The Hillsborough County chapter of Habitat for Humanity plans to repurchase mortgages it sold to a Tampa company in a move that caused confusion and frustration among homeowners.
The Tampa Bay Times recently published an article raising questions about the nonprofit's sale of 12 mortgages to Southeast Property Acquisitions LLC, a business the newspaper said had a history of purchasing and flipping foreclosed houses.
Habitat homeowners told the paper they had bad experiences with Southeast -- from rude encounters to not knowing where to send payments.
In response to The Times' reporting, Florida Habitat CEO Tina Swain said the recent sales, while legal, did not follow Habitat policy because Southeast wasn't a regulated financial institution.
“We apologize to the affected homeowners for any confusion brought about by the sale of these mortgages, and any failure on our part to communicate the transfer adequately with them," Swain said.
Swain said Habitat offers "a hand up, not a hand-out" in which homeowners agree to pay affordable mortgages designed to cost no more than 30 percent of their income.
“While due to privacy considerations we are not able to comment on any mortgage in particular, it is true that many of the mortgages in question have faced significant payment shortfalls in the past," Swain said. "We have worked with each of the homeowners in accordance with our policies, communicating with the homeowners frequently once they became delinquent in payments, providing contact information for nearby homeownership counseling agencies, and seeking modifications and payment plans whenever appropriate with the goal of keeping these homeowners in their homes."
If Habitat successfully re-buys the 12 mortgages, Swain said the organization would work with the homeowners to address any shortfalls in their payments.
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