USBC is a nonprofit community development corporation founded in 1986 to revitalize historic neighborhoods in Albuquerque and beyond. We help New Mexico communities prosper through advocacy in fair housing, racial equity, and youth opportunity
Francisco Padilla, aided by USBC Attorney Paige Diem, triumphed in a challenging battle to reclaim his grandparents’ home. After their deaths, a reverse mortgage on the home came due. Francisco worked hard to pay it off, but the lender foreclosed anyway – right before Christmas. Paige helped him use his “redemption rights” – a little-known aspect of the foreclosure process – to buy time to arrange an affordable new mortgage.
Francisco shares, “A nightmare soon became a dream come true as I now had the time necessary to complete the mortgage loan application process and qualify for funding to save my grandparents’ legacy, their home, and my and my family’s security and stability for years to come. The legacy of my grandparents will continue in our little casita in northern New Mexico as a place to gather and find a home-cooked meal and a place to rest, even after the fires and floods and pandemic that were less a threat than a greedy bank. I owe many thanks and my entire future to the team at USBC.”
His story highlights the importance of redemption rights and the invaluable support USBC provides. Read his entire inspirational story at the link below.
What happens to a person’s mortgage when they die? The answer is that it stays in force, and someone needs to continue making payments, or the lender will foreclose.
That was the situation faced by Lisa, who came to USBC after the passing of her father. As the personal representative of her father’s estate, she immediately began to try to save the house, which had been her childhood home. But the payments were too much, and she knew it would only be a matter of time until the bank foreclosed. “I didn’t have any answers, and I was praying up a storm,” she says. “I couldn’t sleep at night because of the stress and anxiety.” Then the County Treasurer referred her to USBC.
After discussing her options with a USBC attorney, she made the difficult decision to sell the home. (As long as the sale is closed before the foreclosure process is complete, the foreclosure case will then be dismissed). Because Lisa came to USBC early, she had time to work closely with a realtor to guide her through the selling process. She also took an active part in preparing the house for sale. When the bank finally did file its complaint for foreclosure, Lisa was able to participate in the court’s Foreclosure Settlement Program, which pauses the foreclosure case to give the homeowner a chance to negotiate a settlement with the assistance of a mediator. Since Lisa already had been preparing the home for sale, the foreclosure was quickly resolved.
“I wouldn’t have known what to do without USBC’s help,” she says. “I want people to know that no matter how hard the situation is, it’s worth the effort to reach out.”
Yolanda Garcia’s family has deep roots in Albuquerque’s North Valley, where her grandfather was born in 1896. Yolanda has spent her life in Albuquerque, where she and her husband bought a home on Albuquerque’s West Mesa. She taught for Head Start and worked at Citibank. When she became disabled with rheumatoid arthritis, Yolanda changed jobs and went to work taking calls for the City of Albuquerque’s Community Contact Center. Then disaster struck: her husband passed away, and Yolanda underwent a lengthy hospitalization and rehab due to complications from knee surgery. Faced with the loss of her husband’s income and medical bills piling up, Yolanda fell behind on house payments, and her home went into foreclosure. Fortunately, USBC helped her negotiate a solution through the Foreclosure Settlement Program, which operates in the district courts statewide. She was approved for a loan modification to catch up on missed payments, and her daughter moved in to help with payments going forward, keeping a generations-old tradition of family homeownership alive.
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