In our neighborhoods and backyards, our friends are sure to share many similarities. Whether we live in the outskirts of Buffalo, (which parenthetically is home to the largest foreclosure law firm in New York State), or in a more run-of-the-mill community akin to Garden City, (which is where our law firm is based and houses a much more modest foreclosure defense law firm), we are sure to see a senior citizen who is a neighbor and homeowner, one who moved in many years prior to us and who remains somewhat as the "watcher of the block".
These senior neighbors are sometimes quick with a set of very specific instructions on where you may park your car and when you can put out your garbage cans or even the days they prefer not to have your lawn mowed. These senior neighbors may also not be quite as vocal, but prefer to remain in the background of community affairs, coming out only on the rare occasion. Would you ever care to guess what’s going on in their backyards and living rooms during these most hard pressed of times?
Last week, unable to cure their own ills of foreclosure, I received two inquiries concerning the plight of our senior citizens and a foreclosure action. Both cases were as different as night and day but both cases were almost exactly the same concern. Similar worries and nightmares were shared by different people in the metropolitan area. I listened with extra care as the case unfolded. My inrterest was immediate, as the new clients were golden-agers, people over 62 years of age, homeowners, and both deeply involved in their own quest to keep their homes.
They told me that they received a notice several months ago. Maybe it was a summons and complaint and they recently appeared in court, without an attorney. After submitting many papers to their lenders, their loan modification requests were denied and their cases summarily transferred out of the safety of the foreclosure settlement part of the case. One of the clients phrased it that her home was "released" from the part and the foreclosure case was moving forward again.
In our law firm, we find this a most unforgivable ending. Our blog “KeepHomeYourOwn” is written and intended to prevent the destruction and chaos of a foreclosure sale. With respect to seniors and the foreclosure process, we spoke with Martin Dekom, Jacob Dean Mortgage, a senior reverse mortgage specialist. We spoke in great length on the topic of terrified homeowners who have paid their bills for decades and now have earned this most unjust reward of foreclosure. He has a solution, it refers to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and he isn’t crazy.
Decom says, "Many older homeowners have a solution in the reverse mortgage. The basic qualification is you must be old enough to remember the Brooklyn Dodgers (that is, you must be of a certain age). This is a program without a monthly payment, available to those 62 and older who live in the house as their principal residence and want to keep their home. The loan only becomes due when the homeowner dies, sells or moves out. Foreclosure is not a part of this process. A homeowner in foreclosure can be saved with a reverse mortgage if the amount owed is 60% or less of the value of the home. This number varies with the age of the borrower: the older the borrower, the more money is available, up to about 80%, with a maximum of $495,000. Cases of negotiated short payoffs can also be developed to save the home and avoid foreclosure.
It can be nerve-wracking, but bear in mind that lenders don’t want the homes; the lenders want their money. Consider three things: experience, cost and cost. Comparison shop before moving forward with a reverse mortgage and keep it in the toolbox as a resource to save your home from foreclosure”
We are currently in the process of discussing a reverse mortgage loan analysis for these clients, in addition to reviewing the court documents and producing a functional defense to help keep their homes. Quick decisions rarely bring value to complex situations. Seniors were fair game in the years of free money, deceptive lending practices and sub prime loans. It is now our obligation and responsibility to peer over our fences and ask of our senior neighbors if help or consultation is necessary as they suffer silently the disease of the distressed loan. Help with reverse mortgages is available at KeepHomeYourOwn.
