Forclosures
Foreclosures leave Seniors out in the Cold
It took the tragic suicide attempt of an elderly woman to prompt Fannie Mae to forgive the outstanding loan on her foreclosed home. Addie Polk who is 90 years old was found shot by her own hand following numerous attempts by Deputies to serve her the eviction notice that would have her kicked out of her long time residence.
Fannie Mae foreclosed on the Akron, Ohio, home of Addie Polk, 90,
after acquiring the mortgage in 2007.
Addie Polk, who is from Akron, Ohio became a symbol of the nation's home mortgage crisis after being hospitalized after shooting herself at twice in the chest on Wednesday afternoon.
Two days later, Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith said the mortgage association had stopped the action against Miss Polk and the property was signed "outright" to her.
"We're going to forgive whatever outstanding balance she had on the loan and give her the house," Faith said. "Given the circumstances, we think it's appropriate."
Miss Polk was listed in critical condition Friday afternoon, according to Akron City Council President Marco Sommerville.
The residents of Akron have rallied behind Polk who is currently at Akron General Medical Center for treatment. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, mentioned the Polk story on the House floor during debate over the latest economic rescue proposal.
"This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world," Kucinich said after relating her story. "This bill fails to address the fact that millions of homeowners are facing foreclosure, are facing the loss of their home. This bill will take care of Wall Street, and the market may go up for a few days, but democracy is going downhill."
Robert Dillon, age 62 and a neighbor of Miss Polk used a ladder to enter a second-story bathroom window of the home after he and the Deputies heard loud noises inside, Dillon said.
"I was calling her name as I went in, and she wasn't responding," he said.
Dillon found Miss Polk lying on a bed, still alive as he could see she was breathing. The long-barreled handgun he saw on the bed, she kept for protection, Dillon first thought. He reached over and gently touched her shoulder realizing what had happened...
"Then she kind of moved toward me a little and I saw that blood, and I said, 'Oh, no. Miss Polk musta done shot herself,' " Dillon said.
Dillon rushed back downstairs to let the deputies in. He said they later told him of finding Polk's car keys, pocketbook and life insurance policy set out neatly in plain sight. It could only mean she intended to commit suicide...
"There's a lot of people like Miss Polk right now. That's the sad thing about it," said Sommerville who had previously met Miss Polk. He rushed to the scene as soon as he was contacted by police.. "They might not be as old as her, some could be as old as her. This is just a major problem."
Polk’s tragic tale started in 2004 when she obtained a 30-year, 6.375 percent mortgage for $45,620 from Countrywide Home Loans in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Miss Polk also assumed an $11,380 line of credit on the same day.
Miss Polk held the mortgage on the 101-year-old home that she and her late husband bought in 1970. Between 2004 and 2007, Miss Polk missed some payments, enough that Fannie Mae assumed the mortgage and later filed for foreclosure.
Marco Sommerville said that Deputies had attempted more than 30 times to serve Polk's eviction notice prior to Wednesday’s incident, Sommerville said. In all of those times, Miss Polk did not once answer the door. But Deputies were quick to realize that the notes they left at her door would always be gone when they returned. Sommerville also said it was apparent that Miss Polk was ambulatory because of the missing notes.
"But what do you do when there's just so many people out there and the economy is in the shape that it's in?" asked Sommerville. The city is trying to create programs that would allow people to keep their homes and many businesses and individuals have called since Wednesday offering to help Polk he said.
"We're going to do an evaluation to see what's best for her," he said. "If she's strong enough and can go home, I think we should work with her to where she goes back home. If not, we need to find another place for her to live where she won't have to worry about this ever again."
Polk’s neighbor Dillon has lived beside Miss Polk for 38 years. He hopes she can return to her home. "She loves that house," he said. "I hope they can get her back in. That would make me feel better because I don't know what they're going to put in there once she leaves."
Dillon commented that the neighborhood where he and Polk live is in serious decline because so many people have lost their homes.
"There's a lot of vacant houses around here. ... Now I'm going to have a house on my left and a house on my right, vacant," he said. "That don't make me feel good, because we were good neighbors, we trusted each other, and we looked out for each other.
"This neighborhood is shot, to me, from what it used to be," he added.
"When I moved here, if it were like it is now, I would have never moved here. But it was a nice neighborhood.
"I'll just tough it out. I'm too old to start thinking about buying another house."
Sommerville reported that often, by the time the debtor appeals to an advocate for help, it is already too late and the foreclosure proceeds.
"I'm glad it's not too late for Miss Polk, because she could have taken her life," Sommerville said. "Miss Polk will probably end up on her feet. But I'm not sure if anybody else will."
