foreclosure

"Today was supposed to be a very sad day," said a member of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) to begin the press conference at Rosemary Williams's house this afternoon.  The sheriff had arrived at nine in the morning with an eviction notice.  Ms. Wiliams was packing.  Her son, his wife and their two small children had gone to their other grandmother's house.  Plans had been made for emergency foreclosure resistance.  "We were ready to go to jail," said Cheri Honkala of PPEHRC.  But twenty minutes before the press conference was to begin, one phone call changed everything.

After winning a writ of eviction from the courts to force Rosemary Williams from her home - but faced with planned civil disobedience and protest that would put GMAC’s inhuman actions into the news - GMAC has temporarily backed off from the eviction and offered to significantly lower the price at which they will sell to Rosemary her home (GMAC bought her home at a sheriff’s sale). However, they will not finance the mortgage. Instead, they are giving Rosemary until July 10^th to find a bank that will.

Update:  An extenstion until July 10 has been granted and changes have been made to the financial conditions involved.  More details to follow.   Solidarity actions may still be needed, so stand by.

By Linden Gawboy, MN Coalition for a People’s Bailout

On Thursday, June 25, friends and supporters gathered at the home of Rosemary Williams to plan for action after getting devastating news. That morning, in a conference call, Judge Lloyd Zimmerman sided with finance giant GMAC and against Ms. Williams, who has been engaged in an epic battle to save her home. We were trying to appeal the judge’s earlier ruling which had denied us a trial. Turns out we could appeal, if we came up with a $49,000 ‘bond’ in two days.

$49,000 is clearly an impossible amount for anyone to come up with. We should not have to pay almost as much as the house is worth to get heard in the ‘halls of justice.’ Since we don’t have that kind of money, we will have to act.

Update from comments: First, there is good news. The judge has ordered a representative of GMAC to meet with Rosemary tomorrow, June 17th, the goal being for them to arrange a deal in which Rosemary can stay in her home at an affordable rate. This does not mean that they will reach a deal, but it does mean that if a deal is not reached the eviction will not happen until - at the soonest - next Wedensday, June 24th. 

If a resolution is reached on Wednesday, June 17th there will be a block party on Rosemary's block.

As we resist our evictions and continue fighting powerful banks like Wells Fargo, the Minnesota Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign is calling on all of those who support our struggle to join the Direct Action Network. Our community is growing stronger now that we're getting organized, but we still need a lot of support from our friends and supporters.

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Join the
Underground Railroad Project
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MN Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign

Do you have a spare room, an extra bed, or floor space and blankets you are willing to offer one night a month to families in need of shelter?

The Project is currently building a network of emergency one-night stay options for families evicted due to foreclosures.

Neighbors, Friends and Community Organizations Rally & Intervene in Court on Rosemary Williams’ Eviction Case

Wednesday, April 22nd