Auction brings in enough to save Everett woman’s home

Published 11:07 pm Monday, July 28, 2008

EVERETT — An Everett seamstress likely will get to keep her home after her friends threw an auction to stave off foreclosure.

Cindy Windecker, 51, now plans to refinance an adjustable-rate mortgage on her two-bedroom house to a traditional fixed-rate loan. She runs a custom sewing business in her garage, which she remodeled after buying her home.

About 150 people turned out at New Life Center Church on Saturday where they placed bids on scores of items, including large quilts, handbags and vests.

The auction netted $14,973, including some small donations. Two donors on Monday offered to pony up the remaining $3,000 that she needed to get a new loan.

Friends and neighbors spent two months in Windecker’s garage, working in shifts to make items for the auction.

A patriotic quilt netted $1,500, the most of any single item. A woman who works at Naval Station Everett said she plans to hang it in a place where sailors returning from the Persian Gulf can view it.

While she said she never fell behind on mortgage payments, Windecker feared a ballooning mortgage would soon force her out of her house. Friends from her Bible study class came up with the plan to throw an auction after she shared her story.

“I have been helped by so many people and I appreciate every penny they put into this,” Windecker said. “It’s like the weight of the world has been lifted from of my shoulders.”

Windecker, who got into trouble with a subprime loan, is one of millions of Americans mired in the subprime mortgage mess that is leading to a record number of people losing their homes to foreclosure.

In June, foreclosures in Snohomish County were up 39 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a national foreclosure database. Foreclosure filings were issued for 280 properties in the county or a rate of one for every 984 households last month.

In 2004, Windecker moved into her $200,000 home with no down payment. Her mortgage started with a low interest rate of 6.35 percent for the first three years. Then the rate was scheduled to adjust every six months for the remaining 27 years.

Her mortgage broker at the time told her she’d be able to tap into her home’s equity and refinance before the mortgage reset.

As the credit crunch came into full swing this year, tightening lending standards left Windecker unable to qualify when she applied to refinance in February.

Already this year, her monthly mortgage bill has increased by $300 a month. Another adjustment scheduled in the fall would almost certainly force her to default on payments and slip into foreclosure, she said.

Speaking with friends about her financial troubles was difficult, but ultimately helped her save her home, said Windecker.

“If you have problems going on in your life you’ve got to talk about them,” she said. “Don’t be ashamed. Keep your head up high. God sends us what we need in the time we need it.”

Diana Lee, an Everett marriage and family counselor, has known Windecker for about a decade. She describes her has a hard worker with a “heart of gold.

As a single woman and business owner, Windecker was especially moved by the outpouring of support, Lee said.

“It means a lot to know that you’re part of the community and that people appreciate you and that you are truly not on your own,” Lee said.

Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.