Father Edwin Bohula, a Catholic priest who passed away in 2007, and Irene Serwa lived together as virtual "husband and wife" at a home on Crabtree Lane in Des Plaines, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Court last month.
Because of changes Bohula made to his will and "deed in trust" agreements on the property, Serwa no longer has clear ownership rights and cannot sell the house. She is suing the estate of her former companion to get those rights back.
Until 1998, Serwa was the sole owner of the home. That year she added Bohula as a co-owner of the home, according to the court complaint and Maine Township Assessor's records.
In 2007 Maine Township records show a change in the "deed and trust" listing Bohula as the primary owner of the property. In 2006 Bohula changed his will to leave the home to the Dominican Sisters of Chicago Rosary Hill Convalescent Home granting Serwa the right to live in the home for the rest of her life. Because of that change Serwa is now unable to sell the house.
Serwa's suit alleges Bohula never told her of changes to the will and that Bohula violated an agreement that co-ownership of the home would revert back to Serwa upon his death.
Bohula's estate lists Serwa, Sister Natalie Pekala, the mother superior of Dominican Sisters of Chicago Rosary Hill Convalescent Home and Bohula's sister, Pauline Bohula, as co-trustees of Fr. Bohula's trust (estate).
According to the suit and the Cook County Clerk's office, Bohula and Serwa were never legally married though Serwa signed the court filing as both Irene Serwa and Irene Bohula.
Serwa's suit says the two met in 1959 in grammar school. Serwa exchanged letters with Fr. Bohula after he joined the Navy in 1964. The two became reacquainted in 1994. That year, after Bohula's mother died the relationship became closer, according the court filing. By 1996 Fr. Bohula was regularly staying at Serwa's home helping her through a difficult period and by 1998 Bohula was living with Serwa in her Des Plaines home full time.
In 1998, the suit says Fr. Bohula convinced Serwa to "place the home (deed) in joint tenancy" to seal their relationship as he could not marry her because of his position as a Catholic priest.
Bohula was the pastor of a Catholic church in Lemont attended by Serwa until shortly before his death.
Serwa did not return several calls for comment. Attorneys for both Serwa and those representing Pauline Bohula and a spokeswoman for the Dominican sisters would not comment on the case.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Homeownership made easier
PAID-UP contributors interested in owning a National Housing Trust (NHT) unit will no longer have to struggle to find a deposit, under one of five new initiatives that the institution rolled out yesterday aimed at making homeownership more affordable.
Senior NHT officials, who made the announcement yesterday, said hard-pressed contributors may instead enter into a three-year lease agreement with the Trust under what has been dubbed a Short-Term Lease Facility.
During this period, the contributor will be required to pay 15 per cent of the property cost in monthly lease payments. At the end of three years, the contributor will be converted to a NHT mortgagor, with access to the balance of the property's purchase price.
Managing director Earl Samuels told journalists yesterday that the NHT, like many institutions in Jamaica, had been impacted by the changing economic environment as many persons had either lost jobs or were earning less in real terms as a result of inflation.
"Irrespective of what is happening, people are still in need of shelter, and the Trust has been wrestling with the problem of providing affordable housing for its contributors even in the midst of shrinking incomes and rising construction costs," said Samuels.
"We're not saying these initiatives will be the answer to everyone's problem, but it's our hope that some of our contributors who are hard-pressed to meet our loan requirements will be able to find homeownership opportunities in some of the initiatives introduced."
The other four initiatives announced yesterday at the NHT's corporate offices in Kingston were Shared Equity Loan Arrangement, Combined Loan Programme, Use of NHT contributions to meet loan-funding shortfall and an extension in maximum long-term loans.
. The Shared Equity Loan Arrangement is designed for contributors who cannot afford the full or subsidised price of an NHT scheme unit and allows successful applicants to jointly share ownership of their units with the NHT. Applicants are required to own at least a 60 per cent stake in the property and can purchase the NHT's share at any time.
. The Trust's revised Combined Loan Policy allows spouses who are qualified contributors to access a total combined loan of $7 million.
. By using their NHT contributions to make up loan-funding shortfalls programme, loan applicants can access up to 50 per cent of their contributions to the Trust to bridge funding gaps between the loan amount they can afford from the NHT and the price of the unit or lot they're purchasing.
. The extension in maximum loan term facility has seen the Trust extending its maximum loan repayment period from 30 to 40 years, or upon the contributor reaching age 70, whichever comes first.
Three of the new initiatives - short-term lease arrangement, combined loan programme and the extended loan term facility took effect yesterday, while the contributions for deposit facility will not be accessible until April 10, 2010. The implementation of the fifth initiative - the shared equity facility - will be announced at a later date.
Source
Senior NHT officials, who made the announcement yesterday, said hard-pressed contributors may instead enter into a three-year lease agreement with the Trust under what has been dubbed a Short-Term Lease Facility.
During this period, the contributor will be required to pay 15 per cent of the property cost in monthly lease payments. At the end of three years, the contributor will be converted to a NHT mortgagor, with access to the balance of the property's purchase price.
Managing director Earl Samuels told journalists yesterday that the NHT, like many institutions in Jamaica, had been impacted by the changing economic environment as many persons had either lost jobs or were earning less in real terms as a result of inflation.
"Irrespective of what is happening, people are still in need of shelter, and the Trust has been wrestling with the problem of providing affordable housing for its contributors even in the midst of shrinking incomes and rising construction costs," said Samuels.
"We're not saying these initiatives will be the answer to everyone's problem, but it's our hope that some of our contributors who are hard-pressed to meet our loan requirements will be able to find homeownership opportunities in some of the initiatives introduced."
The other four initiatives announced yesterday at the NHT's corporate offices in Kingston were Shared Equity Loan Arrangement, Combined Loan Programme, Use of NHT contributions to meet loan-funding shortfall and an extension in maximum long-term loans.
. The Shared Equity Loan Arrangement is designed for contributors who cannot afford the full or subsidised price of an NHT scheme unit and allows successful applicants to jointly share ownership of their units with the NHT. Applicants are required to own at least a 60 per cent stake in the property and can purchase the NHT's share at any time.
. The Trust's revised Combined Loan Policy allows spouses who are qualified contributors to access a total combined loan of $7 million.
. By using their NHT contributions to make up loan-funding shortfalls programme, loan applicants can access up to 50 per cent of their contributions to the Trust to bridge funding gaps between the loan amount they can afford from the NHT and the price of the unit or lot they're purchasing.
. The extension in maximum loan term facility has seen the Trust extending its maximum loan repayment period from 30 to 40 years, or upon the contributor reaching age 70, whichever comes first.
Three of the new initiatives - short-term lease arrangement, combined loan programme and the extended loan term facility took effect yesterday, while the contributions for deposit facility will not be accessible until April 10, 2010. The implementation of the fifth initiative - the shared equity facility - will be announced at a later date.
Source
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)