by Dan Kelley, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
CORPUS CHRISTI — When Corina Lopez bought her house in 2001, she financed through the previous owner. The terms were relatively simple: Lopez put down $3,300 and would pay $496.47 a month for the next 15 years for the $49,500 house. Five years later, she got a mortgage through a traditional broker. She thought refinancing was a good idea, and she had plenty of reasons. The new mortgage would help her repair her credit and dislodge some extra cash, about $3,900, that her husband used to paint and install new carpet.
Her savings? In the beginning at least, there was about $90 knocked off her monthly bill. But then her payments started to fluctuate. The bank folded into another, which sold her note to another mortgage company, Countrywide Financial. She started getting demands to pay $595, or $640, or $750. “The statement said I was on an adjustable rate. I thought: Nobody ever told me this,” Lopez said. It strained the family’s tight budget. Lopez is a medical assistant. Her husband of 20 years, Luis, hangs drywall. It was their first time buying a home. She missed payments, and each time she did, the mortgage company would charge her $120 for an inspection. “They kept adding that every month,” Lopez said. “They know I’m here.”
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Filed under: State Foreclosure News, Texas
