Meet BlueHub SUN Homeowner: Edward Legenski

In 2020, Edward Legenski faced a series of life-altering events that put his home in Glendora, NJ at risk. His journey began with a divorce, which, using a quitclaim deed, transferred him full ownership of their home and its equity. But the terms of the agreement required him to refinance within a year to retain ownership. Just as he was about to find his footing, the pandemic hit and everything changed. Edward underwent surgery, lost his secondary income source and found himself caring for his dying grandmother. At the same time, his ex-wife filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and included the mortgage in it. Immediately, his credit score plummeted nearly 50 points, making refinancing impossible.

Despite repeated attempts to rectify the situation and modify his mortgage with his existing lender over several months, he was unable to find a solution. To make matters worse, Edward found himself out of work again due to another surgery. “It felt like one hurdle after the next,” explained Edward. “I just wanted to start from level ground.” With his income cut, his savings drained and mounting expenses, he eventually stopped paying his mortgage and went into foreclosure.

“The idea of losing my home kept me up at night,” admitted Edward. “I grew up poor in a single-wide trailer in Virginia. We moved 26 times before I graduated high school. I made sure my kids lived in one house for 13 years and, when we bought a bigger house, they still went to school with the same classmates.” He didn’t want his kids to lose the community they grew up with, and as a mail carrier that delivers in his own neighborhood, he didn’t want to lose his connections either. He also couldn’t fathom giving up the first place he had truly made his own.

It wasn’t until Edward found BlueHub SUN through an online search that he saw a glimmer of hope. He was skeptical at first; every other lender he spoke to was unwilling to work with him due to his credit. “Life is not as simple as a 620 credit score,” said Edward. “Everywhere I turned I hit another wall.” But when he submitted his application, SUN staff assured him that they would try to help. As he moved through the process, the team went the extra mile, explaining every detail and providing the support he needed. Eventually, Edward was able to refinance into a new, affordable mortgage with BlueHub SUN and stay in the home he fought so hard to keep.

For anyone facing foreclosure, Edward's advice is to seek out organizations like BlueHub SUN. “If I met someone today, I would say ‘this is the number you've got to call,’” said Edward. “The SUN team put in the extra effort, and I recognize it. I've had a mortgage for 30 years and can count on one hand the number of times someone has made a difference. You didn't just change my life but my future grandkids’ lives. They’ll now know where Pop is, and it can stay that way.”

A poem about home

Edward’s experience saving his home from foreclosure inspired him to write a poem that reflects on his long journey of finding a true home and what it means to him:

My Home

By Edward Legenski

I have walked too many miles and I have traveled great distance

I have hung my hat in many places and in many towns... towns that I didn't even know the name.

I've moved about...and Not by choice and certainly not without worries or shame

I've had to pack and unpack, change my address, change my license, do everything but change my name

But that's not such a bad idea

I lived in so many places and with so many different kinds

There are upsides to learning these things and to experiencing but I never knew a place that I could think of as feeling that familiar, feeling like it was mine

Bouncing about from school to school and house to house even doing the same once I was out on my own

But then one day it happened many many years later as I grew towards my ends

I found that place, the one where I could drop anchor, a place to hang all of my hats, a place that felt right and it wasn't far but just around the bend

I worked so hard and for so long, toiled for so much more and when I found this place I wanted to put my name high on the front of it or maybe just hang it across my front door

It's a place where I never thought I would

End my days, a place where my roots could grow deep into the ground, a place I would fight for with all that I had and in so many ways

It's not just where you hang your hat or where you lay your head, it's a place that you want to be in long after life has grown thin, even after the body grows cold, still and dead

It's the soil, it's the people, it's in the air and in the smells and in the sounds

It's the feel of the grass and the warmth of a spring day on some Sunday while manicuring and landscaping my grounds

It's a place that I can cling to and feel safe in, never ever having again to wander or roam

I have worked my whole life and wished upon every bright star and in every night sky for something simple.. something I finally have

And that something is my home