Short Summary
I have worked hard and tried to do the right thing my whole life. I joined the Army in 1982 just out of High School, and served a year in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. After transitioning from active duty I got a job with UPS and was proud to join Teamsters Local 728. I purchased my home in 1996 with a VA backed home loan and refinanced it in 2004.
In 2005 I started my own trucking business, and then the economy crashed. I got illnesses related to my time in Desert Storm, and I fell behind on my mortgage.
I’ve been trying to catch up ever since; recently I’ve applied for the HomeSafe program here in Georgia. While my application was being processed my VA benefits kicked in, which meant I could afford to make my payments.
Sadly, as my finances were finally coming together in October 2012, Green Tree Mortgage Servicing foreclosed on my home on behalf of Fannie Mae, despite the fact that I was doing everything I could to catch up and modify my loan.
Fannie Mae auctioned off my home, knowing that HomeSafe was working with me. Now that I am receiving my service connected disability compensation I can make my monthly payments but Fannie Mae wants me out now. All they're willing to offer me is $1500 cash for keys to get out.
In looking over my assignment documents I’ve also discovered that some of the country’s most famous robo signers signed the mortgage assignment that was used to foreclose on me.
Fannie Mae is aggressively moving forward with an eviction, and it could happen as soon anyday. As a veteran, I thought the toughest battles were behind me. I never thought I’d be struggling to keep a roof over my head. I fought for this country, so I know I have a right to fight for my home!
What We Need & What You Get
Right now I'm just trying to find a way to stay in my home. Along my journey I've realized that there are millions of struggling veterans. The word homeless and veteran should never be in the same sentence, I believe it's the shame of a nation.
If I could raise 51k it would be enough to pay for my extensive legal fees I've racked up fighting this foreclosure and get my house payments up to date.
The Impact
My campaign is much bigger than me. I want a place to call home, but this fight has put me alongside hundreds of other homeowners facing the same struggle. I know we're all in this together.
I've tried to use every opportunity I can to use my struggle to shine a light on the overall crisis. Here is some of the news coverage: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21633132/desert-storm-vets-eviction-protested
Recent Bill Moyers episode my story was featured on: http://billmoyers.com/segment/rachel-laforest-a...
WHY WE NEED TO DUMP ED DEMARCO:
Four years ago, President Bush appointed DeMarco to run the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored agencies that control more than half the mortgages in this country. DeMarco is a career bureaucrat who has gotten through his career without ruffling many feathers. However, since taking the position at the FHFA DeMarco's continued ideological opposition to principal reduction -- also known as resetting mortgages to fair market value -- has made him widely known one of the biggest obstacles to our country's economic progress.
Thanks to the big banks that crashed our economy five years ago, there are now more than 10 million underwater homeowners. DeMarco's actions are forcing these families into more debt, foreclosure and onto the streets. Meanwhile, DeMarco is refusing to let homeowners, like Mark Harris, who had been facing foreclosure, buy back their homes at fair market value.
“As a veteran, I thought the toughest battles were behind me. I never thought I’d be struggling to keep a roof over my head. I fought for this country, so I know I have a right to fight for my home!” states Mark Harris.
