The Resurrection Project saves $11 million in community investment from being lost to foreclosure

Gloria Terrazas helps a client renegotiate his mortgage terms

Alex Morales

The economic crisis continues to cause strife all over the globe, and our community is no different.  Thousands of families with dreams of owning a home fell victims to predatory lending, often because they did not have the proper knowledge for identifying a bad deal.  When their sub-prime mortgage terms expired, and the new one started, their new mortgage payments skyrocketed.  These families continue to take extreme measures to pay up or lose their home.  The Resurrection Project, having witnessed firsthand a tremendous increase in individuals seeking financial counseling in order to save their home from delinquency and foreclosure, continues offering support to those families afraid of losing their investments.  While last year might be remembered as the year the housing bubble burst, it was also the year that TRP financial counselors worked aggressively in partnership with clients to save their homes and their livelihood. 

Take, for example, Martin’s story. Martin is a 44 year old delivery man living in Pilsen. He bought his home a few years ago with payments that were then manageable. At the time of the purchase, Martin simply trusted his loan officer to inform him of the best options available. However, as it turned out, his loan officer wasn't completely honest with him. Martin hadn't been aware that when he signed the final documents, he was really signing two loans; one for the home itself and one for taxes and insurance. Because these loans were adjustable Martin knew that in the near future they would be going up. That surprise, added to the fact that Martin had debt from two credit cards to pay off, brought Martin into a very difficult financial situation.

To make matters worse, Martin lost his job and had no stable source of income for a time. Looking for a way to save his home, Martin refinanced his home, though he was still not educated about the tricks of the real estate market. For about one year he sought different methods on his own to try to help his situation. When his payments were still unmanageable, he turned to The Resurrection Project for help. After seeing their ad on a local television program, Martin got in touch with a TRP Financial Services Specialist, Gloria Terrazas, and together they began the process of readjusting his loan. Gloria moved quickly and was able to get in touch with the lender very soon. She was able to get his payments down from $830 to $720, a difference that saved Martin's home. Now, Martin feels better informed and grateful. He states that with a year of trying everything he knew, he was still not able to improve his situation until he finally found The Resurrection Project. "I am very grateful to TRP and I won't forget how I was treated."

Another TRP client is Carlos, a hard working, middle-aged man who has been living in Pilsen for about ten years.  Carlos purchased his home at a time, he recalls, when nearly anyone—regardless of their credit score—could purchase a home. Not equipped with the knowledge to identify a predatory loan, he allowed realtors to convince him that he could afford a home that would cost more than 30% of his salary. In no time, Carlos was at risk for losing his home due to the soaring interest rate. Not wanting to relocate his family, Carlos searched for other answers. In the back of his mind he recalled seeing the flyer from a local organization, The Resurrection Project, that offered classes to help those in situations similar to his own. Shortly after enrolling, Carlos learned enough about predatory lending and foreclosure to construct a plan alongside Jose Segura from The Resurrection Project, ultimately saving his home. He recalled that The Resurrection Project saw him all the way through the process. Even when yet another change in his papers threatened his home, a TRP financial services counselor took the time to reexamine his case. Now, Carlos is a well-informed individual when it comes to paying for his home. “I really hope TRP is in Pilsen a long time. We need it [TRP] to make sure what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else. I hope they stay in business a long, long time.”

TRP has also been critical in providing affordable rental housing to those whose landlords were victims of foreclosure, also a serious problem as many of such families end up losing their security deposits and having to go through inconveniences due to someone else mismanagements.  As we enter 2009, we will continue to invest in training and resources to continue to provide these important services to the community.

If you or anyone you know is going through similar situations as Carlos or Martin, please contact us.