Intro: "There was once a time in America when communities stood with their neighbors and helped them through rough times, as portrayed in the classic movie 'It's a Wonderful Life,' when the community came together and aided a down-on-his-luck businessman, George Bailey, in his battle with the evil banker Henry Potter. George Bailey was facing the prospect of losing his home and business, but his neighbors rallied together and saved the day."
Bertina Jones addresses a rally of supporters in front of Freddie Mac in Washington, DC. Ms. Jones is facing foreclosure despite honoring the terms of a loan-modification agreement with Bank of America, 01/27/12. (photo: Scott Galindez/RSN)
01 March 12
Reader Supported News | Perspective
here was once a time in America when communities stood with their neighbors and helped them through rough times, as portrayed in the classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life," when the community came together and aided a down-on-his-luck businessman, George Bailey, in his battle with the evil banker Henry Potter. George Bailey was facing the prospect of losing his home and business, but his neighbors rallied together and saved the day.
That type of thing used to happen more often. I wonder, when was the last time there was a barn-raising party in Iowa? Communities standing together in hard times is a thing of the past. In today's America the government bails out corporations, but the people are left to fend for themselves. In today's America neighbors silently watch as the sheriffs evict people like George Bailey at the whim of the Henry Potters.
Imagine if communities rallied together and said, "Enough is enough," to Bank of America, Fannie and Freddie, and the other architects of the foreclosure crisis. Thanks to a national effort within the Occupy movement, that is starting to happen. Occupy Our Homes is standing up with people facing foreclosure and eviction. They have had some success: a 78-year-old women in Nashville will be able to stay in her home until she dies, and a veteran from Minnesota is now renegotiating his mortgage with his bank. While these cases are a drop in the bucket, they show what can be done if communities come together and fight for their neighbors.
That brings us to the case of Bertina Jones, a grandmother raising her grandson in Bowie, Maryland. Like many Americans, Bertina fell behind on her mortgage after losing her job in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. When Ms. Jones regained the ability to make payments in 2008, she contacted Bank of America to work out a plan to catch up on her payments.
While negotiating a loan modification, the bank filed for foreclosure on January 7, 2009.
On January 28, 2009, however, the bank offered to reinstate the loan if Bertina paid $12,289.48 by February 4, 2009, and agreed to monthly payments of $2,289.48 - an increase from her original payments - in order to make up for the arrears.
Ms. Jones was relieved. She thought her nightmare was over, but little did she know, it was just beginning.
On February 4 Ms. Jones went to a Bank of America branch in Washington DC, gave them a check for $12,289.48 and signed her loan modification papers. This should have been the end of the story, but it was not.
In April, Bank of America called Bertina Jones to inform her that they had not received the signed agreement she had submitted at the branch office of the bank. Ms. Jones immediately went to a Bank of America branch in Bowie, Maryland, and re-filed the paperwork, along with her first payment of $2,289.48.
Ms. Jones thought everything was resolved, only to get another call two weeks later informing her that the bank still had not received the paperwork or her first payment.
Bertina went back to the Bowie branch and the manager called the main office and told them that he had personally sent them the paperwork and received the May payment. He was told the May payment had been received, but was put in suspension since the paperwork was not received. They agreed to look for the paperwork.
Five days later Ms. Jones called the bank to see if they had found the paperwork. They informed her that they had not, and advised her to stop making payments since they were being put in suspension until the paperwork could be found.
In August, despite being told not to make any more payments, she sent another check for $6,868.44 to cover June, July and August. A few days later she called the bank and they told her that the agreement had been cancelled, and they were returning the original $12,289.48 since they had not received the paperwork.
>From that point forward Ms. Jones started putting her monthly payments in a bank account, hoping the matter would be resolved and the bank would start accepting payments. Instead, the bank restarted the foreclosure process, and in a foreclosure sale, sold the mortgage to Freddie Mac.
Bertina Jones made every attempt to honor her loan. She was paying the amounts agreed to in the modification agreement. Bank of America, however, decided they didn't need to honor the agreement and that their mistakes didn't matter. The bureaucracy failed Bertina Jones, and now she and her grandson are facing eviction.
Since August of 2009, when Bank of America canceled its agreement with Ms. Jones, she has slowly and quietly come closer and closer to the day the Sheriff's Department will arrive at her door to remove her and her young grandson. But wait ... Occupy DC learned of her plight and has provided hope. Occupy Homes DC organized a rally on Monday in support of Bertina Jones.
"It's very stressful," Ms. Jones said. "I'm always tired, and the worry is a lot of weight on me."
After working on her own for so long she said it was "great" to rally with supporters outside the Freddie Mac government relations offices Monday. The 75 or so Occupy protesters marched in a circle around her chanting, "Housing is a right," as she clutched a sign that said "Stop Foreclosures and Evictions Now." One sign at the rally that struck a nerve with me was "People need homes, Banks do not!"
Members of Occupy Our Homes DC picket in front of Freddie Mac in Washington DC in support of Bertina Jones, a grandmother who is facing foreclosure, 01/27/12. (photo: Scott Galindez/RSN)
Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth Congressional Church escorted Bertina Jones into the office of Freddie Mac. They were told there wasn't much they could do at that office, but within an hour Brad German, a spokesman for Freddie Mac, said the company was working toward a "positive resolution" that would allow her to keep her home.
The speed and the swiftness of the response startled even the Occupiers. "It shows we're having an impact," said organizer Mike Haack, 29, a freelance writer. "It's definitely a positive step."
But Haack said they are waiting until the ink is dry on the agreement to celebrate the victory.
Bertina Jones said she was waiting to consult with a lawyer before signing any proposals, but she said she hoped everything would be resolved soon. "I'm glad I stood up and fought," Jones said. "I hope more homeowners will join us."
While Freddie Mac said the protest had no influence on their decision, one has to wonder why they didn't commit to working with Ms. Jones before the protesters, media, and community leaders arrived.
On Tuesday, after a second protest at a Freddie Mac office in Virginia, Freddie Mac announced that they have arranged for a meeting between Ms. Jones, her attorney, and Bank of America.
The lesson here is that you can fight until you're blue in the face, but the big banks will only pay attention to your case when it becomes a public relations nightmare for them. Big banks are getting away with deceptive, dishonest, lending practices every day and will continue to do so until enough of us stand up and resist. Occupy Our Homes is a start, but their victories are only a beginning ... for each success story there are tens of thousands of preventable foreclosures that go unnoticed.
Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
