The governor of Maine has proposed legislation that could bring elderly residents foreclosure relief through reverse mortgages
The governor of Maine has proposed legislation that could bring residents foreclosure relief through reverse mortgages.
Under Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed legislation, a town considering foreclosing on a home due to unpaid taxes would be required to inform the residents of potential relief options, including a home equity conversion mortgage, according to a Reverse Mortgage Daily report.
LePage proposed the legislation after learning of a senior couple, both 80, who lost their home after the town of Albion, Maine, foreclosed for unpaid property taxes, according to RMD. In his State of the State address earlier this month, LePage spoke at length about elder housing issues.
“Communities and the Maine Municipal Association may do things right – they follow the law regarding tax liens and foreclosures,” he said. “But they should do the right thing: Help the elderly stay in their homes.
“It is unethical and immoral to take away a senior citizen’s home,” LePage said. “They lose all the equity they built up during their lives. They end up on the street.”
LePage has log been an advocate of HECM loans, according to RMD. In a January town-hall meeting in Biddeford, Maine, he even suggested that all fixed-income home owners should have a home equity loan.
