Chicago, IL—(ENEWSPF)—July 19, 2013. Homeowners, neighbors, and members of Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction will gather in Garfield Ridge on Monday, July 22, at 6:00 PM to demand that TCF National Bank negotiate with a recently foreclosed family. They will gather at 5300 S. Monitor, another foreclosed, vacant property now owned by Wells Fargo Bank, and march to TCF Bank to demand that the bank return Juan Gutierrez and Domynika Pawelczak’s home at 5310 S. Major.
Like 49% of all homeowners, Domynika and Juan fell behind partially because of a medical problem when their daughter became ill and required spinal surgery. With the house underwater and the interest rate at almost 7.5%, Juan lost a job and TCF began the foreclosure process. The bank began taking photos of the house, while Domynika and Juan looked for answers. A HUD-certified housing counselor told them that TCF Bank had a reputation for not working with customers, saying there was nothing they could do.
The Gutierrez family began writing letters to TCF and talking with other neighbors in foreclosure, asking them to call-in to the bank to negotiate before the May 13th auction. Without delaying the court process, TCF offered them a new loan a week before the auction that added $15,500 to the principal and reset the 30-year payment period. Afraid of being even deeper underwater and finding themselves in further financial trouble, Domynika and Juan refused this offer and demanded a principal reduction instead of a principal addition.
TCF Bank foreclosed on their home and purchased it back at the auction, adding one more to the 453 homes auctioned in Garfield Ridge between 2008 and 2012. So far in 2013, the 60638 zip code has seen an additional 139 auctions, indicating a rising trend in this neighborhood.
Today members of Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction, homeowners and neighbors are coming together to say, “No more empty houses in Garfield Ridge!”
“I don’t want my home to be another property like the one on 5300 S. Monitor, bank owned and totally abandoned. We have been though a lot, with unemployment, our daughter’s illness, and now foreclosure. We are just now beginning to start over we will not give up without a fight,” says Domynika Pawelczak.
“Don’t think this cannot happen to you. Jobs are hard to come by in this economy. If you are the wrong age, race or overqualified, jobs are even harder to come by,” says Ann Cata, a supporter of the Gutierrez family and a displaced teacher with a Wells Fargo mortgage. “I promised God that if my home was saved, I would work with others and offer my help. No one was going to take away my home of 27 years. It is all that I have to show for after working for years and years. What the banks are doing to homeowners that have fallen on hard times is a sin and a shame!”
6:00 PM – Speaking out against Garfield Ridge foreclosures at 5300 S. Monitor, a vacant home foreclosed by Wells Fargo.
6:30 PM – Letter delivery and rallying at TCF Bank, 6141 S Archer Ave
