For 25 years, Denise and her husband have built their lives in the same New Jersey home. It is where they raised their children and created decades of memories. Denise spent 30 years working in medical transcription, a job she first learned in California before moving back to the New Jersey area. Over the years, she worked for medical providers in both New Jersey and nearby Philadelphia.
Later, health challenges forced Denise to go on permanent disability. Around the same time, her husband was forced into early retirement after more than 30 years in law enforcement when his police department closed. The sudden loss of income made it difficult to keep up with their mortgage.
They began missing payments, and their mortgage was sold to different companies several times. Denise and her husband sought help through a HUD counseling program in New Jersey and entered mediation with their lender. Even with that support, their mortgage balance had grown to a point where it was nearly impossible to manage.
Their lender offered a loan modification but the terms did not make the payments more affordable.
“With the modification, they gave us an amount higher than what our mortgage payments are with BlueHub SUN right now,” Denise said. “They wanted us to pay off the mortgage in the remaining six years.”
The lender would not extend the loan over 20 or 30 years, which meant the new payment was higher than they could realistically afford.
“It was very stressful,” Denise said. “I even started looking for rentals because I didn’t think there was any hope for us.”
After 25 years in the same home, Denise was preparing for the possibility of losing it. “Our children have been raised here,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to try and save the house.”
During mediation, a housing counselor referred her to BlueHub SUN. The first time she applied, she did not qualify because of student loan issues and other items affecting her credit. A loan officer encouraged her to address those issues and try again.
“He said, ‘If you can get this student loan consolidated, come back and we can probably help you out,’” Denise said.
Denise worked to resolve the issue. In the meantime, she and her husband made large payments to their mortgage company in an effort to stay current.
“It broke us but we made large payments,” Denise said.
Eventually, they fell behind again. This time, Denise decided to reach back out to BlueHub SUN.
“I was very hesitant to come back,” she said. “I had very strong doubts. But I had to give it one more try. I’m glad I did.”
The second time around, the experience felt different. “The whole process was great,” Denise said. She was especially worried about the appraisal but it worked out in their favor. She described the SUN team as respectful and capable and said the documentation process was straightforward.
“Every person I worked with was very professional and courteous. No problems at all,” Denise said.
Most importantly, the new mortgage payment was affordable and sustainable. Today, Denise and her husband remain in the home they moved into in 2000.
