Widow Foreclosure Catch-22

Losing a spouse is a very difficult time for most people. Imagine how difficult it would then be to lose the house you shared to foreclosure. Banks are under legal obligation to help avoid foreclosure by using loan modifications, but it is hard to get them to do that. Spouses run into trouble when the deceased failed to put the surviving spouse or child on the bank note. Here is where the bank's Catch-22 comes in. The bank won't talk to you about a loan modification until you have assumed the mortgage. To assume the mortgage you See more +

Losing a spouse is a very difficult time for most people. Imagine how difficult it would then be to lose the house you shared to foreclosure. Banks are under legal obligation to help avoid foreclosure by using loan modifications, but it is hard to get them to do that. Spouses run into trouble when the deceased failed to put the surviving spouse or child on the bank note. Here is where the bank's Catch-22 comes in. The bank won't talk to you about a loan modification until you have assumed the mortgage. To assume the mortgage you must pay off everything the bank claims is due, which defeats the purpose of a loan modification. In this case, Jacob Inwald of Legal Services Inc, says it is necessary to have legal representation as early as possible. See less -