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Ms. Bates, 70, is caught in a foreclosure trap that is ensnaring widows across America: she cannot get help lowering her payments until her name is added to the mortgage note, but the lender says she must be current on payments before that can happen.
Why didn't she make sure her name was on the mortgage before? I doubt this is just about widows, also widowers or anyone who co-owns a house with someone but doesn't check the paperwork.
Sounds like they can't afford the home and should downscale. Not sure why a widow living alone needs a 4br home or why the government should be actively trying to keep her in it. Seems like they should help her find a more affordable place to live.
It's a generations issue in most cases. Was a time when most things were held in one persons name, but if they were married the other person was considered "one" with them. My parents went through this and sometimes still run into problems, like when a utility bill was set up in my dads name but she tries to handle the business end of things...these days being the wife (even after 50+ years) doesn't make you "one" anymore...they always insist on talking to my dad, who doesn't know sh it from shinola about that sort of stuff. Mom always ran the household.
Let's be clear...it's the business, law, and practices that have changed. The people aren't stupid for not keeping up with that stuff. They knew how it was when they started out.
"Just as the housing market is recovering, a growing group of homeowners — widows over the age of 50 whose husbands alone were holders of the mortgage — are losing their homes to foreclosure because of a paperwork flaw that keeps them from obtaining loan modifications."
Sounds like there was no attempt at estate planning, despite the advanced age and her husband's protracted illness. That eldercare attorney sure would have come in handy a year or two ago.
Now she expects a hand out because she is unable to keep the mortgage current? And she's miffed because of the paperwork and chooses to blame the system instead of taking responsibility for herself?
Reading between the lines, it sounds like there is no equity in this home, else she could sell it, payoff the mortgage and take what's left and move on. Instead, she prefers to remain and have the bank/government eat the loss.
Most 70 year olds do not have mortgage balances, unless they previously sucked the equity our of their homes to live beyond their means.
If you do it right -- by the time you're 70, you would own the home outright - and the only terrible issue would be the property taxes that allow the government to confiscate your property from you.
Sounds like they can't afford the home and should downscale. Not sure why a widow living alone needs a 4br home or why the government should be actively trying to keep her in it. Seems like they should help her find a more affordable place to live.
Why don't you actually read the article? One of the widows mentioned in the article is trying to save her mobile home.
"Just as the housing market is recovering, a growing group of homeowners — widows over the age of 50 whose husbands alone were holders of the mortgage — are losing their homes to foreclosure because of a paperwork flaw that keeps them from obtaining loan modifications.
Sounds like there was no attempt at estate planning, despite the advanced age and her husband's protracted illness. That eldercare attorney sure would have come in handy a year or two ago.
Now she expects a hand out because she is unable to keep the mortgage current? And she's miffed because of the paperwork and chooses to blame the system instead of taking responsibility for herself?
Reading between the lines, it sounds like there is no equity in this home, else she could sell it, payoff the mortgage and take what's left and move on. Instead, she prefers to remain and have the bank/government eat the loss.
Most 70 year olds do not have mortgage balances, unless they previously sucked the equity our of their homes to live beyond their means.
For pete's sake, these widows aren't asking for handouts of any kind. If anything they are asking to be allowed to pay for the mortgage, or for a loan modification. Did you actually read the article? In many cases the bank is refusing to take their checks because their mortgage is in their husband's name. Not everyone can afford an attorney for estate planning.
If you do it right -- by the time you're 70, you would own the home outright - and the only terrible issue would be the property taxes that allow the government to confiscate your property from you.
Not everyone can do it right. Maybe real life intervened and they were busy paying living expenses, college tuition for kids, and medical expenses and weren't able to buy a home until they retired for example. Not everyone has an ideal life.
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