in the months right after the spouse has passed.
The problem is these people seldom seek help until after they are in trouble, instead of sounding a proposed action out ahead of time. If you don’t have kids to help out, then find friends, neighbors, fellow parishioners. There are any number of people who can give you good, independent advice. It’s so much easier to prevent problems in the future than to untangle the mess afterwards.
Good Grief! How STUPID...or GREEDY is she??? 66 isn’t THAT old! what happened to the MONEY SHE GOT????
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
*In 2007, she received numerous phone calls from a mortgage broker named Daniel Lewis. According to Mrs. Couts, he told her he was contacting seniors to warn them that banks were canceling reverse mortgages because they were unprofitable. She would have to refinance her home, he told her, or lose it. (This wasn’t true; reverse mortgages generally aren’t repayable until death.)*
*Mrs. Couts signed a document that said she could cancel within three days, and also signed documents that she thought were for a 30-year conventional loan with low monthly payments. The next day she saw that the application listed her income as $5,075 a month. She called Mr. Lewis to point out the error and to cancel the loan, but says he told her it was too late to change anything.*
All these peole got MONEY....wheer is it??
This is nothing more than a story of someone who borrowed money against her house KNOWING that she could not make the payments. What happened to the money she borrowed? She probably blew the money in Las Vegas and now wants us to feel sorry for her.
>> Good Grief! How STUPID...or GREEDY is she??? 66 isn’t THAT old! what happened to the MONEY SHE GOT????
Those are good questions.
Before you get too harsh, however, keep in mind that many older folks suffer from a degree of dementia that makes them easy targets. Even as early as their 60’s.
Looks like there are a lot fo people in the world that shouldn’t be allowed to run their own financial affairs. To be tricked that easily and not read anything is unbelievable! The reverse mortgage too are questionable. I know that if someone is out of their home for more than 30 days, say in the hospitla and rehab, some have the right to take the home then rather than at death!
My parents questioned this as well...until my grandmother got mixed up with some guy trying to talk her out of the deed to her home.
Grandma had been on her own for more than 20 years by this time and had taken care of her own finances (Grandpa died young). She had never been the type to allow herself to be pushed around. We have family members who we can see are pretty easy "marks". Grandma wasn't one of them!
I think elderly people just become more able to be confused and intimidated. There are so many scams out there.
Unfortunately, you're unlikely to know there is a problem until a problem has occurred. Hopefully, it will be a small matter of an unpaid bill or two instead of, "I've gotten into a morgage I can't repay."
She's a widow. Based on this story - I'd say a very good chance her late husband handled the finances.
I’ve already had it happen. My DM refinanced and refinanced until she couldn’t afford the home that she inherited from my DGM. It was said to see it go 3 years ago but I couldn’t afford to buy it and if we had now it wouldn’t be worth what she needed for it. :( My DM is only 68 now just horribly irresponsible with money.
<many older folks suffer from a degree of dementia that makes them easy targets
OK, true for “older folks,” but this woman was 66! That’s 11 years older than I am. I hope to heaven I am not that stupid in 11 years. Since many boomers will have to work until they’re 70, we’re all in trouble if we start getting dementia in our 60s!
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