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He did everything he could for us:
The Torres' Success Story

Andrew Albergo

Andrew Albergo, a solo practioner in Philadelphia, has accepted a dozen cases for VIP clients, but none more satisfying than the case of the Torres family. Elana* was ill and her husband Carlos worked two jobs to support their family . They were misled into refinancing their home, believing it was a way to save money. When their payments increased substantially, Carlos and Elana tried to renegotiate their mortgage payments on their own but the lender was unresponsive. In May 2009, they went to City Hall Courtroom 676 and met Drew.

When Drew began to work on the Torres' case, the lender did not respond to him either. For over a year, he tried to connect with the torres

bank, first by reaching out to the processor, next to lender's counsel, then to their supervisors, and even the Judge. Drew understands that "everyone is so overwhelmed with the housing crisis and banks can't respond to the demand of people." But Drew relentlessly pursued the lender, even amidst set backs such as the bank confusing his clients with another Torres family, a bank buyout, and the replacement of the servicer. Nonetheless, 13 months after Drew first accepted the case, he negotiated a drastically reduced loan rate of 2%- 4.875%. Carlos and Elana's payments dropped from $777 a month to $324 a month, a savings of approximately $100,000 in interest as compared to the original loan.

Elana told VIP, "Andrew was excellent. He really stuck by us, and stuck in there through the case. He did everything he could for us."

Andrea Saah with Andrew Albergo

When Drew was asked who should receive the credit, he said, "Andrea Saah [VIP staff attorney], Rachel Gallegos [clerk to Judge Annette Rizzo], and Bob Lukens [Philadelphia Legal Assistance]. These people behind the scenes made it possible for me to do this. I find volunteering with VIP fulfilling. Quality support people make it easy. " Furthermore, Drew hails the real hero as the Torres family. "These clients were responsible. Elana was right on top of her case." Drew also stayed on top of the lender, making sure that the Torres' were able to remain in their home, maintain their income, and have a better quality of life.

Since the inception of City of Philadelphia's Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program in June 2008, VIP has trained 430 attorneys to work on mortgage foreclosure cases. Data from the 170 continuing VIP cases reveals that volunteers have achieved a 73% success rate of keeping those homeowners in their homes. To learn more about the VIP's work with the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, click here. To volunteer to help VIP save homes and families, click here.