“I purchased this home back in 1982. I’ve been in this home 32 years, and I can’t lose it now,” Sarah said as she reflected on a long and strenuous journey. “I’ve tried to hang onto it all this time, struggled and everything. I know this is probably my last chance, and I’m not going to pass it up.”

When they purchased the home, Sarah and her husband were first time homebuyers, yet things did not go as they planned. They eventually divorced and Sarah stayed in the home. “After I got divorced, things were rough being a single parent; it was just hard.” She said. In the early 2000s, Sarah began having trouble making her mortgage payments.

“It was hard, I had to let go of a lot of things. I had to let go of my vehicle and try to get a cheaper one; a used one. I had to borrow from my retirement to try to make ends meet, and when I lost my job– that didn’t help.” Sarah said.

Sarah lost her job in 2004, igniting a domino effect that led her life even further away from stability. In 2006, Sarah found herself in a women’s correctional facility. While she was gone, Sarah’s ex-husband found renters to occupy the home. When Sarah was released she discovered that the renters had fallen behind on their payments, immediately putting her in a difficult financial situation.

Sarah moved back into the home, but things did not get any easier and she was at a difficult crossroads while trying to get back on her feet: she had to pay restitution as a result of the actions that led to her imprisonment, but she also had to make payments on the home.

“If I paid the restitution, I couldn’t make the house payment, and if I didn’t pay restitution, they were going to come throw my butt in jail, so it was like, ‘which one do I do?” said Sarah. “I got sick; I was off work for almost a month. I don’t have health insurance, I still can’t get health insurance because I can’t afford to. Then my mom passed away, and then my kids moved in with me.”

Sarah’s loan had been passed through many different lenders over the years before she was contacted by American Homeowner Preservation (“AHP”) letting her know that they had acquired her mortgage.

“You guys just came out of the blue, from nowhere. I got these letters and I called and they said ‘I’ll give you the time to come up with the money,” Sarah said. “I borrowed, I scraped, worked overtime, on the weekends, helped clean houses; everything I could do to come up with that $2,500”

The $2,500 payment was able to settle Sarah’s delinquent charges on her loan and her monthly payments were dropped by nearly 20%. Sarah was very appreciative for the opportunity that AHP provided her and says that she does not intend to waste it.

“I pray to God to help me and, he does. And that’s all I have to fall back on is God, and he comes through for me every time,” Sarah said. “I know this time I just can’t let this go by, I’m trying to get everything together like I need to and stay on track with everything.