Overcoming cancer and adversity to keep her home

Janie O’Neill was running out of options. The Winston-Salem grandmother won a long hard battle with cancer,only to find herself behind on her mortgage and facing foreclosure. Her husband had died several years before,and O’Neill had custody of her grandson, whose own mother was ill. In 2003, O’Neill purchased a ranch house in a quiet neighborhood offering stability and security. Though her husband’s life insurance had provided two thirds of the purchase price of the home, the cancer had caused her to miss work and become delinquent on the mortgage. “I was diagnosed in 2006,” explained O’Neill. “I got some help keeping up with my bills, but it still put me in a bind.” She was about to lose a $95,000 home for which she owed just $35,000.

By December, she was receiving social security benefits and had money to make her payments, but the mortgage company would no longer accept them. She called around to various agencies for help resolving the situation, but no one could work with her soon enough. “I would have been sitting outdoors by the time my appointment came around,” remembered O’Neill. She was among millions of Americans facing foreclosure after having received loans with unfair terms, often at rates higher than for which they qualify. (1 in 5 families with subprime loans lose their homes to foreclosure.)

When O’Neill was finally referred to Self-Help, she found herself sitting across the desk of loan officer Jodria Bufford. “She started on my case right then and there. On my way back to my car, she called out ‘Ms. O’Neill, do you have your deed with you?’ I did. She said, ‘well, let’s get the ball rolling.’” Self-Help refinanced the loan, reducing her interest rate by nearly 4%.

O’Neill feels fortunate that she found her way to the Self-Help office. “I didn’t have anywhere to go,” she said. “It took some quick thinking — that’s how I ended up at Self-Help. They were the ones that helped me understand it better. They call me now and then to make sure I’m managing my budget, and I can call them if I need to check and see if someone is legitimate.”

With a clean bill of health and her bills paid on time, O’Neill can now relax and enjoy the house with three bedrooms, two baths and a basement. It’s a safe and comfortable place and represents not only stability for now, but hope for a positive future. And indeed, the future looks bright: O’Neill’s grandson, now 14, is a straight A student.