My wife and family occasionally provide me with leads. They have great confidence in my professional abilities and trust in my character, so these leads can sometimes be challenging. This is a brief but still disturbing example of one of those more challenging adventures.

The lead for a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo in a gated community of North Broward, seemed worthy of a call and an appointment. The condo, a first floor unit with a private garden in front behind a private gate and 5 ft stucco wall was typical of many South Florida condos. What I found inside however was much more typical of what some mortgage brokers and lenders were doing before the junk hit the fan.

                         SHORT SALE OPPORTUNITY

The owner of the condo is a single lady living alone. Disabled from an accident some 15 years ago, she purchased the condo new. Payments on her loan, taxes and HOA were affordable with her disability payments and social security benefits. Being unable to work, drive or walk more than a few steps at a time she still managed to maintain a level of dignity and independence by paying her bills and owning her condo. Right up until mid 2006 that is. That's when she responded to a mailer offering to refinance her loan at a low teaser rate and give her some cash out as well. The loan was refinanced for more than the condo was worth and the rest of course is obvious.

After the first adjustment she began to worry, after the next she started eating less, than she stopped calling cabs in order to go to the doctor, by the time I'd met with her I found a person trapped and confused trying desperately to understand what had happened. She had contacted her lender on several occasions asking for understanding whenever she was late with her payment. They just slapped her with more late fees.

I read the letters and demands and still have trouble understanding this myself. How does any lender with any standards extend a loan to someone who obviously is going to get in trouble with it. The mortgage broker, well they couldn't care after all. But ultimately the lender must approve this loan. Is it any wonder that they're getting hammered now? Unfortunately, similar scenarios had played out hundreds of thousands of times during the 2004-2006 years of greed and grab whatever you can, leading to the state of the economy today. 

The lady has moved out of Florida to live with family and has stopped paying her mortgage. I have the condo listed at 40% less than the mortgage and it's generating some interest. I'll continue reducing the price until either it's sold or the lender in their ultimate wisdom decides to take yet another typical 2 bedroom condo into foreclosure. With just one lender one mortgage and the obvious hardship, this lender deserves to get this one dumped back on them.

If anyone would like more info on this condo, please call me directly at 561-306-6736 or email george@ges-realty.com . At the right price it's a great opportunity to own an investment property or a primary residence. You can see the listing by visiting  http://www.ges-realty.com and click on short sale opportunity on the home page.