The owner of a Snellville horse farm claims a wrongful foreclosure is threatening to shut down the riding center that has provided therapy for disabled children for more than a decade.
Owner Marilyn Peterson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she has been fighting the foreclosure of Parkwood Farms through the courts for nearly two years.
“We’re still here and we still plan on being here,” Peterson said.
A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday evening for supporters to raise awareness of the farm’s plight.
On Monday, scores of people turned out to show support for the farm at 2519 Parkwood Road in Snellville.
Barbara DeBoer told Channel 2 Action News that therapeutic riding lessons at the farm greatly benefited her granddaughter Maya.
Peterson said she started the Snellville riding center 11 years ago to help children who, like her son, have autism.
She said the financial problems started when she got what she called a “predatory” loan in 2004 and tried to refinance it in 2011.
“They only saw the life of the loan as two years. After that, it went to an ARM [adjustable-rate mortgage]. They sold it to another company and our mortgage payment more than doubled,” Peterson said. “And at the same time, the economy took a turn for the worse. It was a double whammy.”
She said she was shocked when sheriff’s deputies showed up Wednesday night to serve an eviction notice because her case is now in litigation in federal court.
Peterson said she fell behind in her payments, but was attempting to work out the issue with HSBC Bank. A spokesman said Peterson’s foreclosure fight is with her loan company, Everhome Mortgage, based in Jacksonville, Fla., and not HSBC, which is the loan trustee.
An Everhome Mortgage spokesman said in an emailed statement: “While we are sympathetic to Dr. Peterson’s situation, it is Everhome’s policy not to comment on individual cases and we remain committed to honoring the privacy of our customers. Everhome analyzes the circumstances of each homeowner for appropriate alternatives to foreclosure.”
Parkwood Farms has temporarily suspended classes and moved its horses to an animal rescue center in Winder.
Peterson said an eviction would end a beneficial community service. She said the next step is to ask the sheriff’s office to hold off on completing the eviction while she fights the foreclosure in federal court.
