Politics As Usual
Shining a Light on Power and Policy
Tom Shine covers congressional politics for ABC News.
RECENT POSTS
- "The Stories Are Shocking In Their Simplicity And Brutality..."
- "Pipes Have Voltage, Get Shocked In The Shower"
- She May Have to Take the Stand "For Mommy" a Second Time
- The Army Calls A Reverse And Orders Football Star Caleb Campbell To Serve
- "I Have Broken The Cycle Of Obesity..."
- "When I Joined the Navy, I Didn’t Know I Was Gay"
- You Might Not Be Able To Afford The Groceries, But Your Shopping Cart Will Be Clean
- For the Petersons 'The Price is Right'
- 8,763 DISABLED VETS DIED BEFORE THEIR CASES WERE REVIEWED
- HOLY PATRICK LEAHY, BATMAN!
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
"When Mom Signed On The Dotted Line, She Felt The Salesman Was a Good Friend: But He Wasn't
December 12, 2007 10:45 AM
Another mortgage problem -- this one hits the elderly who have paid off their home mortgages and then fall victim to what one witness is calling "PREDATORY LENDERS, CONMEN and the NEW CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH, also known as REVERSE MORTGAGES." Carol Anthony will talk about her 80 year mother, a widow, who had paid off her mortgage and had no money problems, but fell victim to a lender introduced to her by another widow friend. Soon her mother who was in poor health, frail and "not at all capable of entering or understanding even the simplest financial dealings" signed up for a REVERSE MORTGAGE with 18 CLOSING FEES totally $16,791.23 and a PRINCIPLE BALANCE of $37,000 with INTEREST COMPOUNDED DAILY." Television Commercials featuring JAMES GARNER and ROBERT WAGNER, stars that older people trust, encourage them to put the equity in their homes to work for them by signing up for reverse mortgages. In the next couple of years the first wave of 3.2 MILLION BABY BOOMERS turns 62 becoming eligible for the HUD approved program. But new, aggressive marketing poses hidden dangers for old people who have worked all their lives to pay off their mortgages and now finally own their home.
December 12, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
It seems odd to me, if your mother couldn't understand even the simplest of financial dealings that this wasn't picked up by the approved HUD counselor when she went through the mandatory counseling session that is required before she could even apply for a reverse mortgage.
Posted by: philip vernot | Dec 13, 2007 2:04:12 AM
Post a comment
