do.rflex wrote: > Two days after a 90-year-old Ohio woman shot herself as deputies tried > to evict her from her foreclosed home, Fannie Mae has decided to > forgive the delinquent loan and give her the house outright, CNN reports. > > "We're going to forgive whatever outstanding balance she had on the > loan and give her the house," said Fannie Mae spokesman Brian. "Given > the circumstances, we think it's appropriate." > > Addie Polk of Akron is listed in critical condition at Akron General > Medical Center. She shot herself at least twice in the upper body > Wednesday afternoon as sheriff's deputies came to evict her from the > house she has lived in since 1970. CNN has video of a neighbor > describing what he saw. > > "There's a lot of people like Miss Polk right now. That's the sad > thing about it," said Akron City Council President Marco > Sommerville."They might not be as old as her, some could be as old as > her. This is just a major problem." > > CNN explains Polk's story: > > In 2004, Polk took out a 30-year, 6.375 percent mortgage for > $45,620 with a Countrywide Home Loan office in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. > The same day, she also took out an $11,380 line of credit. > > Over the next couple of years, Polk missed payments on the > 101-year-old home that she and her late husband purchased in 1970. In > 2007, Fannie Mae assumed the mortgage and later filed for foreclosure. > > Deputies had tried to serve Polk's eviction notice more than 30 > times before Wednesday's incident, Sommerville said. She never came to > the door, but the notes the deputies left would always disappear, so > they knew she was inside and ambulatory, he said. > > Sommerville said Akron is creating programs to help people keep their > homes. "But what do you do when there's just so many people out there > and the economy is in the shape that it's in?" > > He added that many businesses and individuals have offered to help Polk. > > USA TODAY: > http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/10/ohio-woman-90-s.html I hear this kind of story a lot around here. People refinanced and then took out lines of credit on their homes as if it was free money. The selling agent for my house lives across the street and I chatted with her yesterday and she told me how many people have to come up with extra money when they sell. The house on the same corner was sold earlier this summer but the owners had refinanced when it was worth $640K and also took out a LOC. When they sold at around $500K they had to come up with an extra $27K because of the difference.
I learned my lesson about loans back about 1980 when lost my gig but still had loans to pay off for TTC and TM-Sidhis. I learned that loans aren't "free money." Bet others can relate to that here and how that lesson has saved their hides (or maybe not) during this crisis.
