Detroit Woman, 101, Evicted From Home of 58 Years

Texana Hollis' son admits he stopped making payments
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 14, 2011 9:44 AM CDT
Detroit Woman, 101, Evicted From Home of 58 Years
This video television frame grab provided by WXYZ.com shows Texana Hollis of Detroit.   (AP Photo/WXYZ.com)

A particularly sad foreclosure story out of Detroit: Texana Hollis has been evicted from her home of the past 58 years ... at the age of 101. As if that's not depressing enough, Hollis and her late husband owned the home outright—but in 2003, Hollis' son persuaded her to sign it over to a reverse-mortgage company for $32,000. That money was supposed to help make home repairs, but Warren Hollis also bought a car and $5,000 worth of other things, WXYZ reports. Hollis was evicted after her 65-year-old son failed to pay property taxes to maintain the mortgage, the AP adds. (Update: HUD officials are giving Hollis her house back.)

"I kept it from her because I didn't want to worry her," says Warren Hollis, who also disregarded eviction notices. "I was just so sure it wasn't going to happen." But it did happen Monday, and Hollis' belongings were placed outside as she was forced to leave by court officers who left the wheelchair-bound woman sitting on the sidewalk. That night, she was taken to a hospital for severe anxiety and disorientation; she also suffers from high blood pressure and heart trouble. An official notes that the Hollises took out an adjustable-rate mortgage in 2002 and owed $80,000. Neighbors, a nonprofit organization, and even county officials indicate they will try to help. (More foreclosures stories.)

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