Kansas Senior Press Service News ArticlesKansas Senior Press Service News ArticlesBy Alexandra R. English
Kansas Senior Press Service
Elders on fixed incomes can face hard choices when unexpected bills arise. Between the credit cards, mortgages, health care, utilities, insurance and groceries, there simply may not be enough money to pay everything on time.
When demands for payments come with increasing frequency and urgency, it is critical to ensure that essential needs are met first. After health care expenses, housing costs should be a top priority. For homeowners, falling behind on mortgage payments brings the risk of foreclosure and the loss of your most valuable asset.
The first thing to do if you cannot keep up with your mortgage payments is to review your mortgage contract to learn what your lender may do. Then contact your lender, who may be able to help you find remedies that allow you to keep your home. Ignoring communication from the lender about your mortgage payments will only make the situation harder to resolve.
Foreclosure prevention options that would allow you to keep your property include reinstatement of a repayment plan, modification of the mortgage (from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate), a forbearance agreement, or a loan assumption by another qualified person.
If you cannot keep the property, working with the lender to negotiate an alternative to foreclosure should also be considered. Alternatives include a short sale, where the borrower sells the property for less than the loan balance and turns over the proceeds to the lender, perhaps (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. A deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure, another option, is an agreement where the borrower turns over all interest in the real property to the lender to satisfy the loan in default.
The foreclosure procedure starts with the lender filing a petition for mortgage foreclosure with the court. The petition is served on the borrower and any other named defendants. Then the defendant has 20 days to file an answer with the court. Failure to answer will likely result in a “journal entry of judgment” in favor of the lender. The borrower has 10 days to pay the amount due before the foreclosure sale can be scheduled.
At a foreclosure sale, the property is auctioned publicly to the highest bidder. In Kansas, the redemption period for the borrower begins on the sale date, but the length of time of the redemption period varies, depending on the amount you have paid on the home. If you have paid less than one-third of the sale price, you will have three months to redeem the property. If the total outstanding amount of all mortgages or liens is less than one-third of the market value of the property, you will have 12 months to redeem the property. You may continue to live in the home during this time.
In addition, if you are able to find financing during this time, you may redeem or recover the property. To redeem, you must pay the amount of the highest bid in addition to applicable interest and other fees. If the property sells for less than the mortgage balance, the lender may sue to obtain a deficiency judgment for the difference between the foreclosure sale price and the amount due on the original mortgage.
Foreclosure “rescue” scams prey on homeowners who are facing the threat of foreclosure. These scams promise relief but actually steal the equity or the home from homeowners and do not prevent foreclosure. One variation of the rescue scam has homeowners signing documents they think are bringing their mortgage current, when they are actually signing away the title to their home. Meanwhile, the homeowners are still obligated under the mortgage. In another variation, the homeowners transfer the title of their home to the “rescuer” with the understanding that the rescuer will pay the mortgage while the homeowner remains in the home and pays rent. The homeowners are vulnerable to eviction by the new owners and are still liable for the mortgage.
When you realize you cannot pay all your bills on time, act promptly to get help. Contact Consumer Credit Counseling of the Midwest, 800-355-2227 for advice and assistance.
Additional information about foreclosure is available from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/.
Be cautious about proposals that sound too easy, pressure you to act quickly, require you to pay substantial fees, or restrict you from contacting a lawyer or the lender. Seek legal assistance if you are asked to sign documents you do not understand. It is important to explore all options before deciding which course of action is best for you.
Alexandra English is an elder law attorney with Kansas Legal Services, Inc.
By
Kansas Senior Press Service
May is Older Americans Month, a great time to bring attention to the issues that affect older adults and create community-wide opportunities to help older Americans improve their quality of life. This year’s theme is “Living Today for a Better Tomorrow.” Its focus is the nation’s people working together to give older adults the tools they need to make wise decisions.
By 2030, one in every five Americans will be age 65 or older. Although the risk of disease increases with advancing age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Many illnesses, disabilities and even deaths associated with chronic disease are preventable.
Nearly 40 percent of deaths in America are attributed to negative practices such as lack of exercise, poor eating habits and smoking. Older Americans can prevent or control chronic disease by adopting healthful habits such as exercising regularly, maintaining a nutritious diet and ceasing tobacco use.
The benefits of regular physical activity include weight control; healthy bones, muscles and joints; arthritis relief; and reduced anxiety and depression. Exercise is safe for people of all age groups and does not have to be strenuous. Senior Americans can greatly benefit from a regular exercise routine that includes strength, balance, stretching and endurance exercises.
In addition to a regular exercise routine, good nutrition is vital. Reducing saturated fats and eating a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and grains can help put older Americans on the right track to staying healthy.
Tobacco use increases the risk of heart disease and cancer and is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Older adults who stop smoking will gain immediate and long-term health benefits.
While it’s important for older Americans to have good physical health, good mental health is equally important. Nearly 20 percent of Americans age 55 and older experience depression and anxiety. But studies have shown that engaging in social activities can greatly improve mental health. In fact, research has demonstrated a strong relationship between volunteering and mental health; volunteering provides even greater benefits to older adults than to young volunteers. Benefits include improved mental and physical health, greater life satisfaction, lower rates of depression, and lower mortality rates.
The U.S. Administration on Aging and its National Aging Services Network — local area agencies on aging — support successful programs throughout the country. These programs keep people independent and out of nursing homes through streamlined access to information and options about health and long-term care. They also provide home and community-based services including support for family caregivers.
Americans of all ages and backgrounds can celebrate Older Americans Month. Contact your local area agency on aging to learn more about volunteer opportunities in your area. Volunteering can enrich your life and the lives of older adults who touch yours. By working together, we can improve the health and well-being of our nation’s older adults and pave the way for better health as we age.
By Kansas Senior Press Service
A one-time payment of $250 will go to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed by President Obama in February.
More than 55 million beneficiaries will receive the payment, which should arrive by late May. No action is required on your part. To keep the process moving, beneficiaries are asked not to contact Social Security unless they do not receive their payments by June 4.
As the legislation is implemented, Social Security officials will provide updates at www.socialsecurity.gov (click on “Economic Recovery One-Time Payments”). Once you locate the site, you might like to bookmark the location and check back regularly.
Source: The U.S. Social Security Administration
By Dawn Downey
Kansas Senior Press Service
My friend Terra’s e-mail sounded like the doctor asking about my exercise habits: “Why aren’t you on Facebook!?”
Once again, I’d been caught avoiding an activity that apparently was good for me. Maybe it would increase my bone density to sign up for the online tabloid where I get to gossip about myself, instead of the latest politician who forgot to pay his taxes. Terra had recently subscribed to Facebook and was inviting me to join her in the 21st century.
I trusted her advice more than the doctor’s, so I surfed over to the Facebook home page. A cheerful message popped up that encouraged me to take the digital leap into social networking. They made it sound easy, but I had a queasy feeling about adding another hassle to my day. Life is complicated enough, now that every fresh bottle of aspirin requires a trek to the tool shed for ice pick, pliers and acetylene torch to get past the child-protector top.
I held my breath, prayed that Facebook came in a large-type version, and clicked on the link to set up an account.
The computer asked whether I wanted to know who my friends were. That sounded like useful information. If I’d known it sooner, I might have avoided a 10-year family feud.
A second click took me to my e-mail sign-in page and another question: “Do you want Facebook to read your address directory?”
I wanted to say Yes, but I imagined a computer virus deleting my hard drive and filling the house with noxious fumes. I pictured a deposed Nigerian prince pulling into The Good Life RV Resort in a new Winnebago, courtesy of my credit card. I envisioned a photo floating around the Internet, my head superimposed on the body of a naked woman engaged in activities I could not duplicate after a solid year of Flexercize.
I gulped a shot of Pepto-Bismol and hit the return key. Before I could chant Please don’t let this be the biggest mistake since we hired the lowest bidder for the bathroom re-do, the monitor announced that 25 of my e-mail contacts, including my baby brother in California, were already registered with Facebook.
Once again, I’m the caboose on the technology train. By the time I’d bought a clunky desktop computer, my 80-year-old uncle had collected enough computer games to fill the New York Public Library. If the last will be first, I’m guaranteed a spot at the head of the line.
I confronted another query: “Do you want Facebook to invite your contacts to become your friends?”
I tapped the Yes icon, asking people I’ve known since the Nixon Administration whether they wanted to be friends with me. Most accepted my proposals, and in an instant our common-law relationships were upgraded to Facebook-sanctioned marriages.
The networking site prompts participants with the question, “What are you doing right now?”
After a couple of days of reading and writing answers, I discovered that virtual socializing has advantages over live conversation. For one thing, I wrote entire pages without vaguely referring to “that movie with that actress who played in that sitcom.” With Google at my fingertips, my short-term memory appeared to be as nimble as a 30-year-old’s. My squint muscles relaxed — no longer necessary for hearing lunch mates while tuning out diners at adjacent tables. Best of all, Facebook completely eliminated the wheezing that erupted whenever my walking partner and I tried to chat while taking our constitutional around the mall.
Obsession followed. I polished my epistles until they sparkled with cleverness. It was no longer enough to stay connected with the people I loved. I was determined to become the Garrison Keillor of Facebook.
For a month, I lived in a pixilated world — lit by the computer’s phosphorescent glow and fueled by chocolate Boost. The site finally lost its luster the day my husband joined Facebook to ask whether dinner was ready.
With regular doses of sunlight, I’ve returned to normal. I’m resisting the urge to turn last week’s trip to the orthopedic surgeon into a five-part mystery serial. And yet, Facebook lures me back when no one’s looking. There’s one last jewel to put in place before I’m crowned the Queen of the Internet. One fish remains uncaught. My brother has yet to confirm that he wants to be my friend.
Dawn Downey is a Kansas City freelance writer.
These articles are also available electronically at the Center on Aging Website: http://www2.kumc.edu/coa/Senior_Press_Article/Topic_Index.htm