Obra Homes

Woman loses home and belongings after not paying mortgage

DONNA - A woman in Donna says her life was invaded. Her furniture, photographs and clothing were all taken; all because she could not pay her mortgage.

Mary Lou Silva has been trying to solve the mystery of her missing belongings for nine months. When she hit a brick wall, she turned to NEWSCHANNEL 5.

It looks like Mary Lou Silva just moved in; bare walls with few pieces of furniture and no pictures. She says it's difficult for her and her daughter to call her current place home, but it is.

"Right now we don't have anything...struggling right now to pay the rent, to take her to the doctor," she said.

Silva says her daughter's medical expenses cost them their house. Corina, her daughter, was hospitalized nine months ago with a ruptured kidney. Silva is a single working mom. She lost her job while Corina was in the hospital. She says 9-year-old Corina carries the guilt of their loss.

"She gets very depressed and says 'Mom don't cry no more. We're going to make it out of this,'" Silva said.

Silva says when times got tough she couldn't pay the mortgage, then she couldn't catch up. She admits a representative from Obra Homes came to tell her she needed to pay up. She says she left one day on job interviews and when she returned, all the locks on her doors were changed. But she claims she didn't receive notice that her home was being foreclosed on. Her mortgage company disagrees, though.

Abel Garcia tells NEWSCHANNEL 5 that U.S. Nation's Direct, the mortgage company for Obra Homes, followed procedure. They sent two demand letters, the second when she was 22 days late. The letter said for her to pay the full amount immediately. Later, the company moved forward with foreclosure procedures and notified Silva her home was going to put up for sale.

But Silva says she didn't receive any letter. She just had one visit from Obra demanding payment.

NEWSCHANEL 5 asked Nation's Direct to show us any of the letters, but they refused.

So we called the service man responsible for cleaning the house, Manuel Leal. He says he remembers throwing a lot of Silva's things away.

But Garcia for Nation's Direct says that is not true. Garcia says that Nation's Direct would never throw anyone's things away.

Silva just wants her belongings back. All she can do is focus on the future.

If you are having trouble making your payments, contact your bank or mortgage company. Most will work with you. If you are already in foreclosure procedure, you need to know a few things. Mortgage companies cannot seize your personal property. State law protects it. They cannot take your furnishings, wearing apparel, jewelry and a host of other personal items. If they do, they must put everything in storage for 30 days and notify you as to where your property is going. More information can be found if you click on the "Working Through Foreclosure" link on our website.

If your property has already been seized, but not stored, you can contact the State Attorney General.