An Unexpected Struggle: Bill and Jo's Story

For many of us, the idea of home foreclosure seems a distant threat, carrying a strong, specific connotation with it. We perceive that it doesn't apply to us – we have secure jobs, are hard-working, have a stable income (or two), and have an education. The possibility that we could be caught in the messy process of saving our home, as well as our stability, is not considered a real concern – we are not included under the umbrella of foreclosure candidates, right?

Unfortunately, the rise of financial instability in our country has slowly and steadily enveloped more and more families into foreclosure. Bill and Jo live in Holland and throughout the past few years have earned a solid middle-class income of $75,000 per year. They graciously provided a home for both their large family and some extended family members who had lost their fight with foreclosure. The situation was tight, but was working – until Bill's salary was unexpectedly cut and Jo lost her job.

These events were the beginning of a long, slow decline in their family's stability. They began to depend on credit cards as a quick and temporary bridge – just to keep them afloat until they could get back on their feet. Their credit card debt ballooned to $26,000, which, in turn, made mortgage payments very difficult to pay.

This combination of reduced income and high interest payments forced Bill and Jo's family into the terribly complex web of foreclosure. For a full year, they worked with their mortgage company in an attempt to keep their home, filling out and filing endless paperwork, keeping their records organized and managed, and attempting to understand the system.

In May 2011, Bill contacted case manager Andrea Fantin at Community Action House. As you can imagine, the first step of asking for help seemed impossible and felt embarrassing, particularly for someone who was used to doing the care-taking, rather than receiving it. Bill and Jo were at the end of their rope – feeling hopeless about the entire process and the prospect of saving their home.

Over the past six months, Andrea and Bill have worked together to navigate foreclosure prevention and take steps to keep the family in their home. One major piece of their gameplan was the Step Forward Program through MSHDA (Michigan State Housing Development Authority). This program began in 2009, and provides federal "hardest hit funds" to the five states needing them most (Michigan, Florida, Arizona, California, and Nevada). One aspect of the program is Principal Curtailment, which Bill and Jo qualified for. In addition, their mortgage company, First Place Bank, agreed to match the funds, resulting in a significant decrease in Bill's principal amount. Andrea and Bill continued their momentum and were successful in securing a mortgage modification, which resulted in a 4% interest rate. This lower interest rate allows Bill's family to manage both their mortgage and credit card payments without continuing to fall behind.

For Bill and Jo's family, approaching Community Action House for help provided the support and partnerships they needed to rebuild their life and create stability in a new way. In addition to a successful foreclosure prevention, Jo began job training in a growing industry and is now working within her field of study, providing income for their family.

Bill and Jo's story is an exciting example of how case management at Community Action House is quite remarkable – case managers, like Andrea, are part of their client's lives as long as it takes, not just for a limited timeframe. Their care for each client's wellbeing produces incredible results, emphasizing again how our middle name  – action – continues to help change our community in positive, lasting ways.