Business & Professional
FINANCE
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A Big Tip -
Read Your Mail
Cele/brat& f3 e,ewty
A SPLorp4AA9 Ex4-rava9et4t,za ,
Tuesday, September 14
6 pm — 9 pm
Neiman Marcus
Somerset Collection South,
Level One, Beauty Dept.
Join us for Cocktails, Desserts
& a look at Fall Beauty
...makeup consultations, hand treatments,
skin care analysis, fashion & more!
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Tickets: 1/$5 or 6/$25
Beauty Basics by Neiman Marcus
for you & 7 friends
Destination: Beauty Sensation by Neiman Marcus
custom spa package & lunch
Wabeek Country Club Package
18 holes of golf & lunch for 4
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Tickets
of your choice
Much more!
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for older adults with memory disorders
RSVP by September 1st: Sharon Teweles at (248) 592-5028
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tI p. l i ) Jewish
Federation
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ELDE LIN
WE PAW OF THE TEAM
1,
0
30
September 9 • 2010
iN
he had allowed the home to
go through the foreclosure
process; his six-month
redemption period had
expired and the lender had
obtained a judgment to
evict them from the prem-
ises. He had five days before
their belongings were to be
put on the street!
When I asked him if his
wife knew, he paused, and
said, "No." Can you imagine?
Five days forward, the court
officer was heading there to throw all
of their possessions onto the street
and his wife didn't know. As it turned
out, with great fortune and my enlist-
ment of family help at the last possible
moment, we were able to acquire the
property and
avoid the eviction.
In this instance,
the problem was
averted; but I can
tell you, it was a
miracle.
Had he called
me before the
foreclosure pro-
cess started or
right when it
began, I'm certain
I could have nego-
tiated a successful
loan modifica-
tion, reducing the
monthly payment
and not subject-
ing them to the
risk and stress of
virtually losing
their home. All he
needed to do was to face the problem.
The bottom line: I suspect there
are going to be many men who are
annoyed with this column. If your
loved one is making it home every
day to get the mail, wake up. It's not
because he can't bear to be away from
you. He's hiding a significant issue
that affects your life. The remedy? It's
simple — read your mail. El
I'm certain I could
have negotiated
a successful loan
modification,
reducing the monthly
payment and not
subjecting them to
the risk and stress
of virtually losing
their home.
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I is 3 p.m. in the middle
of a busy workday. Mr.
Smith has managed
to find a reason to stop by
home and pick up the mail.
This happens on Monday,
Tuesday and, low and
behold, it happens all six
days a week. Wonder why?
Is it because Mr. Smith
loves his home life so
much that he can't bear the
thought of not being home
when the mail comes? Is
it because he's so excited that he is
expecting the winning ticket from
American Family Publishers? With Ed
McMahon no longer with us, I'm sure
this is not the reason. I'll tell you: Mr.
Smith is hiding the mail from Mrs.
Smith.
Why is this so?
Typically, it's one
of three reasons.
The payments on
the mortgage are
behind and the
foreclosure pro-
cess has begun.
Or the IRS or the
State of Michigan
is sending threat-
ening letters as
a result of taxes
that have not been
paid. A third pos-
sible reason: He's
in default on vari-
ous bank loans
and the bank
is sending let-
ters to the home,
threatening action
against him and the wife as guaran-
tors of the loan.
Unfortunately, this is not a rare
occurrence. I have encountered this
horror story in my office countless
times. Just last week, I received a panic
call from a client who told me he was
about to be evicted from his home.
I paused because I knew this client
owned his home and he had not con-
tacted me for help as a result of the
lender starting the foreclosure process.
Why didn't he contact me sooner?
The answer is that he was embar-
rassed and afraid to face his wife and
family. This was the extreme case. His
head was so buried in the sand that
Ken Gross is an attorney with Thav, Gross,
Steinway & Bennett in Bingham Farms and
host of the Financial Crisis Talk Center,
a radio program that airs weekly at 9 on
Saturday mornings on Detroit Sports Talk
Radio 1130 AM.