Need Attorney to deal with a reverse mortgage closure
 

My dad just passed away and he had a condo apt with a reverse mortgage (in South FL). I'm not interested in the property and I ASSUMED I could just abandon it and let the bank deal with it. Been reading and it doesn't seem like it will be that easy.

Anyone recommend a lawyer who deals in this sort of stuff? I really really just want to walk away from the property and not have to deal with it or spend any money on it.

I would think you do not need an attorney. The house would be sold and the mortgage paid off. Excess cash to the estate.

I would call the bank and ask then if they need anything from the estate and tell them the estate is not interested in the home so they should sell it and send the estate the excess cash.

This is a REVERSE MORTGAGE. They have been paying HIM for 10 years. That is what I thought for the last 15 years and expected. I went online to the mortgage company website and they say they won't take the apartment unless it is fully emptied (a $2000 job in itself) and cleaned out. If it isn't left that way they will cal in the balance of the mortgage (over $100K for a place now worth about $50K) and blah blah blah. I have been reading they go after the family as well. There was lots more that really bothered me so I stopped reading. :) It is bad enough I have to deal with his passing and now this.

I'm hoping a lawyer would know how to legally tell them to F off and the apt is abandoned.

I always suspected those reverse mortgages was scheme. I thought once the person passed it automatically when to the mortgage company? Sorry for your lost of you're father and have to deal with aftermath.

Thank you. That's what my father always ASSumed but everything I have read wasn't very positive. All he saw was the $$$$ which really helped him.

There is a seniors legal aid organization that should be able to help, at no or low cost. I saw it in an article in the daily Sun, but did not copy it down. Try a Google search for 'legal aid'. If I come across the info again I will post, sorry for your loss and the additional problems.

Good idea. Thanks. Will do that as soon as we get back.

In general the debts of the deceased can not be collected from anyone other than the estate. If the estate paid money to beneficiaries and did not pay the debts of the estate then I think the debtor can try and recapture the money. Their are people - check classified adds etc that do estate liquidations. They will price and sell everything. You might also be able to get someone like Goodwill to take part of most of the items. Maybe a local church group can use the stuff.

You might want to look at this since the value of the home has decreased quite a bit:

What happens if my reverse mortgage loan balance grows larger than the value of my home?

We used Jeffrey Skates at Mclin Burnsed in Sumter Landing and were impressed with his knowledge and happy with his advice. It wasn't for reverse mortgage, it was for estate planning.

Jeffrey P. Skates — McLin Burnsed

Your post is very interesting, and caused me to do some Googling - and I discovered some of my preconceived notions about reverse mortgages to be untrue. From what I read, it is up to the heirs to sell the house (or keep it by repaying the reverse mortgage principal and interest to the bank). So apparently any selling expenses would be yours. Check out this link. Lots of good info, explained in plain English. Good luck with settling this estate. I'm in the middle of settling my mother's estate, and it's never simple.

Reverse Mortgages: What Happens After Death?

I would definitely hire an attorney who handles such matters. If I understand what you wrote correctly the estate could possibly be facing a deficiency judgment. Deficiency Judgments After Foreclosure in Florida | Nolo.com

From the link provided by Collie;

Upon the sale of the property, all remaining equity belongs to the heirs, just as with a forward mortgage. A reverse mortgage is a non-recourse loan. Which means that, if with the combination of the accrued interest and current market conditions the property will not sell for enough to repay all amounts owed on the loan, then the borrowers’ heirs are not liable for any additional amounts owed.

As previously mentioned, borrowers pay for mortgage insurance to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a division of The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which guarantees that the borrower and the borrowers’ heirs will never owe more than the property is worth on a bona fide sale to a third party. The program does require a bona fide sale to a non-related third party, heirs cannot “sell” the home to other family members for less than is owed on the reverse mortgage expecting the FHA insurance to cover any shortfall to the lender on the amount owed (there are no restrictions on sales to family members or otherwise, just in the case of a balance of the reverse mortgage being higher than the value of the property and heirs wanting the lender to forgive the over value portion of the loan and still keep the property within the family).

I took a seminar from Citizens Bank of the Villages about Reverse Mortgages last November and met with the loan officer Jennifer last week. They have handled about 400 reverse mortgages in TV and then resell to Sun West Mortgage. They provide the money using the appraised value of your home. In most cases homes increase in value, especially in Florida. There were changes to the law last Oct 2, right now they'll give you about 43% of the appraised value. Whatever funds you don't draw out, will accumlate interest at 5.5%. So if you had a balance or line of credit of $45,000 and didn't touch it, in five years it would have grown to $60,000. So in the OP's case, his father might still have money that is available that could be used to pay off the loan, but in any event he will not be responsible.

OP, I did a google search, using "senior legal aid organization in florida", and there is an organization listed in Ocala:

Dept of Elder Affairs
Social services organization in Ocala, Florida
Address: 1515 E Silver Springs Blvd # 203, Ocala, FL 34470
Phone: (352) 620-3461

Hope this helps.

If there were no other assets in the estate, then the estate is really just debt associated with the condo.

I, above all, would not take 'possession' of the condo. Just because your dad 'left' it to you does not mean that you have to take it. So, especially before you talk to a lawyer, do not sign anything that transfers the deed to you.

Basically, it is not your condo....keep it that way.

Need Attorney to deal with a reverse mortgage closure
 

Just to clarify :

☑️It wasn't left to me other than the fact I get it by default [emoji4]
☑️I do not want it.
☑️The remaining mortgage is like $110k the value of the property is probably closer to $50k so I certainly don't want to buy it.

Will call an attorney Monday when I get back. He has no other debt but does have a small IRA and a 2011 vehicle which I put in my driveway before we headed up north today.


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Nobody has to take anything by "default". Property can not be put in someone's name without them signing something.

The bank is simply implying this so that you do some work for them and pay some money.

The IRA amount and the proceeds from selling the car will probably have to go to the bank, tho.

Please do get back to us with what the real lawyer says. (I just play one on the internet....altho, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night).

Thanks. Will advise once we get back down to FL. Next week.


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Based on our experience
 

Settling my parent's estate was a nightmare.

You did not mention if your parent lived in Florida. I would imagine you will want to hire an atty in the state where he or she lived-they will know the laws of the state, have contacts to get any needed record etc.

You did not mention if there are other heirs which will make things even more complex. You do not want others going after you in the future.

RE: ATTYS
Long story short. I researched an atty that would settle my mother's estate for a flat fee. My sister, with whom I had other existing issues wanted some guy who charged by the hour. I still suspect my brother in law got some kind of referral fee. When all was done, the atty bill was about 50% higher than the guy I had to do it for a flat fee. I insisted on an itemized bill. The sob charged us for bottled water and coffee offered at the initial visit. He charged not only for his time but for the time of his assistant to tell his assistant what to do-double billing. A little research and I found the assistant was a law student likely working for free. I insisted on an itemized bill. The atty cut the fee down by over 2,000. FOR WE NOT ATTYS THAT IS GRAND THEFT

RE: $2000 TO EMPTY THE APT.
You should ask the atty. If, you empty the apt you are acting as though you acct responsibility for apt. Since you report to us that it has negative value; you may not want to do that. If, your atty advises you to empty it, you may want to do it yourself. There are things you might want.
It is not unusual for people to has hidden valuables and cash in their home. A few phone calls and you can give furniture to one of the charities and they will move it out for you. Depending on what your relative had you can hire one of those tag sale services and perhaps make far more than you expect.

FOR A LITTLE LEVITY-I tried to settle my mother's credit card bill. The FOOL on the phone told me they would need to talk with my mother. I GAVE HER THE CEMETERY PLOT NUMBER AND TOLD HER THEY MIGHT HAVE TROUBLE SPEAKING TO HER AS SHE IS SIX FEET UNDER.

HOPE I HELPED SOME.

Ed sorry for your loss and the associated headache of mopping up the problems with the estate. This place called Shine that Villagetinker recommends is a great place to start. The rules for many things are different from what we were accustomed to at our old home. I hope things work out for you easily and most importantly sorry about dad. Take Care. Careful driving on Bayway Circle the Ultimate Roundabout. If you need a hand just PM me.