Being in the mortgage business over the past several years has not been a lot of fun. It hasn't been very good financially either. Times are tough for many, many people right now, not just in the mortgage, real estate, and building industries but across the board with job losses, reductions of income, loss of values in homes and retirement accounts and much more.
To help make ends come somewhere close to meeting I started doing foreclosure/loss mitigation counseling for a non-profit housing group that I had worked for about 9 years ago on a contract basis. No, it wasn't one of the scams, this was a HUD approved agency with all funding coming from grants and no cost to the clients. Though I certainly did see numerous scam artists and I just really don't know how people that do that type of thing can sleep at night.
I did this from July of 2008 to July of 2009. Financially it was a blessing, and also a blessing in so many other ways with the people I came in contact with. I felt that God called me to this, not only to help survive financially but also because with the struggles I and my family were going through I had the ability to have great empathy toward the situations I was dealing with. Then of course there were those who were just trying to scam things from the consumer side too, but that is a story for another time. Also I have 100 hours of training as a Stephen Ministry Leader which is a caring ministry. Many things in my life have given some different slants on some things (read the "Not Alone" post further down).
That is background to the story of a couple I will call Jack and Jill just because that is the first thing that came into my mind. Jack and Jill came in to see me one day and we filled out the information forms and they signed what I needed and we started to go over their situation.
They were, at the point they came to see me, seriously behind and facing foreclosure at the courthouse steps in the next 30 days. Jack is 73, Jill 71. They had been in their home over 12 years. Jack had been doing a job as a local driver for a delivery company for some time which augmented his Social Security and a very small pension. Jill was a marketer at Wal-Mart part time, one of the ladies who stands at the tables with samples for people to try. This augmented her Social Security, but obviously wasn't much. They were, overall, in good shape physically considering going through and having gone through the treatments they had. They were also gentle, easy going people that I liked instantly.
They had been able to get by until Jack developed throat cancer in early 2008. He was in recovery but was unable to return to work due to the exhaustion that the treatments had caused. He hoped to be able to go back to work, but was not sure when that would be. Even with that they had been doing pretty well, but then Jill got cancer as well. She was going through treatment at present, but was still working 10-12 hours a week as well. Due to all of this they had fallen behind, had used what savings funds they had, and were trying to get back on their feet. They had tried to work things out with the lender but had not been able to at this point and they were on the last days before losing their home. Their family did not have the ability to help them. Their son was not well enough off to do so and their daughter, who was in Texas, was also suffering with cancer at the time...
Now these people were not people who overspent or did not prepare, or at least think they did. Their home was only in the $100,000 range, their payment only in the $750 range. But the combination of all the things happening at one time had created a hurricane for them. They felt they had planned sufficiently, but had not planned for both to get cancer in the same years time. The expenses this created, even though they had Medicare, had drained them. Yet they still maintained a positive outlook. I told them that sometimes prayer is all that we can do, and they agreed with that. I knew that they had their faith at that point to help them, and that helped explain to me how they could be as calm as they were. They knew the realities of this world might not be what they wanted.
We discussed the options and I advised them that I would be in touch with their lender and try to work something out to get the sale date postponed while we tried to get a modification done. We also went over what would happen, if in fact, it did go to sale. When they left I told them I would pray for them. That it was, overall, the best thing I could do.
I was able to get in touch with the lender which, in itself, is an accomplishment given the number of cases that each one is dealing with. I confirmed the status of the account and that it was, in fact, set for sale the first Tuesday of the following month at the courthouse steps. I put together what I had, prepared the forms, spoke with Jack and Jill several times about additional info I needed and as the end of the month drew near was able work out an arrangement to stall the sale date with a three month trial payment. This was on Thursday before the Tuesday sale date. The first payment would be due by Monday.
I called Jack's cell phone telling him I had some good news. I went over what the lender had offered, which was fair, and asked if they could meet the Monday payment. He thanked me for my efforts. Then he told me he didn't think they would be able to do it. They were in Texas, having been called there to be with their daughter, who ahd taken a very serious turn for the worse and was in the last days and hours of her life due to the cancer she suffered with. She was 47. He told me that it had been necessary for them to borrow the money for the trip from their son. He said they knew they were going to lose the house, but had reconciled themselves to that at that point. Obviously there were more important things to deal with. I told him I would keep their daughter and them in my prayers and that if there was anything at all I could do in any way to help I was there.
I tell this story not to make you sad. I tell this story to show how one couple dealt with what this life on this earth had given them to deal with. They dealt with all of this with great dignity, great calm, and an enormous faith. Excuse me, FAITH. Maybe quiet, certainly very strong, an example that shines brighter than any star you will find. I am not certain where they are at right now. It has been difficult to follow all of the people I dealt with, with more and more that were coming in each day. I carry them in my heart, and I pray for them. I know that they will be all right. I would ask you to pray for them as well.
I pray also that this story might help any one suffering. To read this and say "see, there are others worse off than I" may be true, however I know from experience that that does not lessen the pain of what you may be dealing with. But I hope that this story shows that with faith, in HIM, and a trust that if you call HIS name He will be there to see you through, that you will be able to deal with whatever this life throws your way. I know I have...
Monday, October 12, 2009
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