The future’s not looking too bright for Fruitvale resident Brenda Lange.
While the 52-year-old should be looking forward to her golden years, the Grand Valley native is instead on the verge of losing her home of more than two decades to foreclosure.
Lange, who twice refinanced her white, ranch-style home off 31 Road for remodels and to pay the bills, has been notified that her home will be foreclosed today.
“Every day gets worse,” Lange said despondently by phone Friday. “There’s no place to go. The rents are awful. I never thought this day would happen.”
Lange was a single mother of two in 1986 when she purchased a then-ramshackle, 1,500-square-foot home for $45,000, making a $15,000 down payment.
In subsequent years, Lange spent $65,000 on repairs, and today the home is worth about $200,000, according to the Mesa County Assessor’s Office.
When Lange underwent a lengthy illness, and her husband, Herb Sanders, was forced to close his business as a photographer in 2004, the couple failed to make a couple of mortgage payments to their lending company, Countrywide Home Loans. Though they’ve since made payments, Lange said, the bank is unwilling to offer them assistance. Lange owes $176,000 on the home’s mortgage, which has a variable interest rate that is slated to take effect next year.
Lange said she has done all she can to try to save her home, but tough economic times coupled with her lack of options, makes her think someone is “plotting against them.”
“It really makes you wonder what’s going on,” she said. “It’s all numbers. What about the people? I bought the house because somebody lost it, but they only invested a year in it. We’ve had high school, marriages, memories. I’ve got the pictures on the wall to prove it. That’s when things start to become a home.”
According to Wells Fargo branch manager Carri Dixon, numerous homeowners have made the mistake of too often refinancing their homes, sometimes for up to 125 percent of a home’s equity. Luckily, in Grand Junction’s fairly flat housing market, mortgages generally are not higher than home values, she said.
“People basically used their home as a bank,” Dixon said. “We see it a lot, every time rates drop. People are putting the money into other things besides their first mortgage. Sometimes it’s remodeling, but a lot of time it’s repaying debts.”
Email AMY HAMILTON
Comments
By seriously
Sep 29, 2008 9:43 PM | Link to this
So honestly in 22 years of owning a home she now owes $176,000 when in 1986 she owed 30,000. How is this possible instead of paying off 73% of the houses value which is 22 years of a 30 year loan. She ends up oweing $146,000 thousand more than when she started you cannot tell me she didnt see this coming or make some poor financial decisions..... seriously
By John
Sep 29, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this
Poor Kaily, you derived all of this information about me from one post. The fact of the matter is that I have had several bad times. Yeah that's right, I know what Ramen Noodles on a daily basis tastes like. I even borrowed money to pay for my brother's funeral too.
The big difference between you and me is that I never placed the blame on anyone besides myself. I am an adult, I will deal with my own problems. Boo hoo, try picking yourself up once in a while instead of always blaming someone else.
By Kaily
Sep 29, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this
My guess is that you (John), have been very blessed and have never had your feet in these shoes or you may not be so quick to slam the blame and refer to it as "stupidity". Sometimes people do make wrong decisions and it is sad. The sad decision I see is the mortgage company they went through in this case! That aside, you don't have to be sympathetic to have empathy on the situation your fellow man is enduring. Perhaps you've never experienced a hardship such as untouchable medical expenses or a death in the family with no insurance. Maybe you've not had to know the loss of your primary source of income by having to sacrifice a business to pay for living expenses. With that said, did you teach your children to be just as grateful for Macaroni & Cheese as they are for steak and lobster? You know those tube shaped hard shells you boil until tender and then pour artificial cheese flavored powder over the top? I bet you scoff at anyone who has ever had to get assistance for that kind of food and those trying to make it on minimum wage. Let's see...minimum wage. Currently Federal is $6.55/hr. and state is $7.02/hr. but if you're a tipped employee it's $4.00/hr. Which of these wage categories do you fall into John? Maybe, just maybe, you work for a lending institution where it's always the borrowers fault no matter how many years they've made their payments on time. You can put people down as much as you need too if it makes you feel better but rest assured, you will someday walk in similar shoes and it will be quite a humbling experience. Hopefully it will change your perception of "stupidity".
By Neighbor
Sep 29, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this
If there was truth in the story, one might actually feel sorry for her. The sad part of this whole story is that there are individuals out there who truly are in need of assistance due to issues beyond their control. Others simply want to exploit the good will of the general public. A "Good" reporter actually reports the facts based on research.
By elmo haddo
Sep 29, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this
wow, john. you're all heart.
By LazyR
Sep 29, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this
We refied 4 years ago for a lower interest rate and to convert to a 15 year loan. The banker asked me twice if we really didn't want to add to the loan amount. We didn't see our home as a piggy bank. We saw it as a necessity that should be paid off as soon as possible. We paid it off last week. Now we'll get to pay off everyone elses loan---
By Rathburn
Sep 29, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this
There are thousands, and soon to be millions, of stories like this across America. Will The Sentinel cover them all?
By John
Sep 29, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this
Here we go again, someone is "plotting against them". They have nobody to blame but themselves. They are in this mess because of their own stupidity. Sad, yes, but don't blame the bank when it was your actions that got you in this situation by borrowing more and more to support a lifestyle that you don't have the income to support.
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