GMAC Mortgage details efforts to help Rosemary Williams

GMAC Mortgage went to extraordinary lengths to help keep Rosemary Williams, who was evicted on Friday after a foreclosure, in her home, according to the company. Among the steps taken: offering to lease the house back to Williams for $850 per month, multiple loan-modification offers that would have reduced her monthly payment by up to 30 percent and an offer to sell the house back to her for less than half of what was owed on the mortgage.

When none of those offers were accepted, GMAC took steps to have Williams removed from the property. The company gave her a check for $5,000 to help with relocation costs.

“GMAC Mortgage sincerely sympathizes with Rosemary Williams and the financial difficulties she is facing,” said Jeannine Bruin, executive director of GMAC Mortgage Communications, in a statement. “Friday’s actions were very difficult, and a regrettable end to 18 months of seeking a solution with Ms. Williams, with local non-profits and with the mortgage investor to keep her in the home on Clinton Avenue. Unfortunately, Ms. Williams was chronically unable to meet her payment commitments under the adjustable rate mortgage she originated with BNC Mortgage, Inc.

Here’s the entire statement from Bruin:

GMAC Mortgage sincerely sympathizes with Rosemary Williams and the financial difficulties she is facing. Friday’s actions were very difficult, and a regrettable end to 18 months of seeking a solution with Ms. Williams, with local non-profits and with the mortgage investor to keep her in the home on Clinton Avenue.

Unfortunately, Ms. Williams was chronically unable to meet her payment commitments under the adjustable rate mortgage she originated with BNC Mortgage, Inc.

Since December 2007, we have repeatedly extended options to Ms. Williams to reach an affordable, reasonable payment solution, while balancing our contractual obligations to the mortgage servicer and mortgage investor, Aurora Services and Lehman Brothers Holdings, respectively.

Our efforts included:

o Multiple loan modification offers to reduce her monthly payment by 30% and fix her interest rate.
o Two offers to purchase the property for as low as 48% of her unpaid mortgage balance.
o Two offers to lease the property for $850 per month, a 60% reduction in her monthly payment. One offer included a purchase option at 48% of her unpaid mortgage balance.
o Three offers of cash relocation assistance of $5,000, including a check payable to Rosemary Williams that was given to her Friday.
o Two rounds of negotiations with local non-profits to reach a purchase and lease agreement on Ms. Williams’ behalf.

As custodian of the property at 3138 Clinton Avenue, we were concerned about the breach of security and its potential impact on public safety and the integrity of the property. At our request, local authorities are enforcing the writ of eviction served on August 7 and removing all trespassers from the property, both now and in the future.

We stand by our actions knowing that we have consistently acted in good faith to find a solution for Ms. Williams, and have repeatedly tried to ensure that she has funding sufficient to secure temporary housing.