In many of our Rockland neighborhoods where inexpensive homes were built in the late 50's after the opening of the Tappan Zee bridge, bringing young families from Brooklyn and the Bronx in droves to the area, fifty years on many of you will no doubt know a senior citizen who is a neighbor and one of those homeowners. Many are known somewhat as the "watcher of the block?" You'll probably have come to know them as the type of neighbors who are reliably quick with a set of very specific instructions on things like 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,  I was made aware of two seperate cases concerning the plight of our senior citizens and foreclosure action. The cases were as different as night and day but both were almost exactly of the same concern.   My interest was immediate, as these were golden-agers, people over 62 years of age, homeowners, and 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 had recently appeared in court, without an attorney. After submitting many papers to their lenders, their loan modification requests had been 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 that part of the proceedings and the foreclosure case was moving forward again.
With respect to seniors and the foreclosure process, I spoke with Richard Rubin an attorney who has become an expert in assisting people fight foreclosure. Mr. Rubin together with Martin Dekom, of Jacob Dean Mortgage, a senior reverse mortgage specialist discussed in great length on the topic of terrified senior homeowners who have paid their bills for decades and now have earned this most unjust reward of foreclosure. They have a solution, it refers to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and they aren'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.”


These two clients are currently in the process of discussing a reverse mortgage loan analysis with Mr. Rubin. In addition he is 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.

If you, a family member, or friend and even a neighbor needs help, please have them contact me and I will be delighted to assist them by putting them in touch with the "right" people dedicated to helping people keep their homes whatever their age.

Vanessa Saunders | Certified Distressed Property Specialist (CDPE)

845 598 5083 |Vanessa@wesellny.com