How could this happen? A foreclosure story
A foreclosure is inevitably an emotional event. But the one covered in the StarTribune article Money for her stolen home was particularly troubling. Telsche Paulson, now 87 years old, lost her duplex to foreclosure in 2008 because of a scam that had started back in 2004. At that time, while she was struggling to make mortgage payments, she responded to a letter from a real estate agent who promised to help. Four years later, thanks to his “help,” she had lost her home, including over $100K in equity.
The story has a happy ending of sorts. According to the StarTribune, Ms. Paulson was this week awarded nearly $117,000 from the Minnesota Real Estate Education, Research and Recovery Fund to be paid by July 2010. It’s the largest payout in the fund’s past 13 years. She didn’t get her home back, and she apparently didn’t get a nickel from the agent, although she may take some comfort in knowing that the agent may be looking at a very long jail term. See the Twin Cities Business article Mound Man Indicted in Real Estate Fraud Scheme for more.
It’s a complicated story, but it raised a few basic questions... Why was a woman in her 80s having trouble making mortgage payments on a duplex she had owned since 1958? Had she been the victim of a scam even before the agent came on the scene in 2004? Or had something else put her in this sad position? Why didn’t someone close to her step in before 2004 to help her manage her situation so that she wouldn’t have felt the need to respond to the agent’s offer to “help”? Why wasn’t she aware of resources that really could have helped her avoid foreclosure?
The story reminds homeowners, especially those in distress, to be vigilant. Before accepting an offer that sounds too good to be true, do your homework – or have someone you truly can trust do it for you.
Posted by
Vicky Nann
on 12/21/2009