Sharon moved to New Jersey in 2007 and purchased her dream home. “I like to craft,” she says, “and this was a palette for me to do what I wanted to do.

But 15 years later, after experiencing a decrease in wages due to COVID-19, and subsequent health issues requiring lengthy hospital stays, Sharon was in financial trouble. She fell behind on her mortgage payments and depleted her savings.

She attempted to work with the servicer of her mortgage on a loan modification, but was given conflicting information and never received the modification documents that were supposed to be mailed to her. Without those documents in her possession, she missed the deadline to answer, and the foreclosure process was initiated.

“I would have been devastated if I had to move and lose my home,” says Sharon. “I would have lost all of the monies and effort and love I’ve already put into my home.

She contacted LSNJ and was connected with the Foreclosure Defense Project (FDP). Her FDP attorney helped draft an answer to the complaint and asserted that there were numerous violations of RESPA—the federal regulations that govern how a mortgage servicer has to handle a loan modification application. The attorney then requested mediation, and successfully negotiated a loan modification that was manageable for Sharon.

“My services was fantastic; wonderful. … It was just like if I had paid $1,000,000 for a five-star attorney.”