MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The attorney of a retired South Florida teacher and her husband who were facing eviction after taking out a reverse mortgage told "Call Christina" that the lender has withdrawn a motion of eviction as repayment plan negotiations continue.
When we first met the Lelands they were facing the prospect of losing their home.
"This is what I spent 47 years as a crane operator to do," said Willie Leland last November. "Buy myself a home for my family."
Leland and his wife of more than 50 years, Rose, a retired teacher, raised a family in a modest home in Miami Gardens.
According to their attorney, Johnny Gaspard, the couple took out a reverse mortgage in 2008.
A reverse mortgage is a type of loan that allows homeowners 62 and older to borrow against the accrued equity in their homes. The loan must be paid back when the borrower dies, moves, or no longer lives in the home.
There are also loan requirements.
"Homeowners are required to pay the taxes and insurance every year," Gaspard said.
Gaspard said the Lelands forgot to make that payment in 2013.
After learning of the oversight, Gaspard said he worked with Champion Mortgage to develop a repayment plan for the nearly $9,000 owed.
He said the Lelands agreed to the plan, signed the agreement, and mailed it to Champion Mortgage along with the initial payment.
But according to Gaspard, the lender claimed that agreement was lost in the mail this time last year.
He said Champion Mortgage also "erroneously, force-placed insurance on the Lelands' home for 2014."
Despite paying for insurance and taxes in 2014 and 2015, Gaspard said the company placed an eviction notice on the couple's door last October.
"The bank is unwilling to accept the money and is instead wanting to take their home," Gaspard said during a news conference.
In November, during a hearing before Judge Antonio Marin, Gaspard stated, “They want to keep their home. This is where they have been living, this is where they raised their family and this is all that they have.”
At that time, Judge Marin told both parties that they have 45 days to try and work out the issue.
"I want everybody actively working on this deal now," Marin said in court.
"Humans can work together," Willie Leland said. "There is no problem there. All you have to do is have a willing mind."
On Friday, Gaspard said that the lender has withdrawn its motion for eviction, meaning the couple can stay in their home as repayment plan negotiations continue. Champion Mortgage also confirmed with Local 10 News that it had withdrawn the eviction notice and are negotiating a payment plan.
Champion Mortgage is a division of Nationstar Mortgage, which has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consumer advisory about reverse mortgage advertising.
They found, "confusing, incomplete and inaccurate statements" regarding borrower requirements and risks in their review of advertisements from a variety of lenders.
They also found "many ads" didn't mention that "seniors could lose their homes if they don't satisfy the loan requirements such as paying property taxes or homeowners insurance."
"If you forget, they are coming after your property and they are going to foreclose on you," consumer protection attorney Jason Weaver said.
"In a reverse mortgage the bank is sending you a check. So when you are getting a check every month it's easy to assume that you don't have an obligation or responsibility and don't have to pay anything but that's not true," Weaver said. "It is really a loan, there are terms, there is a mortgage, and unlike what you hear on TV if you don't make certain payments, they can take your house."
Weaver said that while a reverse mortgage does work for some people, it is something you need to review in detail.
"It is not that they are overall a bad deal. It is that you really have to be careful about what you are getting into," Weaver said. "If you are not careful and you don't understand what your obligations are, in particular if you don't pay those taxes and insurance, you are going to find yourself in trouble. What sometimes makes it more confusing is that there are different kinds of reverse mortgages."
Leland said his advice to others is to "think about it, don't sign anything until you are sure. This is something that's being advertised and it is really not the truth, not the way they are advertising it."
"My first advice is to get a good mortgage broker and don't call the people on TV," Weaver said. "I don't know if they are good or bad, but I would go with someone who maybe gives you a little more personal attention, where you can ask questions about the loan, and where somebody is going to maybe tailor a loan program to your specific needs. Make sure you understand what you are actually going to have to pay. Ask the mortgage broker what could happen to make me lose my property, because they always sell it as this is yours forever, that it is a great thing."
The CFPB said to consider these reverse mortgage facts when you see advertisements:
If you are having a problem with your reverse mortgage or having problems getting through to your mortgage servicer, you can submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.