Case Studies
Scott and Melissa of Lansing had fallen behind on their mortgage payments when Scott lost his job. They kept calling their lender, and they were told that they did not qualify for a workout plan. Their lender had begun foreclosure proceedings and they had just three weeks before their house went to sheriff’s sale. We directed them to an organization that provided financial assistance, and we re-negotiated the terms of their mortgage. Three days before the sale, the foreclosure proceedings were cancelled, and Scott and Melissa had six weeks before their next payment was due.
B.C. of Bay City had been laid off and was not having much luck in finding a job. He was completing a training course, but he wouldn’t start his new job until AFTER his foreclosure sale date. We put together a package, convinced the lender to give us some extra time, and later renegotiated the terms of his mortgage. He’s still in his home today.
P.S. of Birch Run fell behind on his mortgage when his wife lost her job of several years. They slashed their expenses, but by that time, they were six months behind. It didn’t help that they’d been behind twice before. Despite their poor history, we put together a proposal that would limit the lender’s risk in case the homeowner fell behind again. We made it clear that this was his last chance to avoid foreclosure, and provided a number of suggestions to ensure that this would not happen again. The proposal was accepted and the plan worked.
Erin of Lansing had been off work for several months due to medical problems. Her lender told her to contact them once she was back to work. She did, and she sent in her information. She also spoke to person after person after person, who always had a different opinion of her chances to keep her home. Even worse, they kept losing her information, and she had to keep re-submitting it… she sent in FOUR packages! At her wit’s end, she called us and we immediately identified her problem. She had made a few errors on one of the worksheets, which would have disqualified her for homeowner’s assistance. We corrected the errors, re-submitted her information, got it assigned to a negotiator and within 10 days, the lender CALLED HER to iron out the final details.
J.F. of Freeland had been through the ringer. He was severely injured in a car accident, and off work for several months. He had gotten a workout on his own, but he needed his income to be able to make his monthly payment. Due to the injuries he sustained in the auto accident, he was no longer able to perform the duties required by his job. The lender was completely not responsive, at this point, telling him that he either needed to catch up his back payments or lose the house. We put him in touch with a contact who fast-forwarded his Social Security claim. We also helped him to obtain housing assistance. Then, we contacted a Vice President at the mortgage company, who told the department handling his file to re-open his case. He received first Social Security check 10 days later, and we were able to “re-re-negotiate” his loan, where he is still living today. His comment was, “I know that there is NO WAY I could have kept my home without your help.”
B.G. of Grand Blanc had been receiving a pension from GM. When she began receiving Social Security, GM slashed her pension payment, and then claimed that her check would be cut again because they had “paid her too much for over two years.” This nonsense caused her to fall behind on all of her bills. Since she’d been out of the work force for a few years, there wasn’t a good chance she could quickly pick up a job. After explaining and re-explaining her situation to the lender with no results at all, she finally gave up and contacted us. We obtained a temporary payment reduction for a number of months, and then her mortgage payments would go back to their normal level, giving her time to get her finances straightened out.
R.G. of Grand Ledge had been contacted by the IRS and was told that there was an error on an old tax return. They seized some of his assets, which nearly ruined him. He contacted his lender, who demanded $10,000 down, and raised his payments to $4,800/month. He didn’t think he would be able to do it, but he agreed because it was the only option he was given. As expected, he fell behind. Even worse, this was an adjustable rate mortgage, so his payments were scheduled to go even higher. We took his case, arranged a temporary plan, and eventually obtained the following results: The lender converted his loan from an adjustable to a fixed rate. And, his monthly payments were lowered by $1,200/month.
If you would like to speak to a counselor, please call 989 865 4088 for immediate assistance.