How One Borrower Escaped 'Foreclosure Hell’ Without Being Burned
Retiree Mamie Ruth Palmer filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and has been battling her mortgage lender ever since. Now she has agreed to a settlement that allows her to remain in her home and pay the fees of the lawyer who helped her.
“In some mortgage circles, Ms. Palmer, a 74-year-old former housekeeper, has earned her moment of fame,” the New York Times reports in a story chronicling the legal battle. “After enduring six years in foreclosure hell, almost losing her home twice, Ms. Palmer has escaped intact.”
The trustee for Palmer’s mortgage, the Bank of New York, has agreed to reduce the amount she owes from about $100,000 to $59,000 and will accept a reverse mortgage that will pay the balance. About $12,000 in foreclosure fees will be lifted and central air-conditioning will be installed in Palmer’s home.
Palmer struck the deal with the help of lawyer Howard Rothbloom, hired a year after she filed for bankruptcy, the story says. Rothbloom sued Bank of New York, claiming it had imposed unauthorized fees and had sought foreclosure before it had been assigned Palmer’s mortgage note.
Rothbloom’s $10,000 in legal fees billed over five years will be covered by payments she made toward the mortgage during the battle.
“I feel good,” Palmer told the Times. She plans to celebrate by going fishing with her nephew in Florida.
