Ever since the housing crisis began, we have heard many upsetting stories of homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure. But this story involving a 101-year-old woman is particularly troubling.

The 101-year-old faced foreclosure and was evicted from her home back in September by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which threw her and her belongings out on the street. The action came after her son, who is 65-years-old, allegedly defaulted on paying property taxes linked to a reverse mortgage on the property.

Two days after the eviction, HUD promised to allow the elderly woman to return to her longtime home. But now the agency has again barred the woman from her home, asserting that the property is in such bad condition that it cannot allow anyone to reside there.

The federal agency conducted an inspection of the property and ruled that it was unsafe and unsanitary, calling it unfit for any human being to live in. HUD explained that it refused to be responsible if anything happened to the elderly woman if she moved back in, based on the fact that it now owns the property.

The woman's son took advantage of a HUD program for the elderly and took out a reverse mortgage for the $32,000 assessed value of the property. The federal agency then acquired the mortgage rights in 2006 after the value of the home went below the loan amount, and foreclosed after property taxes were not paid.

After 60 years of living in her own residence, the elderly woman now confronts the very real possibility of homelessness. For now, the 101-year-old woman has been staying in a room at the residence of a 68-year-old woman who she once had as a student in her Sunday school class.

Source: Boston Globe, "Evicted 101-year-old Detroit woman can't go home," Jan. 22, 2012