Housing Crisis Hits Seniors Hardest Reverse Mortgage Master Helping Save Homes
Senior citizens who can't afford their current mortgages, are facing foreclosure, or suspect they're victims of mortgage loan fraud should consider a reverse mortgage.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) September 01, 2010 - With home values dropping as much as 40%, senior citizens are hit hardest by America's housing crisis. Fixed incomes and refinancing mistakes often lead to eviction or foreclosure. Claudia Turrentine, an 80-year-old widow in Altadena, CA, found herself days away from losing her home when she met Malcolm McLean, a certified Reverse Mortgage Specialist who runs www.yes4reverse.com.
Reverse mortgages, designed and insured by the federal government specifically for senior citizen homeowners 62 and older, enable access to a portion of their equity. This eliminates any existing loan or loan payments, and therefore the possibility of foreclosure. "A reverse mortgage was the only shot at saving her home." McLean said.
Due to previous fraudulent lending practices, Claudia had a $383,000 re-financing loan that was about to reset to over $2,400.00 a month despite fixed social security income of only $950/mo. She was $90,000 short of qualifying for a reverse mortgage.
Not giving up, McLean contacted Mr. Stumpf, the President of Wachovia Bank (Turrentine's new lender), "I wanted Mr. Stumpf to see there was no possible way a senior citizen on a low fixed income could qualify for a $383,000 refinance loan." McLean also got Congressman Adam Schiff - of the 29th Congressional district that covers Altadena to issue a Congressional inquiry directly to Mr. Stumpf. Additionally, McLean waived his company's fees.
For the first time in their banking history, Wachovia reduced the balance of a borrowers loan to qualify the homeowner for a reverse mortgage. Normally the only time a bank will 'short' a loan is for a 'Short Sale' where the borrower is selling the property for less than what is owed.
In this situation the extraodinary happened - Wachovia waived Claudia's balance by over $50,000. With McLean's help reaching out to her community Church, they contributed the final $40,000, enabling her to qualify for the program.
McLean urges senior citizens who cannot afford their current mortgages, are facing foreclosure, or suspect they're victims of mortgage loan fraud to get the facts on the Fair Housing Act Program and then decide if a reverse mortgage can help. "There is a lot of misinformation out there about reverse mortgages. There's a great chance it can help you enjoy a more financially secure retirement, like it did for Claudia," McLean said.
http://www.vimeo.com/14131624
PR: Nadine Jolson - 310.614.3214 - jolsoncreativePR ( @ ) mac dot com
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