Widows over the age of 50 are struggling to get help paying their mortgages, making them part of the fastest growing group of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure.

For many of these women, they are caught in the middle of a Catch 22 mess: they don’t qualify for mortgage modifications unless their name is on the loan, but many lenders won’t add them to the note until they pay any amounts that are past due.

As a result, many women 50 and older are losing their homes because they are outliving their husbands while being unable to cope with pension cuts and rising medical expenses.

AARP (Association of American Retired Persons) estimates the rate of foreclosures among people over 50 went up 23% from 2007 to 2011, resulting in 1.5 million foreclosures. The percentage of loans held by borrowers over the age of 50 that were delinquent rose from 1% in 2007 to 6% in 2011.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Mortgage Catch Pushes Widows Into Foreclosure (by Jessica Silver-Greenberg, New York Times)