| "I can't say enough about working with Ross Kilburn. He is a
consummate professional from start to finish. I had contacted a number
of people, and I quickly realized that Ross had the experience and
skills that I needed. Just two days before the Trustee Sale, Ross was
able to step in and get a 30-day postponement, just like he said he
could. I highly recommend working with Ross & WASHFA."
Brad Pfau, Kent, WA
"I have worked with WASHFA on four transactions
this past year and have highly recommended this company to several
friends & realtors. I trust WASHFA implicitly to do any job that
they commit to. "
Bev Lanthorn
Lanthorn Home Sales
There are times that we have no way of knowing that a series of life changing events are going to change things forever. My family came to Western Washington from the Midwest eight years ago. This was a great new job for lots more money and the chance to manage a growing business. Little did we know what was ahead? I have been in my industry for 27 years at that point. I had written several articles for the technical journals in my industry and had presented papers at conferences all over the country. We and the children were in good health. We had just bought a large fixer upper with much potential and we both were exhilarated at the thought of taking a bargain piece of property and turning it into a showpiece.
The first problem was "globalization." Clearly a third of our business moved out of the USA and went to China . Shortly thereafter, 9/11 happened and the rest of our business went down by 45 %. Soon, pay cuts were instituted, my wife had her hours cut back and I was on three day weeks. So we existed on about 50 % of the income level we had when we moved here. Every month, the car payment and mortgage got to be a bigger struggle. Credit streams were cut off and we were forced to borrow from family and friends to keep everything together.
Things were not yet at their worst. My wife was diagnosed with cancer. It was ugly and had metastasized by the time we caught it. We needed help and it came in the form of a faith based lending institution, a real slick bunch. The way out was a new mortgage with a higher interest rate that would adjust in two years but would pay down our considerable debts. At closing, the numbers changed and we still had some bills not paid. My wife's condition worsened.
She was on chemotherapy four weeks out of every six with weekly costs of $ 3,875.00. Insurance paid for all but 10% which is around $ 14,000.00 / year plus hospital stays to balance electrolytes and cure other chemo related illnesses. In 2004 my mother in law passed away at 95. Her funeral expenses were another $ 10,000.00 we had not planned, as we thought she had a prepaid arrangement. She didn't. Within eleven months, my wife too passed away. One more funeral and the phones were ringing off the hook with collection calls. A 30 year good credit record was down the drain!
In early 2007, I could hold on no longer. I had sold all the assets I could sell and still was served with notice of default on the mortgage. Then the vultures really arrived. All sorts of scammers showed up with wild plans on how we could save the house. Finally, Ross Kilburn showed up on my doorstep. We talked at length and it was obvious Ross was a good man. He laid out a plan that would allow me to sell the house, avoid foreclosure and end up with enough money to get back on my feet.
Ross did everything he said he would do and more. He advised me on things I needed to do and offered some of my cash up front to assist me with the expense of finding a place to live and covering moving expenses. Ross Kilburn is an honest, caring individual. He had the resources to do what he promises. I would highly recommend Ross Kilburn to anyone who is unfortunate to be in the predicament I was in a year ago. I cannot thank Ross enough for his assistance.
Chuck Reichert
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