Sandra Slavinsky’s father passed away three months after his house burned down and they bought a new home together.  She has lived in the two-story Georgian home in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania since 1999.

“That was hard,” Sandra recalled.  “Harder was he left behind a 4-year-old foster daughter.  I ended up taking care of her, and eventually I adopted her.”

The next two decades continued to be difficult for Sandra.  She developed a debilitating heart condition that, coupled with her asthma, means she is often in the hospital.  “As the years go by, it gets worse,” Sandra said.  “Every year I’m in the hospital two or three times.”  Once, not long after moving in, she underwent major heart surgery that left her taking medication.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” she said of her medical troubles.  “On the one hand I’m missing work, and on the other I’ve got these huge medical bills.”  She occasionally struggled with her mortgage.

To make things even harder, several years ago Sandra’s unemployed sister moved in with them.  “She was on drugs,” Sandra said.  “She stole my car, raided my bank accounts, and then just last year she passed away too.”

Because of her sky-high medical bills, Sandra fell behind on the mortgage for the house she’d bought all those years ago with her father.  “I had nowhere else to go.  I would have to rent, and rents out here are outrageous.”

After being delinquent for two years, AHP purchased Sandra’s loan and offered her favorable modification terms.  After being afraid for years that she would lose the house, Sandra knew she had to take the chance.

“The offer AHP gave me, I’d be a fool not to take,” she said.

Even though she has been through more heartache and strife in her house than most people ever go through, Sandra never dreamed of going somewhere else.  “I raised my daughter in this home.  My church is here, my family lives close by.  For me to go somewhere else now and rent just makes no sense.”

AHP acquired Sandra’s mortgage in 2016 for $2,700.  She had an outstanding balance of $44,747.  We accepted $2,000 to settle the delinquency and reduced her monthly payment to only $190 for the remaining 15 years of her 30-year loan.

With her home safe and her daughter grown, Sandra is planning to celebrate by having some work done on the house, and then trying to live her life the way she’s always wanted to.  “Now I have less obligation to put life on hold,” she said.  “I’m getting in a better position so I can make some plans, visit places I’ve always wanted to go.  I have that freedom now.”  First on her list is visiting the Ark Encounter exhibit in Kentucky, and after that, Sandra wants to travel even more.  “I know my limitations.  I know what I can and can’t do.  And this is something I can do.”

“AHP has really given me another chance.  I really appreciate it.  People are losing their homes all over the country, it’s a sign of the times, but it’s good to know there are people out there trying to help.”

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