SEATTLE - It’s a Shoreline home that represents a lifetime of hard work for Lauren Moughon.
"I called it the mini palace," said Lauren. "It was only 1350 square feet, but it was a cute as could be. Three bedrooms, beautiful cherry hardwood floors and for a while I was really, really happy in it."
But when Washington Mutual went under, so did Lauren's job. And her dream of home ownership was in peril.
"Our bank was seized by the FDIC and Chase purchased it and laid about 5,000 of us off," she said.
Lauren thought she was in a good position as speechwriter for CEO Kerry Killinger. But that didn't matter. She was out of work and quickly running into financial trouble.
"After five months, I didn't have any money left to make my mortgage payments, so I tried to make a short sale," Lauren said.
She sent all of her information to Chase, but it seemed the bank couldn't get it together.
"We had to fax them things over and over again, and they wouldn't return our phone calls," she explained.
During this time, three prospective buyers loved the house but not the wait.
Realtor Chuck Cady was impressed that Lauren kept the yard in perfect condition. She didn't walk off with the appliances and made sure the rest of the home was in top shape.
Chuck says Chase's house was the one not in order.
"We literally were given the runaround for nearly nine months," said Chuck. "We were giving them the same documents over and over again."
Josh Norris was the fourth person trying to buy the home and he was running out of patience.
"It was waiting for the bank is all I kept hearing," Josh said.
Lauren was desperate, so she called me.
One call to Chase later:
"The next day, Chase called me and within a week, the deal was done," Lauren said. "I just really, I needed this to end, so I'm intensely grateful."
Now one nightmare ends and another dream of home ownership begins. Lauren lost a little money, but she's glad the ordeal is over.
As for Chase, they didn't have a whole lot to tell us, but said they escalated Lauren's issue and are happy they were able to resolve it.
To add a comment, please register or login.