In time for the holidays - Company offers to help 'forgotten homeowners'

By John Minnis
Legal News

Birmingham-based Shore Mortgage is once again offering 100 families $1,000 each to help cover their mortgage payments this holiday season.

Shore Mortgage President Robert Rahal calls the outreach effort the “We Understand” program for “forgotten homeowners.”

“We are passionate about the people who do everything right. They are in true need of assistance today,” Rahal said. “They cut back on their spending so that they can pay their obligations, and their reward for being responsible is that they are ignored.

“Today’s national spotlight continues to be on foreclosures, but no one is talking about assisting these conscientious people as they have no foreclosure or repossession issues. They are truly the forgotten Michigan residents.”

Each of the selected applicants will receive a check payable both to the applicant and to their own mortgage company.

Applicants must be residents of Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, Livingston, Genesee, Monroe, St. Clair and Lapeer Michigan counties who are current with their mortgage payments on their primary residences.

Shore Mortgage received more than 400 applications during its first We Understand outreach program.

Letters of appreciation from the first program expressed the extent of Michigan families’ financial needs.

With the state’s double-digit unemployment, worries about jobs, senior parents, college tuition and unexpected home repairs were common threads that ran through the applications.

“This is the second launch of our outreach,” Rahal said. “Therefore, we are continuing to search for homeowners who do make their mortgage payments responsibly, who could use extra financial help at this time so they can dedicate their hard earned funds for other purposes.”

Homeowners who applied for the original “We Understand” funds for their primary residence and did not win are encouraged to apply again.

Past recipients are ineligible.

Applications are available at www.shoremortgage.com.

Applicants must be prepared to write a short paragraph on why they qualify for the program, why they should be one of the participants chosen and why their circumstances are unique.

The deadline for application is midnight Friday, Dec. 10, with selected applicants announced by Dec. 15.