I was in a very abusive marriage and divorce, my ex husband went to jail and I was unable to work for almost a year.  When I met Mike, he listened to my story and helped me to stop feeling ashamed and embarrassed.  He began communicating with my bank, helped me apply for assistance and while we were waiting for a response, the bank scheduled a foreclosure auction.  I still don’t know how he did it, but he kept calling them every day and they finally agreed to accept my application for assistance.  I just met him at his office last week to sign and notarize the new documents from the bank, they cancelled the auction, took care of my past due payments and I resume my regular payments on October 1st.  I don’t know what I did to deserve Mike coming into my life, but I am so grateful that he did.

Honestly, I feel so stupid for not listening to Mike sooner, I work in the prison system, all hours of the day and night so staying in touch became hard.  But he warned me that if I didn’t do anything a foreclosure auction would be scheduled.  Sure enough, one was, so I called him frantically asking what we could possibly do.  He came to see me and outlined all of my options, to my amazement he was able sell my home with only19 days left before the auction, he must have had 75 people come look at it, it sold for $150,000 more than we were asking and I walked away with the biggest check I’ve ever seen in my life.  There is no question I would recommend Michael and his team for any help with your mortgage company, property taxes or real estate in general

I lost my wife to a long battle with cancer, she was always in charge of the family finances.  Left alone to care for my 2 daughters, I was struggling just to continue working and adjusting to being the only parent for my girls.  I had missed almost a years worth of mortgage payments and was facing foreclosure.  I received so many calls, visits and letters from so many different people, Mike stood out to me and I saved his voicemail.  A few weeks later I finally called him, I met him at his office and he helped me apply for assistance from the state, after about a month, my assistance was approved and all of my past due payments were paid by the state program.  I owe keeping my home and my girls in the same school to Michael Russell, I would recommend anyone facing trouble with their mortgage company to trust in his services.

I was in foreclosure on my house and owed $15,000 or I would lose my house. Michael helped me contact my mortgage company and figure out the best solution for me to keep the house. Fast forward to today, I am now current on my house payments and I am no longer living in fear of losing my home.  Throughout the entire process, Michael was kind and non-judgmental, he has a way of listening and understanding that really helped me both mentally and emotionally.

Mike is the angel I prayed for. It’s that simple. Religious I am not, but selfishly I asked for a sign, an angel to be sent my way. Why I opened Mike’s first text, I will never understand, as I was getting bombarded with texts and calls and wasn’t listening or reading any of them. I wasn’t even opening mail. On a Saturday morning in July, I received a text. Deciding to open this one, I began reading… with one eye closed. Lol, but true. Seems ridiculous now. I read the words “I attempt to help people get out of foreclosure” “my intent is to keep people in their homes” and the sentence I needed to hear the most… “EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK.” Before responding I had a little cry for myself. I needed to hear those words more than any others. I responded ~ though hesitantly ~ stating simply that I would need to talk to my husband. Responding at all was something new, but those few words invited Mike in. We made a time and day to speak on the phone.

A few days later I received a text from a different number reminding me of my upcoming appointment. The dust was starting to fade because I opened, read, and responded!! I responded back… no we don’t! I googled that number after I sent my response. I wasn’t shocked at all when I saw it was listed under Century 21. I was surprised, however, when I received a text that I had originally labeled “House Guy” in my phone saying, “that message was from my other number.” This brought doubt flooding in… OMG he is trying to take my house! This is a scam!

Mike quickly explained that this is his business. The help he gives to others is separate and is a nonprofit organization. He further stated he wants to “pay it forward”, sharing he has been in a similar situation. Over time and many texts, my husband and I met Mike in person… at his Century 21 office. To meet him in person was a game changer. He wouldn’t scam us if we know where her works! That was our thought process. Before I knew it, I agreed to put him on our account as a third party, as I was still in a major depression. Still letting my bills pile up, unopened and living on the kitchen table. I was certainly not able to make calls to the mortgage company! Sitting on hold for a half hour each time allowed plenty of time for me to talk myself into hanging up. So, Mike made the calls. Mike spent the time on MY PROBLEM. Here and there I would start to think… how can this guy be real? How can he not want any money? How is this not a scam? I looked at my husband one night when we were discussing this very idea and I suddenly said, if he takes the house, he takes it. At least it will get paid! Looking back, that was a horrible way of thinking, but fighting the bank was too much to handle. They were declining Mike’s requests to work with us… let us make payments. The answer was no every time. But we didn’t give up. Or should I say, Mike wouldn’t let us give up.

I am happy to report that after weeks of encouragement and ideas, we were able to find the 44k needed. Mike’s help did not stop there. He got all the wire transfer information… the info on the amount I needed to send and where to send. The night before I made the transfer I was explaining to my husband that Mike confirmed the transfer info with me “so I am doing it tomorrow”. Jokingly my husband said, “yep and It will go right to his account.” He laughed and I just stared at him. “I’m joking!” He said. He was, but it put that seed of doubt right back in it’s place. On September 23rd I called the bank and learned the 44k has been posted and my next payment is due on October 1st.

Take a minute and think about what you just read. We chose to help our two sons who were in financial trouble, over and over. By doing so we abandoned our responsibilities. Depression set in. Bills piled up. Life as we knew it was coming to a screeching halt! Although, VERY SCARY, we trusted a total stranger!

To the reader of this story, Mike can be trusted and should be trusted. He only wants to give you what you need… Support, guidance, and a friendly kick in the ass. I am so thankful for that morning in July. House Guy has been changed to “My Angel” and Mike has two new forever friends.

(Mike has my permission to give you my number if you are still hesitant to trust him. Call me. We’ll talk.)

I was in foreclosure on a home. After listening to my situation, Michael offered a number of resolution strategies. He ended up offering to buy my house so I could cash out the equity or partner with me to sell it at fair market value…Michael really cares about the people he helps. He is interested in finding the best solution for the client and not just the best solution for his company.

We were in the process of doing a loan modification for the fifth time with the mortgage company. Our house was close to going into foreclosure. After the ban was lifted after Covid, we started getting all these phone calls from real estate people wanting to help us to sell the house. We were wondering how everyone knew.

Mike called and left us a nice message explaining that the ban was lifted and that the house could be foreclosed on and that he wanted to help us. We set up a meet a meeting with him and he came to the house. He made a phone call to our mortgage company to see what exactly was going on. They told him they were still working on it.

We knew with being four years behind in the mortgage there wasn’t much we could do with our financial situation. Mike told us our best bet was a short sale or put it on the market before they foreclose. After a month we decided to put it on the market. Mike set it all up. He took pictures, put it on the MLS, and held an open house.

We accepted an offer and were able to walk away with some money.

The saddest part is that this house was my parents’ house that I grew up in and we bought it from them and raised our family. We fell upon hard times with my husband having a stroke and fell behind in the payments…

Mike was caring and understanding. There was no pressure. He answered all our questions and always answered his phone or got back to us.

I ran into financial problems once I lost my job during Covid. I entered into a forbearance agreement with my mortgage company but apparently, I didn’t read the fine print – which indicated that I would be responsible for the entire amount through a reinstatement. I missed that date but wouldn’t have been able to pay it all anyway. They wouldn’t accept any payments unless I paid the entire amount owed. This lead to the bank starting the foreclosure process…When Michael first reached out, there were so many people calling me–attorneys, realtors and the so called we-buy-ugly-houses people. So, I ignored his attempts for weeks. He didn’t give up and I finally answered. Michael’s story resonated with me. I felt like he was someone I could trust. I went to meet him at his office, we called my mortgage bank together and in about 10 minutes he got my mortgage under review and out of threat of foreclosure. Two weeks later, the bank came back with a plan to get me back on track. I got a package in the mail, brought it to Mike and he helped me fill it out, get it notarized and sent back to the bank…The bank took the entire amount of money I was past due, more than $46,000, and put it on the end of my mortgage, allowing me to keep my 3.25% mortgage, as long as I began my regular payments again by April 1. I have been making my payments every month on time, I am back to work, kept my home and my kids in the same school…From the first time we spoke to Michael I knew his concern was sincere. When we met, he actually had me crying in relief. Michael made my story seem so normal and my problems so simple. I was pretty stuck feeling bad for myself and thinking I was a failure. In a weird sort of way, he fixed that. I would recommend Mike to anyone in a situation like mine.

I was behind on my mortgage and the bank was about to foreclose. Michael reached out to me and helped me file a Homeowner Assistance Fund application. While that was going on, my bank DID foreclose on me and put my home up for auction, which was illegal. Michael helped me get an attorney to fight it. The attorney made the Massachusetts Attorney General aware of my case. Short story long, I won the case and was able to keep my home. None of this would have been possible without Michael’s help. He’s genuine, honest, compassionate, a true friend.”

I got behind on my mortgage due to a number of factors – in particular two car payments, ironically for two cars that also needed extensive repairs. Wells Fargo started the foreclosure process within three months. Obviously, I was freaking out. Michael Russell reached out anonymously. He told me his personal story of foreclosure and said that he wanted to help. I shot down to meet him that very day. He called the mortgage company with me at his side. We found out what the process was. I followed his directions. He saved my house. Simply put, he got me out of foreclosure. Now I’m on a three-month trial period. And my rate actually goes down for the first year. Michael never asked for a dime. I have three kids and now I’m on my way back. I’d recommend Michael Russell without hesitation.