NHS of Baltimore Helping People Avoid Foreclosure

By: Rena Somar, Homeownership Adviser, NHS of Baltimore

I am currently working with a client who called me on November 5th to help her with her mortgage. Her home was in foreclosure and scheduled to be sold on November 13th. I called her lender to work out some type of modification but they were not willing to work with her until she paid the legal fees. My client does not have an income because she is disabled and does not work. She is currently waiting on her disability check, which is backdated from 2006 due to a legal battle over pre-approval of her disability. Although she has since been approved, she will not receive her check for at least another month.

I called the Department of Housing and Community Development on November 6th and spoke with Jeanne Mullen, Manager of Single Family Collections, who asked me for certain documents, including written authorization from my client, giving me permission to work on her behalf. On November 7th I received a call from Gary Masseaux, Asset Management Officer of DHCD Delinquency Reports, who informed me that my client’s foreclosure sale date was stopped and they have given her 60 to 90 days to bring her mortgage current. This will give her enough time to receive her disability money and pay her mortgage in full.