LETTER FROM DORA A.
CLIFTON NJ
My husband passed away and I was left with not enough income to continue to support all our bills, including my mortgage. I was embarrassed to share with my family that I was now facing foreclosure. I was referred to this paralegal, Angela M. Thomas, so I went to see her. After she analyzed my situation and my finances, she asked me if I had any family members that would be willing to help support my mortgage and I shared with her how embarrassed I was to admit that I was now facing foreclosure. She encouraged me to share this information with my children and she assured me that I had a good chance to save my home if my children could help support me.
I asked Angela to contact my daughter and to my surprise, my daughter and her family agreed to move back in with me to help me save our home. I had tried to work with my lender, however, once they determined that I did not earn enough of an income, they suggested I sell the home. I love my home and raised my children in this home, and it was not something that I wanted to face. Angela M. Thomas was supportive and wonderful.
She convinced the lender that with the addition of my daughter and her husband’s income, we could now afford a loan modification. The process took almost 4 months and at the end of these very stressful 4 months, we were granted a trial period for 6 months. At the end of these 6 months, the lender promised to permanently modify our mortgage loan. It was stressful making those 6 trial period payments, not knowing if the lender would really modify the mortgage loan or not, but luckily, they did modify the mortgage loan and we saved our home.
We can’t thank Angela enough for all her support and for all the advice she provided. Angela reviewed not only my budget and bills but my daughters as well, and she helped us streamline our monthly bills plus she gave us ideas on how we could reduce our expenses. Additionally, she strongly suggested that we start a savings program so we could establish liquid savings to support us in case of an emergency or unexpected home or auto repair. She also advised my daughter and her family to start a 401K account and to establish educational accounts for my grandchildren. Her support and advice were a welcomed change from the harassing phone calls from my lender, who offered no help at all.
I recommend anyone who is behind on their mortgage to contact Angela. She will let you know what options are available for you, based on your situation and she will make sure that you understand your options, so you can make an informed decision. She empowered me to take control of my situation when I was feeling like a victim of an unfair foreclosure. It was hard enough for me and my family to deal with the death of my husband and then to deal with facing foreclosure while we were grieving was almost too much to bear. Angela made the process bearable and now that we have saved our home, we are so thankful and grateful.
Our family is stronger now having survived this foreclosure and I am certain my husband is smiling from Heaven knowing that his family is safe and secure in their home.
Respectfully,
Dora and Jennifer Aquino
Clifton, New Jersey