Faces of Foreclosure

Faces of Foreclosure: Foreclosure Worsens Health

By Suzanne Manneh, New America Media

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. Pretti Hilton sighs as she recalls the countless times she's mailed and faxed paperwork to her bank to modify her home loan.

For three years, 48-year-old Hilton has been struggling to modify the loan on her two-bedroom home with Bank of America. She says she has sent them her financial documents at least 30 times, and while her determination to save her home is palpable, so is her stress level.

"My stress level is ridiculous now," said Hilton, who currently takes three different medications a day for hypertension, which she says she never had before.

"When you call [the home retention department] you get a recording that says, 'you qualify [for modification] if you have experienced loss of income, divorce, or death in the family,'" she said. "And I've experienced it all over the past two years, yet I'm told that I still don't qualify."

Since late 2009, Hilton's home has been up for auction each month. She says she's grateful that each time her requests for extensions were granted, but fears that "next time" her plea will be denied.

"I wouldn't know what to do," said Hilton, fretting not only for herself but also for her 14-year-old son, who has ADHD, and her 26-year-old disabled son, who both live with her.

Hilton receives subsidies from the state to care for her son at home through the In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, which covers in-home care for low-income frail seniors or people with disabilities. She was also caring for her "godmother" under the program.

State budget cuts to IHSS and the loss of her godmother, who died of complications from cancer, have caused her income to plummet by 50 percent. The loss of income triggered a downward spiral that has brought her to the brink of foreclosure.

"There were three different periods of time when I went two to three months without pay [from IHSS]," she said.

Hilton says she had to tighten her belt and "cut down on every luxury." When IHSS resumed issuing her paychecks, she attempted to resume her mortgage payments. Bank of America told her that her monthly fees would be higher as a result of late fees.

But, Hilton disputed this new amount. She said Bank of America was going to continue to charge her the higher amount, even after paying off all late fees. She took the issue up with the bank, but to no avail.

In August of 2009, she stopped paying her mortgage all together and sought help from housing counseling agencies. Hilton qualified for a free audit of her home loan documents through one of the housing organizations last year. She said it revealed her bank was overcharging her nearly $500 a month. Bank of America has yet to respond to the results of the audit.

To make matters worse, Hilton says, a Bank of America representative advised her to also stop making payments on her car loan to better qualify for a modification, but that resulted in the car's repossession. Hilton has been without a car since, and "pays friends" to take her places.

While Hilton says she has taken all the necessary steps to modify her loan, she says she's still "in limbo."

This May, Hilton hired a lawyer to provide further advice and support. She has paid him $1500.

But she noted, "I try not to think about it. I just keep on fighting. I'm doing this all so I can save my home."

See more Faces of Foreclosure.  http://special.newamericamedia.org/foreclosure/profiles-pretti.html