Shop

Dozens of senior citizens in New York City are caught in a rising tide of reverse- mortgage foreclosures that threaten to put some of the city's most vulnerable residents out on the street. Because reverse-mortgage borrowers in foreclosure lack the protections — including mandatory settlement conferences and a 90-day notice requirement — instituted for traditional borrowers after the 2010 robo-signing scandal, these seniors are at risk of losing their homes far more quickly than forward-mortgage borrowers, who get an opportunity for negotiations overseen by the court. The debts at issue are relatively small, averaging just $10,000, but can trigger the loss of a home worth thirty times that amount or more.