stockjock
Posts:100
 |
| 07/24/2008 2:35 PM |
 Alert
|
I'm not sure you can blame this one on the mortgage company, as the owner hadn't paid them a dime in years. In any event, I suppose that this was one solution, for her anyway. Hopefully her insurance covered suicide and was not simply accidental death and dismemberment.
Here's the article with credit to the Associated Press...
Mass. woman kills herself before home foreclosure
Associated Press
Published on: 07/23/08
TAUNTON, Mass. — A 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself shortly after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they foreclosed on her house that day, she would be dead.
Police said that Carlene Balderrama used her husband's high-powered rifle to kill herself Tuesday afternoon, shortly after faxing the letter at 2:30 p.m.
The mortgage company called police, who found Balderrama's body at 3:30 p.m. The auction was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and interested buyers arrived at the property in Taunton, about 35 miles south of Boston, while Balderrama's body was still inside, according to Taunton Police Chief Raymond O'Berg.
Police did not immediately release the name of the mortgage company. O'Berg said Balderrama's fax read, in part, "By the time you foreclose on my house I'll be dead."
O'Berg also said a suicide note found next to Balderrama told her husband, John, and 24-year-old son to "take the (life) insurance money and pay for the house."
"I had no clue," said John Balderrama explaining that his wife handled all the couple's finances. "I'm just lost. I tell you I'm beside myself."
He said Carlene had been intercepting letters from the mortgage company and shredding them without his knowledge. He had no idea she hadn't paid the mortgage in 42 months.
"She put in her suicide note that it got overwhelming for her," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. "Apparently she didn't have anyone to talk to. She didn't come to me. I don't know why."
John Balderrama filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times from 2004 to 2006, but the courts dismissed the petitions. Debtors who declare bankruptcy under Chapter 13 generally can keep their homes while paying off their debts under a court-approved reorganization plan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Andrew Jensen
Posts:67
|
| 07/24/2008 3:43 PM |
Alert
|
| I looked for more incidents, but couldn't find any. There has to be more of this going on. This and people killing thier agents slash loan brokers. |
|
|
|
|
tpc
Posts:400
|
| 07/24/2008 3:55 PM |
Alert
|
| OMG- I am leaving town on my private jet ASAP. Andy-thanks for the warning. |
|
|
|
|
78TTop
Posts:88
|
| 07/24/2008 4:00 PM |
Alert
|
Here's an article from USA Today about foreclosures and suicide:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-05-14-mortgage-foreclosures-mental-health_N.htm
|
|
|
|
|
jakob
Posts:343
|
| 07/24/2008 4:02 PM |
Alert
|
"ROOSEVELT PARK — A man upset about a property transaction shot a real estate agent in the head, mortally wounding him, during a meeting Tuesday morning in the victim’s office, authorities said."
“We believe this was a planned-out execution-style murder of the real estate agent,” the prosecutor said.
Tague told WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids that Johnson believed that VanderStelt took advantage of him in a real estate deal. Johnson bought a house through him in 2005, then recently decided to sell it and went to a different real estate agent. The second agent told Johnson that, because of the slumping housing market, the home was not worth what he had paid for it."
full story |
|
|
|
|
LoonyQT
Posts:824
|
| 07/24/2008 5:48 PM |
Alert
|
I thought most insurance didn't cover suicide...
I am floored by this kind of aberrant behavior:
1) how does she maintain residence when bills weren't paid for 42 months?
2) how does her husband not know even that bankruptcy was filed in his name multiple times?
3) just as she was greedy buying a house she couldn't afford, she was selfish to her family and friends she didn't communicate with and just so violently disattached herself from.
I feel very sad for this woman and mostly her kids. I do not feel sorry for her, however. May her spirit be in peace regardless.
Btw- thanks to whomever thought it would be nice to send this to me as an email (anonymous from news server). |
|
|
|
|
rwsinmissionhills
Posts:311
|
| 07/24/2008 6:19 PM |
Alert
|
| Isn't it kind of weird that she wasn't paying her bills, except life insurance...Hmmm. |
|
|
|
|
LoonyQT
Posts:824
|
| 07/24/2008 6:21 PM |
Alert
|
| rw - are you implying murder over suicide? |
|
|
|
|
jpinpb
Posts:1161
|
| 07/24/2008 7:19 PM |
Alert
|
| Life insurance is cheap compared to mortgage, but you're correct, QT, insurance won't pay on suicide. |
|
|
|
|
jt
Posts:26
|
| 07/24/2008 8:08 PM |
Alert
|
I'm no detective, but there are some oddities with this story:
- Women rarely use a firearm when committing suicide
- A high-powered rifle is an odd choice, as it's usually difficult to reach the trigger of one while it's pointed at you
- The husband declared chapter 13 three times and failed all three times...these are a lot easier to get than chapter 7's.
- If she hadn't paid the mortgage in 42 months, that's January/February of 2005 since the last payment, and he filed for BK in 2006. He stated he had no idea the mortgage wasn't paid in that time, but he had to have seen all his finances and debts when he filed in '06. Best case scenario - if he filed in January '06 he was 10 months late on his mortgage.
|
|
|
|
|
jpinpb
Posts:1161
|
| 07/24/2008 8:35 PM |
Alert
|
| GSR on her, the clothing - or some good detectives will check him for GSR. |
|
|
|
|
rwsinmissionhills
Posts:311
|
| 07/24/2008 8:59 PM |
Alert
|
Posted By LoonyQT on 07/24/2008 6:21 PM
rw - are you implying murder over suicide?
Just seems a little fishy to me--It's a bit too dramatic/contrived. The message she left her family--Use my dramatic death as a way out of this mess. I sacrifice myself for our home. (as the bidders are gathering outside the door)
I am not an expert on suicide, but isn't suicide usually a call for help? Don't you think this person might have faxed a letter to the mortgage company threatening to commit suicide if they couldn't help her before actually resorting to it? The husband says she was overwhelmed, but didn't bother to talk about it?
Sorry. I don't mean to sound cold hearted. Clearly someone died a violent death, but maybe it didn't exactly happen the way it was reported.
|
|
|
|
|
UnsureBuyer
Posts:195
|
| 07/24/2008 9:02 PM |
Alert
|
just a damn shame... so much more to live for than a house. You only live once. 42 months is a long time not to pay the mortgage. Why didn't the bank foreclose earlier?
|
|
|
|
|
jpinpb
Posts:1161
|
| 07/24/2008 9:10 PM |
Alert
|
| Permanent solution to a temporary problem if it really was a suicide. |
|
|
|
|
rwsinmissionhills
Posts:311
|
| 07/24/2008 10:42 PM |
Alert
|
Posted By UnsureBuyer on 07/24/2008 9:02 PM
just a damn shame... so much more to live for than a house. You only live once. 42 months is a long time not to pay the mortgage. Why didn't the bank foreclose earlier?
Assume, for sake of argument, the mortgage payment was $2000/mo. and it was not paid for 42 months. That's $84,000 these people saved by living rent free. Foreclosure hardly sounds very tough when you can drag it out so long.
I'm telling you guys: when all these people eventually get foreclosed upon and finally kicked out, they are going to be back and bidding against you when you think you're the only ones left to pick up all the properties they got tossed from. If someone is bidding on a $500,000 house and they have a chunk of change like that, I am guessing they are going to be successful in getting someone to make a loan. With a bunch of money up front, you might even get the sellers to carry some paper in exchange for a tasty interest rate. |
|
|
|
|
JAP
Posts:39
|
| 07/25/2008 7:32 AM |
Alert
|
Posted By rwsinmissionhills on 07/24/2008 10:42 PM Posted By UnsureBuyer on 07/24/2008 9:02 PM
just a damn shame... so much more to live for than a house. You only live once. 42 months is a long time not to pay the mortgage. Why didn't the bank foreclose earlier?
[/quote]
when all these people eventually get foreclosed upon and finally kicked out, they are going to be back and bidding against you when you think you're the only ones left to pick up all the properties they got tossed from. If someone is bidding on a $500,000 house and they have a chunk of change like that, I am guessing they are going to be successful in getting someone to make a loan. With a bunch of money up front, you might even get the sellers to carry some paper in exchange for a tasty interest rate. Won't happen. People like that are financially incompetent. They live paycheck to paycheck and they spend all their money on frivolous crap. Plus, a foreclosure or bankruptcy lowers their credit score for years. They will never win a bid when competing with someone with a perfect credit score and a 20-50% downpayment. |
|
|
|
|
jackjack
Posts:155
|
| 07/25/2008 7:54 AM |
Alert
|
| I 100% agree with JAP. It won't happen. They are financially irresponsible. I am not worried about it. |
|
|
|
|
jpinpb
Posts:1161
|
| 07/25/2008 8:12 AM |
Alert
|
Posted By rwsinmissionhills on 07/24/2008 10:42 PM
I'm telling you guys: when all these people eventually get foreclosed upon and finally kicked out, they are going to be back and bidding against you when you think you're the only ones left to pick up all the properties they got tossed from. . I just don't see that. The credit standards are getting tighter and tighter. The last thing they're going to do is another risky loan, particularly someone who was in foreclosure. Now if some of these people are real savvy and just have it in the spouse's name and are extremely disciplined and banked their cash (hopefully not over 100k in a bank going under) then we may compete w/the other spouse. But those are really not many. Most maxed out and over-extended. |
|
|
|
|
dchestney
Posts:158
|
| 07/25/2008 9:28 AM |
Alert
|
| LoonyQT--In most states, life insurance becomes incontestable for death due to suicide after the policy has been in effect for some stated period of time--often two years, as I recall. I think the purpose is to protect unwitting beneficiaries who have every reason to believe they have financial protection through the policy, and there is a reasonable "contestability" period to prevent purchasee-in-anticipation-of-suicide. BTW, I am surprised there hasn't been more support expressed by the angry young men and women who post here for the "Darwinian integrity" of her act. |
|
|
|
|
dchestney
Posts:158
|
| 07/25/2008 9:30 AM |
Alert
|
| Correction to previous message: Now that I see her age, the silence about removing poor genes is understandable--she was most likely beyond childbearing age. |
|
|
|
|