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Another Losing Proposition for Homeowners
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She said she borrowed from friends and maxed out her credit card to come up with cash for Offutt's plan, paying $45,900 into the program.
According to documents that she and another participant showed me, to become a partner with Offutt, people had to enroll their debts in the program. I found the documents that attempted to explain how the plan would generate profit from indebtedness completely incomprehensible. Somehow, participants' loan obligations were supposed to generate tremendous profits, which would be used to pay off their loans.
The Upper Marlboro participant said Offutt did pay her mortgage and credit card minimum payments for three months, for a total of about $27,000. Then he quit paying, she said. She and the other Prince George's County participant told me the payments stopped around the same time Offutt urged them to bring in additional partners if they wanted to continue getting payments.
In the end, the woman in Upper Marlboro told me Offutt took in nearly $19,000 more from her than he paid on her behalf. She doesn't expect to see the money again.
She does have hope, though, that she may be able to remain in her house. She was among the thousands of struggling homeowners who sought help at a loan-modification marathon the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America held at a D.C. hotel for five days in July. She said she has tried every hotline and every counseling agency she can find, trying to get help. She has taken in a roommate to help with bills. "Two years ago, I was debt-free," she said.
After several false starts with the loan-modification officers at her lender's offices, she has been told she qualifies for a workout. She's hoping for a phone call any day now, laying out the terms.
E-mail Elizabeth Razzi atrazzie@washpost.com.
