Foreclosure Prompts Suicide

July 27th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosure

The latest in a string of tragedies is a foreclosure threat directly prompting a woman to suicide. She shot herself immediately after sending a fax message to her lender saying that when they would come to foreclose on her house she would be dead. Fifty Three year old Carlene Balderrama made use of a high-powered rifle belonging to her husband to put an end to her life.

Her husband had pleaded for bankruptcy in vain as many as three times. After receiving the alarming mail the mortgage company contacted the police of Taunton, Massachusetts. The police found her dead body after about an hour. Taunton is approximately 60 km lying to the south of Boston.

The auction was to be held at 5 pm. Potential buyers reached the venue not knowing that Carlene Balderrama’s body was lying dead inside said the chief of police Raymond O’ Berg. The law enforcing authorities were initially reluctant to release the particulars of the mortgage company. O’Berg read out a part of the fax message – “By the time you foreclose on my house I’ll be dead.”

The police also said that there was a suicide note found next to Carlene’s body. In it she gave instructions to her husband John and to her son aged 24, to use the life insurance money due to them to pay off the house debt. Mr. Balderrama had no premonition of the impending tragedy. He said that it was his wife who handled all the financial matters. He was beside himself at the sudden turn of events.

At the moment death knocked on the doors of the house of the Balderramas, the US House of Representatives passed a momentous legislation to help about 400,000 foreclosure victims like Carlene. The bill would also help the mortgage jumbo firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the brink of peril. The vote (272/152) indicated a strong step taken by Congress during this election year to help the struggling foreclosure victims and to give assurance to the jittery financial market about the position of the two mortgage pillars of the industry – Freddie and Fannie. It is expected that the measure will soon become law as Bush has withdrawn his threat of veto.

White House accepted the clause about $3.9 billion in grants despite its initial distaste for the idea. This grant would help devastated neighbourhoods to get back on its feet. The bill will put chains on Freddie and Fannie while at the same time throwing them a financial lifeline enabling them to get back on the rails.