News and stories about our work advancing civil legal rights for low-income Texans.
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After the 2021 winter freeze, 80-year-old Carolyn Addison Rivera’s life was upended. Like countless Texans, her home suffered damage from frozen pipes. When she turned to a plumber for help, the work performed was substandard and came with an inflated bill. When Carolyn rightfully disputed the charges, the plumber retaliated by slapping a mechanic’s lien on her home. Suddenly, she […]
Amelia bought a home directly from a homeowner. Amelia and the seller did not use a title company to finalize the sale and purchase of the home. She also agreed to buy the property as is, meaning she would be responsible for repairing any issues with the property once the sale was finalized. Thirty-six years later, Amelia came to Lone […]
Lauren wasn’t exactly a renter, but she wasn’t a homeowner either. When she received an eviction notice, she called Lone Star Legal Aid. It was 2021, and she was five years into a six-year, rent-to-own contract. In other words, Lauren bought her house directly from the seller. No bank, no mortgage, no middle-man. The owner drew up a contract and […]
Cecelia, a 50-year-old Houston woman with a disability, lived with her mother in their family home for several years. Cecelia’s mother had twelve children, some of whom she outlived. When she passed away without a will, Cecelia found herself unable to afford the high property taxes and at risk of foreclosure. Desperate for help, Cecelia contacted Lone Star Legal Aid. […]
Lone Star Legal Aid is proud to receive a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank Dallas aimed at supporting organizations that address heirs’ property issues. LSLA will provide legal services to low-income individuals and families to establish heirship and clear property titles to help build generational wealth, to obtain tax deferrals/exemptions that help preserve homeownership and avoid foreclosure, to […]
Houston, TX – August 28, 2023 Violet Mae Richardson, through her attorney at Lone Star Legal Aid, is challenging a reverse mortgage lender’s unauthorized foreclosure, aiming to overturn the foreclosure and assert her rights. In 1948, the Pleasantville neighborhood was established to help form a community for marginalized groups dealing with housing discrimination at the time—namely middle income African Americans, […]
Homestead exemptions remove part of your home’s value from taxation, so they lower your taxes. For example, your home is appraised at $300,000, and you qualify for a $40,000 exemption (this is the amount mandated for school districts). You will pay school taxes on the home as if it was worth only $260,000. Not all homes qualify for a homestead […]
UPDATE 📢 The rental assistance events planned for this Saturday have been cancelled as the Texas Rent Relief program is closing its application portal today, Thursday, March 16th, at 11:59 PM. Again, today is the last day for tenants to apply for rent and utility assistance. Houston, TX – The Texas Rent Relief Program will be accepting new applications. […]
June is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s National Homeownership Month, a time to celebrate the benefits that homeownership brings to families, neighborhoods, and communities across America. To learn more about National Homeownership Month, read the Presidential Proclamation. June is also the beginning of the Gulf Hurricane Season. Lone Star Legal Aid joins National Homeownership Month by sharing resources […]
The independence and financial security of older adults can be threatened by abusive practices in the consumer world. A growing scam that disproportionately targets older Americans can, and often does, literally cost them the homes they have lived in for years and worked hard to obtain. It is called a foreclosure “rescue” scam, and it is anything but what the […]
Chester Robey is a 92 year old veteran of both WWII and the Korean War. He is mostly blind, mostly deaf, and has Parkinson’s, which makes it difficult for him to walk and write. His only income is Social Security, and he relies on the assistance of a neighbor to help him get around. Mr. Robey contacted our Military and […]
There are countless circumstances that can lead to homeowners falling behind on their mortgages. Hurricane Harvey has forced thousands of coastal Texans into financial hardship. When going through a hardship, homeowners might want to ask for a break from their lender and at that time, they could be offered a forbearance. What is forbearance? The definition of forbearance is an […]