NHS has been helping people save their homes for more than 35 years. We hope that you will be inspired by the following stories of families facing foreclosure who were helped.
Name: Ada M. Brown
Neighborhood: West Englewood
Home purchased: 1972
Cause of trouble: Refinanced mortgage for home rehab. Taxes and insurance went up.
Solution: Through NHS, received counseling & help assessing finances. Lender modified loan to a 5.93 % fixed-rate loan.
As a senior on a fixed income, Ada M. Brown didn’t know what to do when her mortgage payment went up. She had lived in her home for more than 35 years, caring for a disabled son.
After falling three months behind on her mortgage payments, Ada says the phone rang constantly and there was piled-up mail from people offering her a quick fix to her problem. “One letter stated I had only 15 days to ‘pay up,’ and they wanted all 3 months at once,” recalls Ada, “That wasn’t an option, but neither was losing my home. My home and I are safe because of NHS. I can’t tell you what that means.”
Name: Jose & Ileana Frausto, Nickolas, 13, Yodaris, 9, & Amarylis, 4
Neighborhood: West Humboldt Park
Home purchased: 1994
Cause of trouble: Husband and wife lost jobs. Refinanced three times in seven years, ending up with an interest rate at 9.65%.
Solution: An affordable NHS refinance-rehab loan, which lowered their mortgage payment and gave them 28 new energy-efficient windows.
For four years, the Frausto family lived not knowing if they would be able to keep their home. They had exhausted all their savings, were expecting another baby, and their mortgage payment climbed to $2,400 a month.
“It was humiliating and very stressful,” says Ileana. They held it together by faith and help from family, friends and the NHS West Humboldt Park office. “We were in such bad shape that I didn’t think there was any hope,” says Jose. “I kept asking, ‘Do you really think you can save our home?’ Our counselor said, ‘Don’t worry—be patient. We’re going to do everything we can to help.’ And they did. I cried. We have our home and nothing else matters.”
Name: Frances Pratt
Neighborhood: South Chicago
Home purchased: 2002
Cause of trouble: Loss of job 15 months after home purchase. Injury from car accident that significantly cut her hours as a home care aid.
Solution: Although Frances was a year behind on her mortgage, she accessed resources, like NHS of South Chicago, HUD, Metropolitan Family Services, and the Dept. of Public Health, to save her home. “Prayer, persistence and patience were key,” says Frances.
Frances Pratt, 41, admits she hasn’t had the easiest life. She grew up in public housing, but wanted something better for her daughter, Shontoria, now 13. “My house was a Sweetest Day gift to myself. I wanted my daughter to have the peace of mind and security of having a home,” she says.
President of the 87th and Marquette Avenue block club for four years, Frances advocates for her neighbors. She has seen at least four youth, previously expelled, graduate from high school because she refused to let them hang out on street corners. With her big smile and can-do attitude, she wants others to know they can overcome anything if they “let the threads of the past go and see a future of new beginnings anchored by faith.”
Her modest two-bedroom home and her neighborhood mean everything to her. NHS mediated on her behalf with her lender and she has a 30-year fixed-rate loan. “NHS made a big difference. I’m forever grateful.”
Receive Regular Updates
