Helping Seniors Avoid Foreclosure

 

Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General

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.

 

NRMLA Chicago 2009

I spent yesterday at the 2009 NRMLA Chicago conference.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was it 70 degrees in Chicago (a rarity recently), but the conference was informative, I met some great people, and I got some cool stuff (thanks LiveWell Financial and Genworth!).

I took away some interesting industry insights from the conference.  Some noteworthy pieces of news:

-  In Illinois at least, the Attorney General’s office will step in to help get short pays and keep seniors in their homes (or connect them with social services when they cannot).  Brenda Grauer represented the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, and it made me hopeful to hear so many positive stories where short pays were negotiated or foreclosures were stayed.  It also reminded me to beware of Countrywide, which seems to be the least likely to provide a shortpay to those in need.

- An interesting discussion about the future of the press took place at the session on “Spreading the Good News About Reverse Mortgages.”  Peter Bell, Marty Bell, and Lew Sichelman began a debate on the future of the press. We wondered aloud whether newspapers will survive, and discussed how newspapers were more casualties of the niche marketing revolution than of the Internet.

- The session on “How Can You Help Serve a Client’s Need for a Comprehensive Financial Plan? The Challenges of Working under New Restrictions on “Cross Selling” definitely made one think.  More to come about this session on Monday.