MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - The foreclosure crisis is a problem affecting almost every neighborhood in the Mid-South.
Recently, we told you how the Shelby County Commission wants to fight predatory lenders. Now, a south Memphis woman victimized by predatory lending is sharing her story.
Victimized by predatory lending Carrie Hawkins now faces foreclosure. It's a struggle she's been fighting since her husband, 100 percent disabled veteran, died in February.
When the VA got behind on his insurance policy, Hawkins got behind on her house payments. As soon as the money came through, however, Hawkins paid what she owed on her house.
"I'm not a person who depends on other people to do anything," she said. "I will take my limited income and stretch it...just give me a chance, just let me pay my way, that's all I ask."
Hawkins began paying off what she owed to other agencies. Soon, her lending company asked her to pay more than $600 more than what she was originally paying per month on her house.
Unable to pay, Hawkins now fears for her family's future.
"This is their home. This is the place that they know as their home," she said. "I don't want to uproot them."
Hawkins has received two notices of foreclosure so far, but she is still in her home. Her case is under investigation by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions.
"My husband served his country," she said. "He did everything he could for us as a family, and I don't want to lose our home, after he has tried to do that for us.
While the problem won't be fixed overnight, the federal government is sending nearly $25 million dollars to help Mid-South neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosure.
Click here to send an email to Joe Birch.
