WSVN — An amazing woman thought she had done a wonderful thing: She modified her mortgage so she could afford the payments. Then she was surprised when the payments started going up. When can a mortgage payment go up? It’s why she called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
If you are feeling sorry for yourself right now, stop for a second and meet Elizabeth Rogers.
Elizabeth Rogers: "I was supposed to die. The spinal cord was so injured that I stopped breathing."
When we came over to Elizabeth’s house, she was moving a bag of cement with her foot to get it in place to wet and mix, a project she started four months ago to extend her patio. It’s surprising she has not asked anyone for help, especially after the condition her ex-husband left her in.
Elizabeth Rogers: "I remember him pulling me against the street, hitting me, kids screaming. He stabbed me with a screwdriver more than 33 [times]. They stopped counting."
Being stabbed 33 times in 1992 left her paralyzed.
Elizabeth Rogers: "Then the doctors told my mom I was going to be paralyzed from the neck down, and I told my mom, ‘Mom, don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s not going to be true, not going to be true.’"
It was not true. Elizabeth has learned to walk a little and worked as a secretary for 18 years, till her doctor recently told her it was aggravating her condition and she needed to stop. She did, and waited a few months for her disability to be approved.
Elizabeth Rogers: "I fell behind in my mortgage, and that’s the reason why I started the modification, because I don’t want to lose my house."
In August, the modification was approved which would make her monthly mortgage payment $552, something she could afford. Then she went online to make her first payment and saw it had gone up $12 a month to $564 dollars.
Elizabeth Rogers: "How could it be that August 3rd they said something and 30 days later they say something else? I mean, it’s not fair."
Through determination she overcame paralysis, so she can find a way to pay the $12 a month, but she fears the increases in her mortgage modification will not stop.
Elizabeth Rogers: "It’s telling me that next month they are going to put $12 more, and then $12 dollars more by the end of the year. By the end of the year, it’s going to be $600 and something, $700."
She is a incredibly determined lady.
Elizabeth Rogers: "Look at me now. I walk, I drive my car. I’m proud of what I have accomplished."
And she thought she accomplished a lot when she got the mortgage modification. But Howard, you have read the agreement. Can they raise her mortgage right after the mortgage agreement is signed?
Howard Finkelstein: "Elizabeth has a fixed rate mortgage, so they can’t raise that, but it also includes what’s called an escrow account to pay her insurance, and as that goes up, her monthly mortgage can legally go up as well."
Since Elizabeth is disabled, she does not pay property taxes, so she doesn’t have to worry about that going up. We talked to her mortgage company. They told us her homeowners insurance was going to go up up next March, so they started the $12 monthly increases now to have that money in escrow to pay for it.
Elizabeth Rogers: "This country gave us opportunities, and you have to take them."
By the time we were leaving, Elizabeth had extended her patio a little more.
Elizabeth Rogers: "We poured one more bag of cement, so my back porch is going to be done sooner than I expected."
And the woman who finds inspiration to overcome everything has now found a new challenge: to wipe out the mortgage she modified by paying it off.
Elizabeth Rogers: "I only owe them $22,000. I’m not going to wait until 2045. As soon as I get enough money, I will start paying those $22,000, and I will own the title of my house, so I’m not sad. I’m not upset."
Another great thing about doing Help Me Howard: We get to meet some remarkable people, like Elizabeth. If your mortgage has an escrow account, to pay the taxes and insurance, by law, your bank can review it once a year and either raise it, lower it or leave it the same.
Fear a problem is mortgaging your future? Wanna mix a up things to cement a solution? Contact us. We have an unlimited escrow account of energy and good will to help fix your problems. Boy, that sounds like a snake oil salesman.
For more information on escrow accounts for a mortgage: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/rmra/res/respafaq
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
E-mail: helpmeHoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
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On Twitter: @helpmehoward7