Amid a crisis that has affected millions, even homes that would seem to be the safest of bets can face foreclosure.
Linda Hatchell of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, for example, now faces the prospect of foreclosure on a home she purchased more than twenty years ago for just one dollar, NBC Chicago reports.
The foreclosure case is one of the few that's caught the media's attention without a lender to blame. Indeed, in a crisis with few success stories, Americans of all social statuses are confronting the threat of foreclosure. Some, like Hatchell, paid very little for their homes. But foreclosure also afflicts the wealthy, as when a Manhattan couple faced foreclosure in the "world's richest apartment building."
Hatchell's tale of misfortune, however, is much less glamourous, as she incurred hundreds of thousands in costs because the purchase reportedly came with the understanding that the entire home, then in disrepair, would be moved. The move ended up costing $50,000, and she spent considerably more on the subsequent restoration, requiring her to take on extra jobs and a mortgage. (h/t The Consumerist)
After losing her job and then discovering she had cancer, Hatchell's financial situation became untenable. She has been forced to put the home up for sale with just one year left on her mortgage.
Hatchell notes that no one in particular should be blamed for her misfortune. That differs from many other foreclosure-related tales, in which automated bank errors and processing problems have led many to misfortune. In one case, for example, a couple faced foreclosure in part because they had made a mortgage payment too early.
Another man received threats of seizure if he didn't settle a mortage payment bill worth a full dollar less than Hatchell paid for her house: $0.00.
For Hatchell, however, losing her house is simply a case of bad luck.
"It wasn’t that it was a mistake," Hatchell tearfully told NBC Chicago. "It was just that my future wasn’t as bright."
Watch Linda Hatchell's story on NBC Chicago here:
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