After an Ordeal of Seven Months 101 years Old Woman Gets Back her Foreclosed House

After an ordeal of seven months 101 years old Texana Hollis of Michigan got back her foreclosed house. With tears she re-entered the home her husband had purchased following WWII; seven months previously she had been evicted. Foreclosure had forced her out of the house that had been her home for the previous 60 years. Even when that knot was solved the authorities would not permit her to return because of the crumbling condition of the unit. At this juncture columnist Mitch Albom of Detroit Free Press used his charitable connections to step in with volunteers. Hollis blessed all of them as tears poured from her eyes. The first thing she did was to try out the newly installed stove to bake cookies! Albom and his team first bought the house from HUD and invested $30,000 to repair it. Albom has personally contributed a handsome amount to the cause. Over a hundred volunteers worked for many months fixing the unit up with new floors, drywall and other appliances; a part of the roof had to be redone. A beaming Albom after negotiating Hollis across the new wheelchair ramp said, “I promised Texana that all she has to do is just stay alive and give us another 101 years. She will never lose this house again”. Last 12th September Hollis was thrown out of her house bag and baggage when her son had failed to clear property taxes that were tagged to reverse mortgage. It caused HUD to foreclose on the unit. Two days later the HUD officials told her she could go back to her home but then stopped her from doing so after assessing the dilapidated condition of the unit because the unit was unsanitary as well as unsafe. The son of Hollis had taken out a reverse mortgage calculating to $32,000; it was granted after assessment of the house. HUD grants this option to the elderly. HUD took over the mortgage after the money given to the Hollis’ was more than the house value in 2006. The major renovation work was undertaken by the construction business firm of Nedal Tamer. He said that the condition of the house was “terrible”. But thanks to many business houses and individuals coming forward the house was made habitable again. Guardian Alarm for instance installed the monitoring systems (security as well as medical) for free; the costing for this would have been about $750. It was an emotional moment for all when the centenarian happily returned home. Hollis looking forward to her 102nd birthday tearfully thanked God.