Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General
At the NRMLA conference in Chicago, one of the speakers was Brenda Grauer, who works for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. During her presentation, I learned that the government is available as a resource for seniors trying to avoid foreclosure.
As previously discussed, generally in order for a reverse mortgage to be used to help a senior avoid foreclosure, the borrower needs to get a short pay from the bank. The short pay reduces the amout the senior owes the bank, which can then be paid off through the reverse mortgage. But banks are often reluctant to grant short pays.
Ms. Grauer explained how the Attorney General’s office is working with many lenders to try and help seniors (and others) receive short pays so that they can stay in their homes. The office is getting stays on orders of foreclosure, and, as of when she spoke, none of the people they were working with had lost their homes. It seems that the Attorney General’s office is therefore a good place to go for seniors in search of resources or aid in avoiding foreclosures. While all states have different resources available, it is a worthwhile call to make with nothing to lose and much to gain.
The number for the Homeowner’s Helpline of the Office of the Attorney General in Illinois is 1-866-544-7151.
Tags: Attorney General, Chicago, foreclosure, foreclosure prevention, helpline, homeowner, Illinois, Lisa Madigan, NRMLA, Office of the Illinois Attorney General, resource, reverse mortgage, reverse mortgages, senior, seniors
