Chicago Attorney Jay Paul Deratany: Mortgage Company Seeks to Oust 75 Year Old Client

Aug. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- "I'm going to defend Mrs. Stinson, she is not moving. I will fight this vigilantly in the court system. She is not moving. Period"

These were the words of high profile Chicago attorney Jay Paul Deratany yesterday.

Deratany is representing Helen Stinson of Chicago,a 75 year old African American woman who has opened her home to foster children. She has taken care of dozens of troubled children in need throughout the years and has done a commendable job of keeping them from the harsh realities of the streets, addressing this stringent task with determination and honorable energy and commitment.

In 2010 a foster child age 18, came into her home and attacked the senior citizen, stabbing her a total of 27 times. Unbelievably, she survived.

She has undergone significant rehabilitation but is still unable to walk very well.

Now , her mortgage company Wells Fargo has said that they want her to leave her home. She had a loan which she paid promptly each month but now it has "ballooned" and they don't want to renew it.

Says Deratany:

" I just think this is a human tragedy and for this mortgage company to kick this poor woman out of her home is atrocious."

Many Americans are adversely effected by balloon mortgagees, in which there is a large payment at the end of a loan to satisfy the remainder of the principal and interest. Many mortgages are set up to have a balloon payment at the end of the term.

Mortgage holders initially may like this type of payment because it provides them with a way to make smaller payment throughout the life of their mortgage - many mortgages only requiring a payment that covers the interest each month. None of the principal of the loan is actually being retired as part of the payment. At the end of the mortgage, the borrower has to come up with the entire amount of the loan all at once for the balloon payment.

If times are hard, they may lose their home or have to refinance.

In Stinson's case, she is disabled and elderly. She has been a strong member of the community, and has been a role model for other African Americans. The loss of her home would constitute a severe hardship.

In the eyes of many in her community, it is an unwarranted attack on the part of Wells Fargo, and comprises an injustice to a woman who had dedicated her life to helping those in need.