Sep 24, 2008 9:27 pm US/Eastern
What's Worrying You: 'I Shouldn't Lose My Home'
CBS 2 Meets A N.J. Man Whose Injury Is Keep Him Out Of Work, And May Push Him Out Of His House
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBS) ―
CBS 2 has been asking viewers which aspects of the economic crisis worries them the most. The response has been overwhelming.
Immanuel Simmons from Jersey City wrote to us: "I am about to lose my home. In June, I broke both bones in my leg. I have not been able to work since the accident and I'm unable to get any help from the mortgage company. I just don't know what to do."
We decided to tell his story.
"It's emotional and I don't share that with a lot of people," Simmons admits.
The 52-year-old truck driver old broke his leg in two places three months ago, and that's kept him off the road and off the payroll.
"It's been a problem with the mortgage and making the payment," he says. "I had no idea it was going to set me back so much."
Without his health, Simmons may be without his home of three years. Foreclosure letters have already arrived, but what frustrates him the most is he's not one of the people who took a mortgage he couldn't afford; yet with the threat of foreclosure, he feels he's being treated like all the people who did.
"They also have to consider people and the reason why they're losing their homes," Simmons says.
And it turns out there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.
"The lenders are very willing to work with people. One of the reasons is, look at their alternative," says Mary Johnson of New Jersey's Consumer Credit Counseling Center.
Johnson says Simmons seems like a good candidate for what's called a forbearance.
"A forbearance is just forgiving the payments, not forgiving that they owe it, but allowing them to miss the payments until they're able to resume the payments. That's what you ask for when there's a temporary stop in income," she says.
Simmons says he'll look into that. Until then, reality is hitting hard.
"It's just when you work so hard and you struggle, it's just difficult to accept but then you have to move on," he says.
Moving on is one thing, moving out is something entirely different.
We want to know what financial concerns have you worried? From housing to basic food costs and everything in between.
What's Worrying You? Let Us Know.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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