To: President Donald Trump
Pres. Obama: Keep families in their homes
Home Defenders League
President Obama: Use the first 100 days of your second term to cement your legacy as a President who upheld the rule of law, held bankers accountable for their crimes, and helped the hardest hit families stay in their homes. We demand you:
Prosecute Wall Street bankers for stealing our homes, savings, and livelihoods;
Keep people in their home by resetting their mortgages to fair market value;
Make Wall Street pay us back.
Prosecute Wall Street bankers for stealing our homes, savings, and livelihoods;
Keep people in their home by resetting their mortgages to fair market value;
Make Wall Street pay us back.
Why is this important?
My name is Jessica Gwynn. I wrote a longer version of this story for the "100 Stories of What Wall Street Broke" website run by the Home Defenders League. I am now working with them to tell my story and demand real action from the Obama Administration.
In early 2007, as a college-educated professional writer, I joined with my father – me with my good income and he with his perfect credit score – and bought my own home and piece of the American Dream. I was thrilled. I went to work every day, I paid my bills on time, I watered my plants, I made my home and I lived some of my happiest times.
Until late 2008 when I and my entire team got fired when my company lost its biggest client. Shocked and panicked I went home to my boyfriend and cried. But together we pulled through, even as I sat unemployed for 8 long months. And when I did get a job, it was at a fraction of my previous salary. But I still made my payments.
Then I broke up with my boyfriend. This time I simply could not afford my mortgage. I was terrified and alone. And my bank, well, my bank did everything in their power to make my life even more miserable. They never returned my calls. They lost _all_ my paperwork, every time I submitted it. They called only to threaten me. They even skipped out on their own lawyer when we tried to go through mediation. And they’ve been trying to foreclose since April of 2009.
The insane thing is not only did we find out our mortgage was robo-signed but the entire process was fraudulent. In four years, the bank hasn’t been able to provide a single piece of original paperwork. Not one piece. Yet despite this and my every attempt to reach them to work something out, they are relentlessly trying to steal my home.
My house is worth about half of what I initially paid for it. My father and I no longer speak. This situation destroyed his good credit and, ultimately, our relationship. And the entire country has changed. Most people I know are working for less than they ever did - yet our mortgages are based on home values we haven’t seen since 2008. We need to keep families together. Keep people in their homes. Refinance based on current home values. The banks should not be allowed to get a huge bailout FROM OUR TAXES and then expect steal our homes from us! It is criminal.
President Obama, it is time to do the right thing by the American people. Make the banks accountable for their fraudulent activities and reset mortgages to current home values. Keep people in their homes.
In early 2007, as a college-educated professional writer, I joined with my father – me with my good income and he with his perfect credit score – and bought my own home and piece of the American Dream. I was thrilled. I went to work every day, I paid my bills on time, I watered my plants, I made my home and I lived some of my happiest times.
Until late 2008 when I and my entire team got fired when my company lost its biggest client. Shocked and panicked I went home to my boyfriend and cried. But together we pulled through, even as I sat unemployed for 8 long months. And when I did get a job, it was at a fraction of my previous salary. But I still made my payments.
Then I broke up with my boyfriend. This time I simply could not afford my mortgage. I was terrified and alone. And my bank, well, my bank did everything in their power to make my life even more miserable. They never returned my calls. They lost _all_ my paperwork, every time I submitted it. They called only to threaten me. They even skipped out on their own lawyer when we tried to go through mediation. And they’ve been trying to foreclose since April of 2009.
The insane thing is not only did we find out our mortgage was robo-signed but the entire process was fraudulent. In four years, the bank hasn’t been able to provide a single piece of original paperwork. Not one piece. Yet despite this and my every attempt to reach them to work something out, they are relentlessly trying to steal my home.
My house is worth about half of what I initially paid for it. My father and I no longer speak. This situation destroyed his good credit and, ultimately, our relationship. And the entire country has changed. Most people I know are working for less than they ever did - yet our mortgages are based on home values we haven’t seen since 2008. We need to keep families together. Keep people in their homes. Refinance based on current home values. The banks should not be allowed to get a huge bailout FROM OUR TAXES and then expect steal our homes from us! It is criminal.
President Obama, it is time to do the right thing by the American people. Make the banks accountable for their fraudulent activities and reset mortgages to current home values. Keep people in their homes.