American Homeowner Preservation has developed a way to help struggling homeowners by leveraging the power of crowd sourced funding. Since 2008, AHP has helped hundreds of families across the country (and in Puerto Rico) resolve unaffordable mortgage debts and remain in the homes and communities they love.
Like many who have been touched by AHP, Joe Willie Hart had fallen behind on his mortgage due to severe illness. Although he recovered and eventually returned to work, the hefty interest and penalty charges were insurmountable. He started planning for the worst: foreclosure and eviction.
AHP used its crowd sourced capital to buy his mortgage and offer him a loan modification with affordable terms. They settled his delinquent charges for $2,000 and lowered his monthly payment to $673 for the remainder of his term––a deal that Mr. Hart was thrilled to accept.
In Chicago, Michael Reed wanted to hold onto the house that he grew up in, which sat empty and suffered vandalism after his mother passed away. Unfortunately, home values in his neighborhood had dropped substantially in late 2016, and the house was only worth about half of the mortgage balance. AHP purchased the $71,946 mortgage for $7,800. With Reed’s permission, AHP foreclosed on the loan and cleared the title. While the foreclosure was being processed, AHP advanced money to Reed so he could repair the house and move into it with his family. As Reed worked to repay the advance, AHP completed the foreclosure and leased the home to Reed until he could obtain conventional financing.
He repurchased the property for $31,000––56% less than his mother owed on it. That year, he saw his son enjoy Christmas in the place that gave him many fond holiday memories. “I did this in honor of my mom, who worked her butt off to keep this place my entire life,” he said.
