OCALA, Fla. – Marcia and Mark Willette needed to delay mortgage payments on their home in Ocala and a rental property In Bristol, Tennessee after Mark Willette’s home renovation business went dry and their bed and breakfast had nothing but cancellations.
“COVID-19 hit and all the reservations I had cancelled, one after the other,” Marcia Willette said. “Now, instead of two mortgages I have three and I have no income coming in.”
The couple had just closed on their North Carolina bed and breakfast on March 12 when fear of the coronavirus triggered a panic.
“It’s scary right now ,” Marica Willette said Wednesday. “I have a roof over my head but what’s going to happen in July, are they going to foreclose on me?”
The lenders for both of their properties in Florida and Tennessee only offered forbearance -- not deferred payments.
A forbearance allows delays but requires a full lump-sum payment at the end of the 180-day delay provided under the CARES Act.
A deferred payment allows the bill to be repaid over time, usually extended to the end of the mortgage.
Marcia Willette was frustrated by her lenders’ offers and has been forced to sell both of her properties to survive.
“That’s not helping anybody,” she said. “If you don’t have money for April, May and June how do they expect you to have 10,000 in your account?”
Marcia Willette said she set up a GoFundMe page for her bed and breakfast but so far she has only received $120.
“I can’t even explain the position we’re in,” a tearful Marcia Willette said. “I know there’s people in worse positions than I am but this is my position and it’s hard.”
If you want top help families like the Willettes send Mike Holfeld an email : mholfeld@wkmg.com