A stranger struck up a conversation with her during the auction and asked, “Are you here to buy a house?” But Tracy Orr couldn’t hold back the tears. She began crying as she pointed to the auction brochure at a home that didn’t have a photo. “That’s my house, “she told the woman. The woman was Marilyn Mock, there with her 27 year old son, helping him bid on a home.
With moments, the four-bedroom, two-bath home in Pottsboro, Texas was being auctioned off and people were casting their bids. The home that Tracy Orr purchased in 2004 was slipping away. Marilyn Mock got into the action and started bidding as well. As Mock kept up with bidders, she looked at Tracy Orr and repeatedly asked her if her home was worth it (each bid), but Orr continued crying. She didn’t know that Mock had something else in mind for the home. When the final bid reached $30,000, Mock had just purchased Tracy Orr’s home and did what most bidders at a foreclosure auction never do… she told Tracy Orr, “I did this for you.” That’s when Orr’s sad goodbye turned into a welcome home, and she stood there in shock. It all happened so quickly, and Marilyn Mock never asked Orr her name, her employment status, or what her financial situation was. She didn’t even have any idea what the house looked like. She bought the home back for Tracy Orr out of the graciousness of her heart. Orr said, “It’s amazing!”
Marilyn Mock (right) buys home for Tracy Orr at foreclosure auction for $30,000. Orr will move back in and make payments to Mock instead of the bank.
From July through September 2008, more than 2,700 Americans lost their homes to foreclosure, according the the Associated Press. Auctions on foreclosed houses are an opportunity for some and agony for those who find themselves in the foreclosure process.
When asked about her random act of generosity, she commented, “People need to help each other, and that’s all there is to it.” Mock has a small business selling flagstone and will use one of her dump trucks as collateral for the $30,000 sales price. “I can’t afford to just give the house to her,”she said.
Mock’s son also bought his home at the auction just before she came across Tracy Orr.
As for Orr, who nearly lost her home, she says her newfound friend has “given me back faith and hope to keep going to hold my head up. More than my house, she gave me something inside, and that’s more important than material or financial things.” She adds, “Things happen for a reason.”
- Tracy Orr stands in front of her home that was saved from foreclosure.
