Willie York purchased his Bayview home in the 1960s for $25,000 with the intention of one day passing it on to his four children.
Now 91, York's health has declined due to advanced dementia, but his condition isn't the only major problem his family is facing. Because of a refinancing loan that dates back more than 10 years, York and his family now face eviction.
Nonprofit Bayview Hunters Point Community Legal (BVHPCL) is working with York's daughters Carolyn and Janice to keep the home, a lawyer with the group told Hoodline.
After receiving a call from Reverse Mortgages of California (RMC) in 2007, York agreed to allow an RMC representative to complete paperwork to refinance his home and pay for needed repairs. According to York, an RMC employee named Thomas Perkins offered to administer a reverse mortgage deal and promised to pay for additional repairs by arranging contractors.
Perkins reportedly presented York with a completed reverse mortgage application; although York is otherwise illiterate, he signed the document.
To complete the application, RMC needed a signature from a family member whose name appeared on the house's title, so Perkins asked a family acquaintance to forge Janice's name, said York's attorney.
Unbeknownst to York, the documents he signed secured a reverse mortgage loan that sold his home to Bank of America but required him to continue paying property taxes.
Additionally, the reverse mortgage caused his property tax rate to be reassessed from where it was set in 1975 to a 2007 rate that is ten times higher.
As a result, he currently owes $50,000 in back taxes.
According to BVHPCL, York is the target of elder financial abuse and predatory lending, since RMC didn't disclose the tax consequence and also directed a family friend to forge a signature.
York and his legal team have asked the city Assessor to back the property tax increase based on the forged deed, but the office has refused to do so. As a result, York stands to lose his home.
According to BVHPCL, the organization has looked into seven foreclosure cases since 2014. Of these cases, five involved elderly homeowners who were people of color. Because Bayview-Hunters Point has historically high home ownership rates, it's viewed as a ripe market for reverse mortgage companies.
York's daughters Carolyn and Janice weren't aware of the refinancing, but occasionally saw RMC's Perkins throughout the repair process. Because Perkins allegedly said he was "helping out," the sisters thought the renovations were being done by a charitable organization.
They didn’t learn of the loan until 2009 when York was sent his first default notice from Bank of America. At that point, the Yorks worked out a payment plan for $200 per month, making payments until 2013, when they were notified that their mortgage was sold to a company called Champion Mortgage which disavowed Bank of America ever having made the agreement.
According to York's lawyers, Champion refuses to honor the contract it purchased from Bank of America and claimed York was in default.
Eventually, the matter escalated into a federal court case; Champion withdrew the default notice, but sent York a foreclosure letter this year. In response, BVHPCL and Mr. York filed a federal court action to stop the foreclosure.
A trial date has been set for September. In the meantime, Carolyn and Janice York hope to keep their father in his home for the rest of his life and are working to educate other senior Bayview homeowners about the consequences of reverse mortgages.
