Foreclosed homeowners re-occupy their homes

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Carolyn Gage and other Bayview homeowners gather at a community potluck to protest foreclosures. Photo by Zaineb Mohammed.

By Zaineb Mohammed, New America Media

Carolyn Gage was evicted from her foreclosed home in January. In November, she moved back in.

“I’ve been in here for 50 years. I know no other place but here. I left, and it was just time for me to come back home,” said Gage, who is in her mid-50s.

Gage’s monthly payments spiked after her adjustable rate mortgage kicked in, and she could no longer afford the payments on her three-bedroom house in the city’s Bayview-Hunters Point district. She says she tried to modify her loan with her lender, Florida-based IB Properties, but to no avail. When Gage initially left about 10 months ago, she took some personal items with her, but left most of the furniture and continued paying for some utilities.

“It didn’t feel right for me to move. I just left my things because I knew I was going to return to them eventually,” she said.

She had to reactivate a few utilities when she returned, like the water, but found the process fairly easy. Walking back into the house was an emotional moment for Gage, but a joyous one.

“I was like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; there’s no place like home,” Gage said. “It’s a family home; I plan to stay there.”

Read the complete story at New America Media.

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