Pomona man trusted refi deals, now may lose home

POMONA — Since Mario Dorelien can remember, he has worked hard for everything. No handouts or wealthy parents here, he says with his rich trademark laugh. His four-bedroom home with front and back yards, two children in college and another working his way there, all came by the sweat of his brow.

That's why it's all the more frustrating to him that it may all end as if none of that mattered - that the tortoise and the hare meet the same fate.

In the coming months Dorelien may lose his home to foreclosure, and with it the respect of his wife and children. Dorelien says a shark-like mortgage broker steered him toward a subprime mortgage that has threatened to put his family on the street.

Dorelien moved to the United States from Haiti in 1984 with a three-year degree in electrical engineering. He put down roots in Rockland County, went back to school to study computers, got a steady job and then married and had children. As a service to his community he started a television program for Haitians, coached soccer and basketball, and did all the things he thought would help him realize the American dream.

Primary among them was buying a home. In 1999, with a down payment of 10 percent, Dorelien bought a house in Pomona with a 6 percent traditional fixed-rate mortgage. Between him and his wife, the couple were able to pay the $1,900 monthly payments.

But a series of events ate away his nest egg - his father was found to have cancer, his son had surgery, his wife lost her job.

Then, to exacerbate his problems, the roof began to leak. The leak damaged two bathrooms and the floor of the kitchen, and threatened to compromise the house's wiring.

Fixing the damage would set Dorelien back by at least $15,000. With no savings in the bank, Dorelien was considering his options when he was contacted by a mortgage company, just one of many that were flooding homeowners with offers to refinance. Grand Pacific Mortgage, an Elmsford-based company, offered to refinance his home and give him a line of credit for the repairs. The mortgage broker said it would be an adjustable-rate mortgage, but kept the details vague.

Though Dorelien speaks English and is used to technical language, he is unfamiliar with banking terms and financial transactions. Dorelien said Grand Pacific Mortgage discouraged him from hiring his own lawyer, saying it would provide him with one.

At the closing in February 2005, Dorelien didn't review the documents, so he did not see a difference in the actual loan amount. The loan officer gave him a check for $3,000, instead of the promised $15,000, and staved off protests by promising to refinance the mortgage within six months at a lower rate and without charge.

The loan cost was $19,138, including the cost of the lawyer, and Dorelien was given an adjustable-rate mortgage of 9.25 percent with a 6 percent margin that could go up by March 2007. His payment went from $1,900 to $2,625.

Edna Rivera of the nonprofit community-based housing service HOGAR, or Housing Opportunities for Growth, Advancement and Revitalization, who is now trying to help Dorelien stall foreclosure proceedings and has access to his financial history, said Dorelien's credit was good enough for him to have qualified for a 6 percent mortgage.

In retrospect, Dorelien says he didn't question Grand Pacific Mortgage because it was working for him and he believed it had his best interest in mind. Like him, its representatives were black, and they said they understood the challenges he faced.

At the second refinancing, Dorelien got $25,000 to fix his house, but his monthly payments exceeded $3,000.

Unable to pay his mounting debt, Dorelien tried to get in touch with his mortgage brokers but found that Grand Pacific Mortgage had filed for bankruptcy and closed shop. With nowhere to go, he showed up at HOGAR's door.

Rivera is trying to have Dorelien's home refinanced at an affordable rate by showing the bank that barring the recent past, he has had good credit and had always paid his bills on time.

"We need to show that he has a future ability to pay," said Rivera, sitting in her Haverstraw office with Dorelien. "We are saying, 'This is a good family. It's worth giving them a second chance.' "

As Dorelien mulls his fate, he is facing a loss that could be bigger than just his home.

Dorelien's financial decisions have torn a gaping hole in his family. He says his wife and children blame him, the head of the family, for the financial mess.

Every day six eyes bore into him accusingly, says Dorelien. "They say, 'How dare you put us in this situation.' They're saying, 'Dad, you lied to us. You said we were safe.'

"It's like a curse on you," says Dorelien, his head shaking. "I believe in God. If I wasn't a Christian I don't know what I would do."

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