CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Losing your home to foreclosure can be a traumatic event. That is why one organization is committed to helping families keep the roof over their heads.
Plants fill every room of army veteran, Leon Grier’s East Charlotte home.
“The greens really help relax me when I come out and look out the window, look at my pond,” Grier said.
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He’s lived there with his fiancé for the past three years.
“It’s good to have something you can call your own, everybody needs to have that, it’s a feeling of security," he said.
The couple fell on hard times during the pandemic and went from a two-income household to one.
“Once she lost her job, I started to pull money out of my account, my savings,” Grier said. “After a while, it got so low. We started falling down and falling behind.”
That is when someone advised him to reach out to Community Link, a nonprofit that works to support homeownership and advocates for affordable housing.
During its fiscal year of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the organization will help prevent 250 foreclosures, helping families like Grier’s keep the keys to their homes.
“A foreclosure is a lose-lose situation for both parties. Homeowners lose their homes and Mortgages companies lose their loans," CEO and President Floyd Davis said. “There’s interest from both parties to figure out a solution. We come in and become the mediator. We find that common ground that works for both sides."
Community Link tells WCNC Charlotte that more than 95% of the foreclosure cases they have worked on have been turned around. The organization also connects homeowners to mortgage relief resources and offers programs to prepare families for homeownership and asset building.
“It is the biggest investment they have made in their lives. Moreover, It’s an investment and an opportunity to get in what I call the monopoly game because now they have assets,” Davis said.
With the right financial plan in place, Grier gets some relief knowing he gets to stay under the same roof.
“I’m definitely doing it for me and when I’m not around it will be something I leave behind for my kids," he said.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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