This case surrounds a property that the homeowner accepted an equity loan in the amount of $95,000.00 in return the homeowner would put up their home and five acres of land even though there are one hundred and twenty acres attached to the property. When the homeowner accepted the equity loan it was discussed at closing that two months of mortgage payments would be rolled back into the loan. It was indicated to the homeowner that they would not have to pay a mortgage payment for 60 days.

The homeowner paid their first mortgage payment which was thought to be on time for a period of six months. The homeowners were contacted by the mortgage company stating that foreclosure would begin because the homeowner was sixty days delinquent. The first resolution found to solve this matter was bankruptcy, which was recommended by an attorney. Four months later the bankruptcy failed and foreclosure began. Another bombshell hit these homeowners because the property was being foreclosed on one hundred and thirty acres not just five acres and a house.

First Home Counseling did its own inquiry of the Red River County farm land in favor of the homeowner and quickly realized how the homeowners were set up to fail. Even land snatching was settling in our minds. We contacted the foreclosure attorneys for the mortgage company to resolve this matter.

A resolution was being found, however our firm was notified that the mortgage company had discontinued the attorneys service that was working with us to find a resolution and have possibly employed an unscrupulous attorney firm to evict the former railroad engineer and school teacher, even though the case was pending in a Red River Court. The homeowner asked the new attorney in this case to sign over all of his retirement to pay off the $94,000.00 equity loan debt. The attorney’s office refused. First Home Counseling is beginning to think that the mortgage company will not accept a complete payoff with the homeowners’ retirement fund simply because there is more to it than five acres.