The Philly Burbs published an article about Montgomery County’s Sherriff John Durante securing a court order temporarily blocking the sale of a elderly couples property which was supposed to be sold at auction last week.
Durante said he learned that the pair had been approved for a reverse mortgage that they could use to pay the initial mortgage company but the lender wanted to proceed with sale. "It galls me to no end that the mortgage company did not want to work with an older couple," said Montco Sheriff John B. Durante.
According to the article, Durante worked with its department solicitor Thomas J. Speers to ask the mortgage company to remove the property from the April sheriff sales but the mortgage company refused. "I don’t know what the mortgage company’s hurry was unless they had a buyer waiting in the wings," said Durante, claiming the property was worth at least twice as much as the $135,174-plus that the mortgage company was seeking.
"If anyone deserves stimulus help, it is seniors who have worked hard all their lives, paid their taxes and bills on time and now, because of health problems and the economy, have fallen on hard times," said Durante.
Durante said that, in the past, when he was made aware of similar situations he had Speers meet with the bankers or mortgage companies and work out acceptable solutions. This is the first time he had to seek a court order "to make a mortgage company do what was right," said Durante.
Over the past couple of months I’ve heard from a handful of people that negotiating short payoffs with lenders is getting more difficult. It’s unclear why this is happening but its good to see that people are working to keep seniors in their homes.
