Detroit couple avoids eviction thanks to Occupy movement

DETROIT – On Tuesday, a Detroit couple was on the verge of being evicted from their home of 22 years, before they were allowed to stay thanks to help from local advocacy groups including Occupy Detroit. The family is allowed to stay after a year of wrangling over the home’s foreclosure.

William and Bertha Garrett have lived in their home on Pierson Street on Detroit’s northwest side since 1990 and had been making consistent mortgage payments for years before a botched laser surgery rendered William blind in one eye and cost him half of his income. After a second surgery in 2003 left William legally blind, the family began to struggle with mortgage payments.

“My parents’ mentality is, ‘My daughter got married there, my two sons got married there, babies have been born here, this is not just a house,’” Michele Finley, the Garretts’ daughter told the Huffington Post. “This is our life.”

WATCH THE GARRETTS SPEAK ABOUT THEIR PLIGHT:

Finley said that the trustee, the Bank of New York Mellon Trust, began to tack on fees and her parents tripled their mortgage payments just to keep up. Her husband eventually bought the home from her parents, bringing the monthly mortgage payments down from $3,000 per month to just $900.

William’s health continued to suffer and the Garretts once again fell behind, while the mortgage company steadily increased the rate until it reached $2,500. Finley, who had been helping her parents make the payments, was laid off of her job in 2010.

The Garretts received a foreclosure notice last year and met with the bank numerous times. In October, the Garretts received a verbal agreement from the bank saying they could buy the home back for $10,000.

However, when the Garretts produced the $10,000, the bank refused to let them buy the house. Instead, the bank repeatedly changed its offer, first raising the price to $12,000 and eventually $15,000.

“The money is sitting in the bank,” Finley said. “The entire family chipped in to gather the necessary cash. We fought, we fought, we fought, and we couldn’t stop the foreclosure.”

She also said they were never given a reason why they were not allowed to buy back the house. Two weeks after the family’s request was denied, William suffered a stroke.

A spokesman for Bank of New York Mellon Trust said that the mortgage servicer, IA Services, is responsible for the home on Pierson. They offered no further comment.
Detroit has the 18th highest foreclosure rate in the country.

This year, according to Realty Trac, Detroit is expected to have nearly 60,000 foreclosed properties.