Photo not that of the actual clients.
When he was laid off in 2015 through no fault of his own, “Greg” got help from the St. Johns Housing Partnership (SJHP) obtaining Hardest Hit funds. A year later SJHP, whose mission is to promote safe, decent and affordable housing in north Florida, helped Greg and his wife “Debby” with a loan modification when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was no longer able to work.
Then, in 2017 the couple faced their third hardship in three years when Hurricane Irma hit. Greg and Debby asked for and received a six-month forbearance on their mortgage, and believed, based on communications from their loan servicer, that the six months of payments would be put on the back end of their loan. Unfortunately, as thousands of Floridians have discovered, after the six-month period ended the servicer insisted the full six months be paid immediately, plus the seventh month, which was now due.
Greg and Debby were catapulted into default, and their lender filed foreclosure proceedings against them. Fortunately, the partnership between SJHP and JALA goes back many years, having been forged during the aftermath of the housing crisis. The case came in to JALA’s St. Johns County office, where a team of legal aid and private practice lawyers review all foreclosures cases every two weeks. Greg and Debby’s case was taken on by JALA President and CEO Jim Kowalski, who began representing Greg and Debby in circuit court while SJHP started work on their loan modification.
This collaboration – focusing on saving homes while demonstrating that the bad behavior of mortgage servicers can be exposed and stopped in court – has once again worked. Greg and Debby will remain in their home as strong St. Johns County residents, paying their property taxes and shopping in their local stores.
The partnership between JALA and SJHP is a great example of collaboration that strengthens and lifts up the community.
