The measure of a nation is how it treats its elderly and its young -- and on that scale, the U.S. FAILS ABYSMALLY!!!!
More of the BUSH LEGACY!!!
"Foreclosures hit older Americans; 28% of affected homeowners are age 50 and up" by Associated Press | September 19, 2008
MIAMI - An AARP study challenges the perception that older Americans have been left out of the current real estate crisis because they have built enough home equity to avoid delinquencies and foreclosure.
"Older Americans depend on their homes both for shelter and as a retirement asset," said Susan Reinhard, senior vice president of the Public Policy Institute. "Losing a home jeopardizes long-term financial security, with limited time to recover."
The study also reflects the effect the subprime mortgage market meltdown had on homeowners 50 or older. Older Americans with subprime mortgages were nearly 17 times more likely to be in foreclosure than those who had prime loans, the study showed.
The states with high foreclosure rates for older Americans include California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Michigan.
Many older Americans have tapped into their home equity for things such as home repairs and sending their children to college. Now, some seniors with fixed incomes are having trouble making payments amid a slow economy and the high cost of fuel, food, and healthcare. And, falling home values have lowered home equity for all age groups.
Daniel Alpert, managing director at the investment bank Westwood Capital, said homeowners young and old who tapped their equity when the housing market was running hot and homes were being overvalued earlier this decade may now be facing the consequences.
Where is your bailout, huh, gramps?
Reinhard said many older homeowners, like their younger counterparts, entered into loans that were too costly, sometimes at the behest of an aggressive mortgage broker. Also, mortgage terms and the forms that accompany them can be hard to understand, Reinhard said.
"The mortgage environment is very complicated," Reinhard said. "We need more simplified mortgage contract language that people can understand."
That begs the question: WHY DON'T WE HAVE THAT ALREADY?
Bankers wouldn't be a bunch of USURIOUS LOOTERS, would they?
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