Forum Post: Urgent Eviction Actions for Latino family in New Jersey

THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS IS REAL AND LOCAL

The Unemployed Crisis Action Network needs your help to stop a government agency from evicting a working family with children from their home and collecting a bailout from taxpayers!

Join us in calling Michael Shelton at NJHMFA, Administration of Servicing at 609-278-7446 and telling him that it is in the community's interest to keep the Solis family in their home and reinitiate the mortgage based on the real current value of the home. We hope that you will also join the Eviction Defense on June 21st.

The Solises, a Latino family in Somerset, NJ is facing eviction on Thursday, June 21st at 9:30 am. We have exhausted all legal avenues to resolve this case in the courts. A team of three lawyers have reviewed the paperwork and determined there are no other legal options to pursue.

The Solises were scammed by a local accountant who took $3,000 but did not appropriately seek the modification he promised, which led directly to the family facing eviction next week. In this case, however, the eviction is being carried out not by a bank, but by a state agency set up to keep struggling homeowners in their homes - the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Authority.

DO NOT SETTLE FOR ANOTHER BAILOUT

We sent letters and made calls to NJHMFA which they ignored and finally we just showed up and asked to meet with them. They met with us, acknowledged the problems with the accountant and agreed to work with us on reinstituting the Solises mortgage. However, the negotiations with NJHMFA have broken down and NJHMFA has decided to go ahead with the eviction.

We are seeking a reinstitution of the mortgage based on the current real value of the home. The home was valued at $220,000 at the time of initial sale in 2008, but the housing values in the area have collapsed and the home is now worth between $125,000 to $135,000. There was an attempted short sale before the foreclosure and the highest bid the family received was $105,000.

NJHMFA is demanding $50,000 in cash to reinitiate the mortgage based on the artificial 2008 value of the home. The banks dumped their toxic assets onto public housing agencies like NJHMFA. The Solis house had been previously foreclosed upon before they bought it in 2008. NJHMFA knew it was a toxic asset at the time of purchase.

NJHMFA informed us they are refusing to negotiate because they expect their investors to be reimbursed the full value of losses - $220,000 - by the taxpayers through FHA (Federal Housing Authority) insurance AFTER they evict the Solis family. This translates into a second massive bailout with public dollars. Everyone wins financially, except the homeowners who are thrown out onto the streets and the rest of the 99%.

IF WE DON’T ACT TOGETHER, THE PROBLEM WILL BE ON OUR DOORSTEPS TOO

The Solis family are not alone in their plight. New Jersey is one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis - there are 100,000 pending foreclosures right here and as community activists we are deeply concerned about the impact these foreclosures will have on the lives of so many families. Over the last three years there have been over 600 foreclosures in Somerset. There are dozens of deserted houses in the streets surrounding the Solis family home.

The Unemployed Crisis Action Network, a local activist group, has gone door to door in Somerset collecting petitions and held block parties to bring public attention to the foreclosures. During this work we have come across a small group of homeowners who are asking for eviction defense. We cannot allow the NJHMFA to tear families from their homes while claiming to protect them. There will be a massive Eviction Defense at the home of Eliseo and Sandra Solis and their two children - 24 N. Lawrence Ave, Somerset, NJ next Thursday, June 21st at 9:30 am when the Sheriff arrives.

Join us in the streets or call Michael Shelton at NJHMFA, Administration of Servicing at 609-278-7446 and telling him to keep the Solis family in their home and reinitiate the mortgage based on the real current value of the home. Tell him you will not tolerate another bailout at the expense of taxpayers!