Judy’s Story of Hope……….
When I first met with Judy, her first words to me were, “I know you can’t help me but I’ve tried everywhere else and you are my last hope.”
She went on to tell me that she had been turned down by her bank for a consolidation loan and had been told by two Trustee’s that she could not settle her debt either in a Bankruptcy or a Consumer Proposal, as she had equity in a home that she owned with her two sisters in Alberta.
She was stuck, as she could not sell the house that her sisters lived in nor could she mortgage it due to her poor credit and lack of employment. (She was living on the grace of friends, couch surfing).
In Alberta, Judy is a Certified Healthcare Practitioner. This certificate did not allow her to work in B.C. without spending money that she did not have, on getting her B.C. Certificate. Judy was cleaning homes to make ends meet.
She is estranged from her sisters in Alberta, as she moved to B.C. with a man she was not married to and in their culture, this is unacceptable. Over time, the relationship fell apart and Judy found herself alone in B.C. with two sisters in Alberta that barely spoke with her.
Her situation seemed hopeless. She had approximately sixty thousand dollars in credit card debt, no home, low paying job and no family to help her.
Judy had suffered two nervous breakdowns in the past couple of years due to her stress. When I met her she was in a very fragile state.
As I spent time interviewing Judy, she told me that over the years she had borrowed from her sisters on her portion of the equity in the house in Alberta. I began to wonder how much equity there actually was that she was still entitled to. After speaking with her sister I was able to discover that, in fact, there was only about ten thousand dollars left of her portion of the equity. The sisters had carefully kept records of the money they had paid to Judy over the years.
With the help of a lawyer in Edmonton, we were able to offer the sisters Judy’s remaining portion of equity in their home for ten thousand dollars in exchange for Judy’s name being removed from the title.
No longer owning an asset in Alberta and with ten thousand to work with, we were able to structure a lump sum settlement to all of her creditors, which was ultimately accepted at nine cents on the dollar.
Judy is now debt free. Her health has improved tremendously. She calls me and emails me on a regular basis to thank me for ‘saving her life.’ She has also referred clients to me.
To be able to assist people like Judy, for me, the words are indescribable.
Chris Grew is a Debt Consultant serving clients on Southern Vancouver Island helping Canadians overcome debt and money problems by offering debt restructuring, credit rebuilding and budgeting services.
