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GROUP HELPS VETERAN WHO FELL VICTIM TO SCAM --
One-time homeowners face eviction unless
they buy back their house.
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Story here...
http://www.dailytribune.com/
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Story below:
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Vet group helps scammed couple
One-time homeowners face eviction unless they buy back their house
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Daily Tribune Staff Writer
ROYAL OAK -- A veterans group stepped forward to help Brenda and Terry
Edwards stay in the house they lost in a bad mortgage deal and will be
evicted from in 10 days if they can't come up with the money to buy it
back.
Veteran's Haven, Inc., of Wayne offered the couple $10,000 toward
repurchasing their Hilldale Avenue house from an entity that bought it
at auction and is represented by U.S. Bank National Association.
Vince Berna, spokesman for the non-profit group dedicated to helping
honorably discharged vets with food, clothing, transportation and
housing, called the Edwards on Thursday with the news.
"If anyone needs a hand up or a push up, it's a veteran," Berna said.
Terry Edwards, 57, served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He
grew up in Berkley and got his mother's permission to enlist when he was
16. He was assigned to a base in Germany but begged to go to Vietnam
with the men he trained beside. He returned with emotional problems and
memory gaps from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Brenda Edwards, 56, said she is grateful to Veteran's Haven and the
Royal Oak VFW Post 1169, which has given her husband a free membership
and is helping him with paperwork to boost his veteran disability
compensation.
"These vets really stick together," she said. "Even if they're strangers
they treat each other like best friends because of all they went
through."
Veteran's Haven members also are planning a fund-raiser for the Edwards,
who don't want to leave the house they bought as newlyweds in 1974 and
paid off in 1998.
The couple unknowingly executed the sale of the house in 2004, when they
signed documents they were told were related to a $10,000 home equity
loan they needed for back taxes. The shady buyer let the house go into
foreclosure and it was sold at a sheriff's sale.
The Edwards tried to regain ownership of the house in Oakland County
Circuit Court, claiming the mortgage held by U.S. Bank's client was
defective because it was obtained through a fraudulent transaction.
However, Judge Colleen O'Brien pointed to a warranty deed and other
documents signed by the Edwards. She granted title to U.S. Bank.
The Edwards will be evicted Aug. 6 if they aren't able to repurchase the
house. Brenda Edwards said the price was set at $130,000 but they have
only been approved for a mortgage loan of $92,000.
The couple also has $33,000 from LaSalle Bank. The Novi branch cashed a
check with their forged signatures after it was presented by one of the
parties involved with the mortgage scam. LaSalle then cut the Edwards a
$33,000 check and they set it aside for their legal bills and future
housing.
The Edwards are closer to staying in their house with the donation from
Veteran's Haven.
"We're overwhelmed," Brenda Edwards said. "I've always believed there
are more good people than bad people in the world."
Contact Catherine Kavanaugh at
cathy.kavanaugh@dailytribune.com or (248) 591-2504.
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Larry Scott --
