HELP HELP SHE MAY LOSE HER HOME

The house in Portmore, St Catherine, which could soon be placed on the auction block.

IF Audrey Holmes-Forbes cannot come up with $361,790 in nine days, she will lose the house in Portmore, St Catherine which she shares with her two children and her ailing mother.

Her mortgagor is ready to put her house on the auction block, if she cannot clear up the arrears, which have been piling up since Homes-Forbes fell on hard times in 2012 after separating from her husband.

With her financial footing kicked out from under her, she has had no choice but to deal with micro lenders and loan sharks in order stay afloat, as her take-home salary of a little over $30,000 was eaten up by a mortgage she was suddenly forced to pay on her own.

The nightmare began when she decided to add onto her studio house, which she had already finished paying for. It was a dream come true for the soft-spoken public servant when she got the opportunity in 2012 through a loan from Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) to expand the house.

Holmes-Forbes explained that the financial institution agreed to lend her $2 million to make the addition and clear off student loans she had got from two other institutions to complete her degree. The mortgage would run for 16 years with monthly payments of $21,000.

“Things were going pretty well, and about three months after I got a special allowance for guidance counsellors… I was doing pretty well until the relationship broke down. We got separated and the judge ordered him to contribute to the household with $8,000 per week,” she said, noting that with the increase in her emoluments, and her estranged husband’s contribution, she had no problems with her mortgage payments.

Six months later, the first bomb dropped when she and other guidance counsellors were abruptly told by their employer that the education ministry had said the special allowance was a “mistake” and that the monies were to be reimbursed.

Immediately, the compensation package she had become comfortable with was significantly reduced. “Within one month that was taken off our salaries. They stopped it, and they said that we owed them for the months they were paying us that portion. It was a whirlwind,” she said.

However, she still had no concerns at that point about her mortgage even with the pay cut, because her husband was still contributing to the household.

Then came another blow when her husband was laid off from his job. “He started cutting down (his contribution), until it reached to $16,000 and that’s when I started struggling. Until it reached to $2,000, because he said he has no job,” she recalled.

“So now, I only get $2,000, and some weeks I don’t see anything at all,” she said.

Holmes-Forbes said she quickly realised that she was in trouble. “Instead of getting into a better position, I was ending up in a worse situation,” she said with a sigh.

It was at this point that she decided to approach her mortgagor, even before she defaulted on any payment. “I approached Victoria Mutual with a letter explaining to them that I was having financial strain because of the cut in the salary and separation, and I took a letter from the court showing that he was asked to support the household. I asked them if they could assist me in doing a consolidation, to pay out these people (micro lenders), and then do a salary deduction,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Holmes-Forbes said she sat tight for three months waiting for a decision from VMBS. During this time, just as she had feared, her payments fell behind. Ironically, she said the reason given for declining her request for refinancing was that she was in arrears, for the exact period during which she had been awaiting a decision from the company board. “They said because I had asked and it was being deliberated, they wouldn’t put it on auction, they would give me some time to pay that portion. At that point, I had to rush to a loan shark again,” she said.

According to a written notice from VMBS, which Holmes-Forbes presented to the Sunday Observer, she has until June 28 to pay the arrears of $361,790 as well as various administrative fees, and fines. If she does not pay up, her house will go to auction on June 30. Already, advertisements for sale of the property have been placed in the press, even whilst she frantically tries to somehow come up with the funds.

Now, the mother of two and her family are down to one meal per day. Every day is a struggle. “I do not at this point eat any lunch when I go to work…I make sure that my child is sent to school. Some days I will give her a note to get help, or whatever we look after, we package something and send her with to school. Right now, we have three years’ school fee outstanding for her,” she said, a quiver in her voice. She said that her niece takes care of the electricity bill, but for food, “we make do”. Between paying back micro lenders, and covering critical bills, most months, she is left with a frightening $2,000.

Her now 20-year-old son has had to postpone his dream of becoming a social worker, having been forced to quit school, because his mother simply could not keep up with the fees any more.

Borrowing more is not an option for her right now, simply because no one is willing to give her another loan, due to her situation. “I’ve reached the point where I can’t even get any more loans…I’ve been going back to more of those micro institutions, and getting turned down,” she said.

At the same time, Holmes-Forbes used the opportunity to warn other Jamaicans about the pitfalls of borrowing to come out of debt, particularly from high interest micro lending institutions. “It is something that I want to tell people that it is a quick fix, but also remember it is going to haunt you for the rest of your life. When I look back at it, I’m just working to pay these people,” she remarked.

Holmes-Forbes noted one flicker of light on the horizon, as another financial institution has offered to take over the mortgage, but cannot do so whilst the arrears are on the books.

It is why she is appealing for assistance to cover the arrears, as she is confident that she can climb out of her financial hell if given an opportunity. The guidance counsellor said she is willing to enter into a contract with anyone who decides to help, to repay them over a period of time.

She said she has approached several corporate entities for assistance, but nothing positive has yet been forthcoming.

Holmes-Forbes is terrified by the thought of losing her home, especially with a 15-year-old daughter and elderly mother in the picture. “I don’t sleep at nights…I can tell you everything that happens outside,” she said.

Persons may assist by emailing [email protected] / [email protected] or directly contributing to her mortgage account ( 25924-40-8) at the VMBS’s Duke Street branch.