A Christmas Miracle

Think about it. If you commit or of accused of committing a crime, the court will appoint a lawyer for you. If you are injured on the job or in a car accident, hundreds of lawyers are willing to take your case for no fees until it is settled. But if you are disabled and can't afford a lawyer to stand up for you when someone is trying to steal your home, or you need help understanding the laws after your parents have died, you are out of luck.

My neighbor is Durwood Brodie Jr, but everyone calls him Woody. Woody was in a horrible accident decades ago, and as a result, he had horrific head injuries and couldn't speak or use his right arm. I can't even imagine what it would be like to comprehend everything that is going on around you but not be able to communicate back. So we have developed what I call "Woody speak," and we do a pretty good game of charades trying to get to what Woody is trying to share.

Woody might be disabled, but that hasn't stopped him from helping out his neighbors, including me. It is hard for him to sleep because of his head injuries, so he will be up before dawn patrolling the neighborhood, keeping us safe, including our feral colony and the neighborhood dogs. You will also see him taking his lawn mower and edger to people's homes that need help with their lawn maintenance - not asking for money, but just to be a good neighbor. Because one thing that Woody is terrified of and loves to write on my car window is CODE or Code Compliance.

If you looked at Woody and his Moms house, it needed some work, but Woody always kept it, and his Dads house across the street kept up the best he could. I knew his Mom was sick, and his parents had been divorced for years. His Dad lived in his own home across the street, and Woody was always running food and medications. One day Woody came by my house with some paperwork and was terrified. He wanted me to go and talk to his Mom. That was the first day I met her or went beyond the street to their home.

When Woody let me in, I was shocked. Not because Ms. Brodie was on oxygen for her terminal emphysema but because you could see the sky through their roof in the kitchen. They had been living this way for quite a while because they had no options. And a house flipper had come by and told Ms. Brodie that they would report her to code and take her house away unless she sold it and her large lot to the flipper for $14,000. Ms. Brodie panicked, signed the papers, then realized there was no place for them to go. I can't imagine our neighborhood without Woody living here, but I might have to.

Thanks to having my Real Estate license in the past and having two parents that were Realtors®, I was able to read the fine print and was able to get them out of that contract. Then I made many calls, talked to the Dallas Builders Association and my city council person, and got the Brodies into an excellent program the city had where they would build you a new home if you owned the lot. Ramona was so proud of her new home. She started painting again and was comfortable knowing that she and Woody would always have a place to live. Sadly, she didn't have a will we could find, and Woody's Dad took over as his protector and voice.

It turned out that Woody had two brothers. I learned one had addiction issues, and another that decided to move into Woody's Moms house with his multiple kids and partner. He was abusive to Woody and his Dad, and the police were constantly there trying to protect Woody. Finally, when he threatened my life one day, Woody and I went to the courts and got all of them evicted.

Unfortunately, Woody's Dad passed away about a year later. Woody sent a neighbor to get me, and for the first time, I went into his Dads house and realized that his Dad was probably a hoarder and had been living in unsafe conditions. Woody's brother showed up and immediately started taking all the money he knew was lying around the home - thousands of dollars. No one knew where any of the paperwork they would need was, so I offered to take the mounds of paperwork back to my house and go through it. It took me two years to go through mountains of paperwork, but I found what I was hoping to see - the will, which stated that both homes and all property were left to Woody. Mr. Brodie wanted to be sure that Woody would be taken care of for the rest of his life since no one would be there to protect him anymore.

Since Woody had problems communicating, I went with him to several lawyers to try and help him get the will taken care of and to get everything in his name. But, unfortunately, that is when reality set in - not one of the lawyers that we contacted had any interest in helping him because they knew he couldn't afford the tens of thousands of dollars it would take. So I kept trying, but no matter how many people I talked to or pleaded with, no one would help.

In June, Woody came to my door again with papers in hand. It turned out that a man showed up at his door saying that he had bought the rights to the two homes from Woody's brother and wanted to "know your intentions as to your occupancy" and what rent was being paid. Your Problem, My Solution LLC had allegedly purchased Woody's brother's rights to the two homes for $8,000 and wanted Woody gone. He had filed General Warrant Deeds on both houses and even went to find the other brother's children. Unfortunately, he had passed away from what they thought was an overdose. The owner of Your Problem, My Solution LLC, now claimed that he owned 2/3 of the rights to the homes. The owner of this company is allegedly a lawyer and a real estate broker and has threatened Woody with "a protracted legal battle," knowing that legal representation is something Woody can't afford.

Woody isn't the only one having issues like these. Our sleepy neighborhood has become flipper heaven. We have been getting up to 100 calls a day from people worldwide wanting to buy our properties since the city announced WOPAC - the West Oak Cliff Area Plan. They aren't interested in moving here - they want to buy our properties and make a considerable profit. Let me be clear. I have no problem with people selling their homes for a fair price, but most of these calls are from people that have no interest in fairness. The offers people have made to me on my property are ridiculous - the only difference is that I know what it is worth.

I am so proud of my neighbors. Instead of feeling helpless, we have come together as a community. We have now formed the South Edgefield Neighborhood Association and have been having meetings with guests that are helping us learn the truth about the WOCAP plan and what it will mean to us. However, it has also been heartbreaking to hear from my neighbors about these companies and individuals trying to steal their homes by not being truthful.

At the last meeting, there was someone there that I didn't recognize. His name is Albert Mata, and he will run for the District 1 City Council seat in Dallas. It was so exciting to see someone there that wanted to help these people as much as I did, especially since our district is over 75% Hispanic Albert is bilingual. It was beautiful to see him easily communicate with everyone in the room. We chatted a little after the meeting, and I told him about Woody. He said he would love to see what he could do for Woody, and we shared numbers.

The next day I got a call from an unknown number, and I was sure it was yet another flipper, so I was pretty short with him. I found out it was Albert, who had already contacted some people about Woody. We got together the next day and did some great brainstorming. He felt like I had for a while that the only way to save Woody's homes and life savings would be to find an attorney much more knowledgeable than either of us. He recommended sharing Woody's story, so I am doing that.

Just because someone is disabled doesn't give you the right to take advantage of them or their situation. You help them and pay it forward. Woody has never asked for a handout, only a hand-up. We are going to start a Go Fund Me page in the hopes of finding an attorney to help Woody save his home. Please help him by sharing his story, and I hope that someday I will be able to share a happy ending here!