We provide legal and social work services to seniors trapped in predatory mortgage loans. We also help seniors make healthy, well-informed mortgage decisions. Our primary partners are Fair Housing Law Project, Senior Adults Legal Assistance and Project Sentinel.

Unfortunately, despite the recent changes in the mortgage lending market, including stricter qualification and underwriting standards, unscrupulous brokers continue to make high commissions selling harmful mortgages to seniors.

No. Thanks to a grant from the Archstone Foundation, our services are free of charge to Santa Clara County seniors age 60 and above, regardless of income.

Please call us to discuss your specific case. Partner agency Project Sentinel is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist delinquent borrowers who want to negotiate loan modifications with their lenders.

We strongly suggest that you do not pay someone to modify your mortgage, even if he or she is an attorney. There are nonprofits such as Project Sentinel that will help you for free.

Reverse mortgages are an appropriate product for some seniors, including victims of predatory lending who could lose their home to foreclosure without a quick solution. However, reverse mortgages are a poor choice for most seniors because there are less costly ways to make ends meet. Call our project to discuss your options and to be put in touch with a HUD-approved reverse mortgage counselor if necessary.

Yes, alternatives include City-administered grants and low-cost housing rehabilitation loans, as well as California’s Property Tax Postponement Program. Other cost-cutting and income supplementation programs for seniors include the CARE Program to reduce energy costs, Universal Lifeline for discounted phone service, Medicare drug payment assistance programs, SSI and Medi-Cal, In-Home Supportive Services, and the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance pension. Call us for more information on these and other programs.

We give free presentations to senior groups and senior care providers on the following topics: predatory lending, borrower protection, foreclosure rescue scams, loan modifications scams, and reverse mortgages. Please call us to schedule an outreach presentation.

Seniors are heavily targeted for scams involving annuities, investments, life insurance, long-term care insurance, and home improvement. Often the unsuspecting senior is ensnared by a financial predator via a living trust seminar. Sadly, some of these seminars even take place at senior centers!

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, elder abuse is most frequently perpetrated by adult children. Examples include an adult daughter who gets power of attorney over her father so that she can drain the bank account, or an adult son who takes out a reverse mortgage on his mother’s house and spends all the money on himself.

Call our hotline at (408) 350-3229. We are happy to talk with you over the phone or schedule an appointment. We also have helpful brochures and fact sheets on a variety of topics that we can mail or email to you.