Home foreclosures rose 47 percent in March over what they were during the same time period in 2006. What is even more alarming is how many of these foreclosures are senior citizens being evicted. Senior citizens have become a major target for “predatory lenders.” Many seniors are in need of cash to cover medical, prescription costs, etc. They use the equity in their homes to cover these costs and become vulnerable to lenders.

Diane DiDonato, who owns a title company in Pittsburgh says that “seniors get talked into taking out loans for more money than they need. Some people have borrowed 125 percent of the value of their home. They will never be able to recoup that, she said.

Senior citizens make attractive targets for predatory lenders for several reasons. They usually have owned their homes for many years, and have quite a bit of equity. They don’t always understand the terms of these complex deals, especially when it comes to adjustable rates. They don’t realize how much their monthly rates can rise until its too late. They are also very trusting.

Seniors see a TV commercial featuring an actor from their generation and they think, why, that person would never lie, so they enter into a bad deal and are betrayed by that trust, DiDonato said.

When seniors become homeless, because of foreclosure, during what are supposed to be their ‘golden years’ the results can be truly devasting.”

The complete article can be found at:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/04/seniors_predatory.html

Pam