Battle for Leslie Parks’ home – the next step
Join us as we take another strong stand to save the Parks’ home!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
4:30 p.m.
Leslie Parks’ house: 3749 Park Ave in South Minneapolis
Fighting against broken promises… Save the Parks Family Home!
On Tuesday, June 8, from 4:30 until 5:30, community members will gather at the home of Leslie Parks, 3749 Park Avenue in south Minneapolis, to re-launch a public pressure/call-in campaign to save the Parks family’s home. The target of the calls will be officials of IndyMac/OneWest banks.
In November and December of 2009, our campaign was successful in keeping Leslie Parks in the home that has been in the Parks family for 20 years. IndyMac/OneWest promised to rescind the sheriff’s sale and to stop any eviction proceedings. This allowed the Parks family to start negotiations with IndyMac/OneWest to get their house back. Now, six months later, IndyMac/OneWest has NOT rescinded the sheriff’s sale.
“When the spotlight was on the bank, they acted like they were going to do the right thing. But once they were behind closed doors, they were back to their old ways,” said Deb Konechne, of the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout. The Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout is coalition of twin-cities groups that came together to fight for people’s needs during this time of economic crisis.
Here are the demands that will be put forth in the call-in campaign:
1. IndyMac/OneWest: Keep your promise! Rescind the foreclosure and sheriff’s sale! Even though IndyMac/OneWest stated in a letter dated Nov. 25, 2009, “…we have started the process of rescinding the Trusteed Sale…” they still have not done so! Tell them to rescind the sheriff’s sale and give Tecora Parks the title to her home!
2. IndyMac/OneWest: Give the Parks family an affordable loan modification! The bank is trying to force the Parks to scramble for outside financing. This is wrong. IndyMac/OneWest was complicit in the fraudulent/scam ARM mortgage; they should be the ones to make it right to the Parks family. The Parks need a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at an affordable rate, based on the home’s current value.
Background info:
Leslie Parks lives in south Minneapolis. Her family has owned the building for over 20 years. Because of needing to pay for city-ordered storm windows, the Parks family was swindled into getting an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage). The man from Allied Mortgage who sold the scam ARM lied and insisted it was a conventional loan. The Parks had perfect credit and qualified for a conventional loan hands down. But they were lied to, got swindled into an ARM (that particular kind of ARM is now illegal), and after months of trying to keep up, both Leslie and her mother lost their good credit and went into foreclosure.
“The banks messed up the system so bad and we the taxpayers bailed the banks out, with an expectation that the banks would help save people’s homes. They took our money but refuse to modify people’s loans so we can stay in our homes and save our communities,” says Leslie Parks.
