July 30, 2008

My name is Kelly S., I live in Poway, and I was recently in a situation where I wasn’t going to be able to keep my home; as the change in the economy changed my financial situation drastically.  As my house was upside down, selling it and moving to another home wasn’t going to be an option. My choices were limited to walking away, trying for a short sale (which I figured may or may not happen), or staying in the house until foreclosure. As a single father of three small children, the best option seemed to be to stay in the house as long as possible, even though I didn’t want a foreclosure affecting my future credit.

I was bombarded with mail from different companies and attorneys offering to help, but none of them seemed legitimate enough to trust. A couple whom I called felt like a scam.  Three days before my house was to be sold at auction, I received a flyer in the mail sent by Good Samaritans, Inc. It said there were a nonprofit group and members of the Better Business Bureau, so I took a chance and called them. Within 2 business days, they had my bank (WaMu) stop the foreclosure, and grant a 30 day extension to work out the details of the short sale they were conducting with my property. They themselves actually put the package together to buy my house from the bank. I would no longer have to worry about a foreclosure on my record, and I would not have to worry about moving so soon. Most importantly, I felt like I had someone helping me through a situation I never thought I’d be in and knew nothing about.

We are now days away from finishing the short sale, and Good Samaritans has helped me find a new place to live, and also helped me with the move there. The people who work at Good Samaritans really care, and I liked what they did for me so much I asked if I could help get the word out and help others in my position.

What Good Samaritans did was at no cost to me, as it would be at no cost to you. If you are finding yourself in a similar situation, I urge you to give them or me a call. (I actually wish I had known of their program and called them sooner – it would have saved me some sleepless nights.)

It’s hard to sift through all the information you receive and know what to do when you’re going through this, but once you call Good Samaritans you’ll feel a whole lot better. I know I did.