(NewsNation) — A New Orleans man and his neighbors face foreclosures on their homes, built by the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity.
Kevin Hargrove is one of many who is fighting to keep his house. However, he says he can’t afford the soaring property insurance payments.
Insurance rates skyrocket
“In the last year, it has skyrocketed up from the mortgage I was paying at $560 to $1,735 now. It was a major jump and set my finances back, putting me on the path of having to get another job to survive,” Hargrove said.
Hargrove told NewsNation he is struggling financially, just able to make ends meet even with the extra shifts at his warehouse job.
“It’s been a struggle through it this time,” he said.
Now, Hargrove is looking to reassess his annual mortgage payments in the hope that his monthly payments go down.
“I’m hoping it goes down and gives some leeway into which I can really make the payments and keep the house. I need it for my daughter,” he said.
The New Orleans resident said that at the beginning of the Habitat to Humanity journey, he was never made aware that something like this could happen to him.
A temporary fix
Hargroves said he reached out to the nonprofit for assistance a couple of months back, and they told him to just pay whatever he could and that they’d try to work with him. But now, the nonprofit is trying to get money from the city council to help homeowners having the most trouble making payments.
Habitat for Humanity offers affordable mortgages to low- and moderate-income households. It does not give away houses for free; instead, it partners with homeowners to teach them home maintenance and repairs.
Last month, the New Orleans City Council approved $2 million to send to Habitat for Humanity as a temporary fix to help prevent these kinds of foreclosures. Hargroves was never made aware of that.
“I was shocked when I heard about that,” he said. “No one from Habitat reached out and told me about that, so I guess I’d be expecting a call or reach out to them.”
Hargroves said this whole process has been mentally draining, especially knowing how much hard work he put into leaving a home for his daughters. However, he said he plans to keep a positive attitude about everything and hoping it will all work out.
