Last week we helped a home owner that was within days of losing his house in the “chopping block” (auction). He was in foreclosure and in denial of what the process was going to bring to his family and himself. We started communicating 5 months ago, when the foreclosure suit had been filed. We had visited the home a couple of times, met his family, discussed options and offered help.

This gentleman kept on indicating that he was going to take care of the problem. The issue started when him and his wife lost their jobs at the same time, went through their savings and started to survive in unemployment payments. At the time we first met, they had both found jobs but were in extensive debt.

When we initially took contact we offered to review their budget to cut as many corners as possible. We were surprised to find out that they did not have a budget and were unsure on how much money they needed to keep the lights on every month. They were going from hand to mouth on what seemed to be the absolute next urgency.

They trusted us with the necessary information and we helped them reduce or eliminate a number of expenses. The savings were 22% of their original budget. They were hopeful. But knowing the numbers, we advised that what they were making was not going to allow for them to pay what was needed to save their home. He indicated that they were restructuring the loan with the financial institution.

We did not hear from them for months, even if we were reaching out periodically. In each message we were wishing them luck and letting them know that we were hoping that the situation was resolved by then.

And then we heard back from him, when he had the water up to his neck. He confessed that the situation was making him feel “less of a man” for not been able to provide for his family, but that our hopeful messages always gave them comfort that there was someone out there that cared. He felt that the process had shown him that nobody cares, and that all that matters was the money for all parties involved.

We moved fast, got the house out of the “chopping block” and agreed to give this home owner and his family 3 months to stay in the house to determine what their future is going to be. We also offered to turn it into a rental or rent to own in the 4th month if they desire to stay. We have not seen very often a proud man cry, but he promises they were happy tears of relief. He indicated that he has not had a good night sleep in a long time and was looking forward to one that night.

Honestly, it is not often either that we leave a home owner, go to our vehicles and release some tears as well. They were also happy tears of relief.