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When Donna received a foreclosure notice in the mail she was shocked. She did not know that a mortgage was taken out on the home that she inherited from her mother and father and was currently living in. Donna worked with a private attorney to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy hoping to get caught up on back property taxes and establish herself. Unfortunately, her family home was not able to be included in the Chapter 13 and she was back where she started.
“It really touched my heart that someone wanted to help me”Donna said after calling Legal Aid of the Bluegrass and being put in contact with housing counselor, Patty Pickett. She continues, “I tried calling around and no one would help me because I was in a Chapter 13.” Donna and Patty worked together to complete a loan modification, making her mortgage payments on the home affordable. “My goal was to keep my home and to keep a roof over my children’s heads. That was my whole goal and to get all the debt wiped out I didn’t know anything about” says Donna.
The home was special to Donna for many reasons but partly because the street that she lives on is named after her family. “We have lived in this area for over 50 years. Our family and two others actually sold our property to the subdivision so they could build here” she shares. The loss of this family home would have been devastating to Donna.
Legal Aid helped Donna navigate the loan modification process.She explains“If I didn’t understand something, Patty would take the time to answer my questions. She put everything out there and even talked to the mortgage company with me. When the mortgage company would talk about things I didn’t understand, she in a very professional way, had them explain it to me where I could understand it. She made everything very understandable. She made everything possible.”
“Because of Legal Aid, I got to keep my home.I got to keep a roof over my babies’ heads which is my number one goal. It was wonderful and she got an interest rate that was very reasonable for me. My payment is really really affordable now. I do not have to worry about if we going to be able to get groceries or are we going to be able to pay the gas and electric. All thanks to the help of Patty and Legal Aid. I think if I would have done it by myself, it wouldn’t have been that easy.”
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass remains in contact with Donna to ensure she has peace of mind and the ability to maintain her housing. “No matter what your situation is, what your problem is, if Legal Aid is there, then they are available to help” says Donna. “And if they can’t help you they have the connections that can. Legal Aid is genuine. They are there for you. The people who work for Legal Aid, it’s like they were meant to work there and to help the community and people that need help. I would recommend them to anyone, anytime, any day. I love Legal Aid!”
