Rebuilding Life After Financial Devastation - Episode 104
In today's episode, we talk to Michael Russell, who turned financial failure into a story of hope and resilience. Michael shares how he lost everything—his properties, business, and even his personal relationships—during the financial crisis. But that wasn’t the end of his story. Today, Michael runs a nonprofit that helps people avoid foreclosure and navigate financial hardship.
About our guest:
Michael Russell is the founder of Hope 4 Hardship and the President of Century 21 Signature Properties, one of the original CENTURY 21 franchises in the U.S. Once at the helm of a successful family real estate business, Michael’s excessive lifestyle led to financial ruin, including bankruptcies, foreclosures, and personal struggles. After nearly a decade of rebuilding, he transformed his life, achieving a near-perfect credit rating, redefining his career in real estate sales and consulting, and mending strained relationships. Today, Michael uses his hard-earned wisdom to help others navigate financial distress, avoid foreclosure, and remain in their homes.
Through his nonprofit, Michael offers guidance to individuals facing similar challenges, with a mission to provide solutions without financial gain, relying solely on trust and a handshake. His expertise as a Certified Distressed Property Expert and Certified Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource has enabled him to support countless families in avoiding foreclosure or selling properties when necessary. With a focus on accountability and action, Michael has made it his purpose to pay it forward, turning his past struggles into a source of hope and change for others.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Naseema: [00:00:00] Today's guest, Michael Russell, is living proof that you can rebuild after hitting rock bottom. Once at the top of a, once at the top of a thriving financial real estate business and a seemingly perfect life, his excessive lifestyle led to divorce, bankruptcies, and years of financial ruin. But here's the twist, Michael turned it all around.
Now he's not only rebuilt his career and his personal life, but also helps others avoid foreclosure, bankruptcy, and a financial disaster through education and action. As president of Century 21 Signature Properties, he's made it his mission to guide others with wisdom, earn the hard way. Let's hear how he did it and what lessons we can take from his journey.
Let's hear how he did it and what lessons we can take from his [00:01:00] journey.
What's up, my financially intentional people. I'm joined today by Michael Russell, and we're going to talk about financial hardships, and I'm sure a lot of you guys have gone through something that has been financially challenging in your lives. I know I have definitely had my share of financial hardships and we're coming in through a time of a lot of financial uncertainty and with inflation A whole lot of job losses that we've seen over the last couple of years.
I know people are feeling it. So hopefully this conversation will, give people some hope or some resources. So Michael, welcome. And
Michael Russell: Thank you very much.
Naseema: Of
Michael Russell: grateful. Sure.
Naseema: All right. So Michael, let's just talk about your background a little bit. I want to know how you got into the finance space and about your personal stories with any kind of financial hardship
Michael Russell: how much time you got?
Naseema: right?
Michael Russell: So [00:02:00] I I've been in the real estate business my whole life.
Naseema: Mm
Michael Russell: Um, I've owned a real estate brokerage really since I was 19. It was the first real job I ever had. And, even being in the real estate business and, supposed to know, more than the average person, I certainly ran into my fair share of struggle.
And back in 08, 09, I lost some properties to foreclosure. I entered into a forbearance agreement with the bank and not really understanding what that meant at the time, but that was truly an adjustment of the terms of the note which brought my payment down significantly, but only for a finite period of time.
And what it actually did is back then what it did is. It shortened the term of the note. So the mortgage became a two year note at a significantly reduced rate, at which point I would either need to satisfy the note, pay it off or refinance. And unfortunately, two years later, the values plummeted so bad that I couldn't refinance, I [00:03:00] owed, 250, 000 more than the property was worth.
And so I really wasn't in a position to do anything about it. So lost that property. I had to short sale some properties as well. I owned a few different properties and that led to having to file corporate bankruptcy as well as personal bankruptcy. It led to all the fun stuff that accompanies that divorce.
And what really stuck out to me was the collateral damage that ripped through my family for the better part of a decade as a result of it. It took me a long time to remedy the relationships to, to cure what had happened to him. And it took me a long time to unencumber other assets that were retained.
It took me literally 10 years to clear up that damage both emotionally and, literally.
Naseema: Yeah,
Michael Russell: And so that's really what sparked me to [00:04:00] create this nonprofit that I have help hope for hardship. And it's, it's near and dear to my heart. So I relate to people who are going through this.
And so what, what my team and what my nonprofit does is helps people avoid foreclosure by opening up channels of communication with their lender. Because what I learned, of course, in hindsight, which we always learn in hindsight, unfortunately is that there are two inalienable truths about secure debt in America.
No lender wants to repo it or foreclose on it. And no owner wants to lose it. Those are two inalienable truths across the world. But what happens, I think what happened to me, I probably had two years worth of unopened mail on my dining room table.
Naseema: Yep.
Michael Russell: And I walk into a lot of houses where I see dining rooms that look like that.
So I understand what people are going through. We never think that the person that we're afraid of, the [00:05:00] entity that we're afraid of is actually the one who can help us solve the issue. And we
Naseema: Yeah, it's, it's definitely scary. Like people are, you get so caught up in the cycle of guilt. That even the prospect of help seems helpless, right? There's a hopeless, there's, it's not, you're like, nobody can help me. Yeah. Been there.
Michael Russell: It's unreasonably placed shame on yourself. You
Naseema: Yeah. Yep. Yes.
Michael Russell: Struggle is supposed to be a chapter. It's not supposed to be the whole damn story. But we make it the whole damn story often to our own devices.
We self sabotage sometimes, and we can make problems worse by ignoring them, and that's never the solution. Every lender. And no matter what it is, whether it's secured debt or unsecured debt, they want to work with you. do. They [00:06:00] want to speak with you. They want to propose assistance options.
They want to do those things. We're the problem typically is you know what I mean? It's it's usually not the lender. That's the problem, you know We did borrow the money, and we do owe it and so it's you know It's it's it's I guess my, my real estate career being in around it and dealing with banks, for 30 years and going through all this stuff makes it tremendously elementary to me to fill out an assistance application and to call a bank.
And there's no emotion for it, right? It's a, that's the greatest thing that I think that we really offer is a barrier to the emotions. I'll get on three way calls with people a lot of the time, and they cannot maintain their emotions on the phone with the bank. Because it's tremendously personal and when the bank says, oh we're missing a bank statement.
I sent you that and they and they get so and it's infuriating. It's infuriating when you're going through it yourself [00:07:00] when you're 1 party removed. The expectation of banks coming across as unreasonable is just already there. I expect them to not have the document I sent 10 minutes ago. Yeah, I just expected and I'm not angry about it.
Naseema: Mm
Michael Russell: And but yeah, the, the turnaround in my life personally on so many levels is what put me in a place where I do this. And what keeps me here is bearing witness to and playing a small role in the turnaround of others. Because if anyone can turn, if I can turn my life around anybody can, and I really believe that.
Naseema: People, people really do need to see examples of people overcoming financial adversity is very important because like I said, it does feel like there's no hope and we've beaten ourself up so much. You are your own worst enemies. Your, your own worst enemy most of the time, and if we could just get out of the way, but you said something in your story that [00:08:00] was super impactful.
And I want to just dive into it a little bit. Is the effect that what you were going through financially had on your personal relationships. And a lot of times we don't talk about that, but it changes your life substantially. Because everything in life is about relationships. Money is the tool.
Relationships are what drive, what drives your life. That is your life energy. So talk about like how it damaged your relationship and what you were able to do to repair those
Michael Russell: Sure. So it as a family business. It was a family business that ran into great struggle struggle that I was very culpable in creating from my own decisions and my own choices struggles that I could never get back on the same page with my father about and we both played some role in the relative fiscal [00:09:00] irresponsibility, but I played a bigger one.
And I was far more naive and and didn't really understand finances really at all. I was in my mid to late 20s. And I was actually never able to make a living amends with my father. He passed away before I was able to do that.
Naseema: Sorry.
Michael Russell: Yeah. And so that, that's, that's super hard. And sobriety is a big part of my journey.
I've been in recovery for almost 10 years. And that, that, that leads my path. That's that also, of course, plays a big role in why I want to pay it forward. Cause I didn't always do that. And, but boy, I'll tell you, I certainly enjoy every day of my life being able to make amends to my mom.
That's, that's really one of the most important relationships I have because she bailed me out more times than I can count. And two years ago, I bought her a house and I never thought I'd be able to say that, it was usually me, trying to meet her in a parking lot and get 25, [00:10:00] 000 to save my day again or something to keep the business afloat.
And, I went through those things for a long time with my mom and I take care of her in every possible way that I can today in a daily effort to try to just, make some sort of amends to make us both feel better. It no matter how old you are, it's really cool when your mother's proud of you,
Naseema: I love that.
Michael Russell: Yeah, sure. And so that that stuff's super important to me the home that I grew up in that, that she lived in once my father had passed, she still lived in there and that property was encumbered. By multiple attachments from the struggles that we had run into in 11, and they had attached her primary residence as a result of it through no fault of her own. And that, that, that literally took me 10 years to solve,
Naseema: Wow.
Michael Russell: get that albatross cleared off the books. And I never would have been able to do that if I didn't change my life, there's no question about that. [00:11:00] And that that's the look the financial stuff's easy, right? Like it's not easy in the moment You know, it's not easy in the moment You couldn't like the day after I filed bankruptcy or two years later or four years later You couldn't have convinced me that that was easy.
Bankruptcy is a tool in america I suppose it's a tool that is right in some instances But it also puts you in a place where you are unbankable in the eyes of any traditional lender in america You are unbankable. You are untouchable You And you really don't have access to credit and being able to leverage things and make wise financial decisions once you file bankruptcy for the better part of seven years.
Really all
Naseema: I know for my personal bankruptcy it took about 3 years and I was okay, but you have to file both personal and corporate bankruptcy,
Michael Russell: yeah.
Naseema: which I have no knowledge of, like, how is the corporate bankruptcy different?
Michael Russell: Oh, it was it was nightmarish, it was it was a chapter 11, which is [00:12:00] a reorganization, similar to a chapter 13 cure and maintain plan. And I had to I had to prove to the bankruptcy court on a monthly basis for the better part of a year that I shouldn't be converted into a chapter seven liquidated my office closed and everything going on.
And that was. And nobody around me knew that that was the case. And so I was running this business that my father had wiped his hands out, understandably. And he said, Hey, you know what? You think you can save it? Good luck. and I had to, I lived in fear every day for a long time that the court was going to say, you're not going to make it.
We're converting to a chapter seven. We're liquidating everything. You're out of business.
Naseema: But when you say prove, does that mean you have to give them financial documents
Michael Russell: Yeah, sure. Absolutely. Yep. I had to write, had to write a letter once a month describing the activities of what was going on, had to turn over my [00:13:00] books. And so it was, yeah, it was really, it was it was nightmarish. And none of these things can be compartmentalized and put into a box as I'm sure, they all blend very well together.
And that is the emotions, the splintering of relationships within the family, the, The, the struggle both emotionally, financially and just keeping up every day and keeping it all together in a place where you can come to work and act like everything's okay.
Naseema: Yeah.
Michael Russell: that was really what, that that became my job is just to pretend like everything was okay.
Naseema: Wow, doing all these things to make sure that you're just even just like maintaining.
Michael Russell: Yeah. And then to, come in and whatever we had a hundred sales associates at that time and just put on a face that whatever normal everyday business problems that they're having you got to address those [00:14:00] too, and so it, yeah, of course it complicated things, they complicated everything life and, and your day to day process
Naseema: What happened? You said you got a divorce. What
Michael Russell: did.
Naseema: contributed to that?
Michael Russell: Yeah, sure. That was largely related to substance abuse, alcoholism, that kind of thing. I eventually there would be a miracle in my life but not soon enough, not soon enough.
Naseema: Yeah.
Michael Russell: I just wasn't really wasn't in the headspace to focus on the important things.
I was I, when you, when you face financial crisis, one of my struggles, was. My identity was so tightly bound to the company and how it did, how it did defined who I was. And whether I was enough or less than or all of those things, there's a lot of false self, true self stuff going on in me when I face these financial crisis, what other people think I had crazy spending [00:15:00] habits beyond my means I created, I did a lot of self sabotaging.
I created a lot of these problems and I, my perspective and my focus were just on the wrong things. Really?
Naseema: Yeah.
Michael Russell: Yeah.
Naseema: Yeah. I, I don't like to be like categorizing like people in a certain way, but I feel Like for men in particular, like their worth is tied to being able to be successful financially. And if they feel like they've fallen off in any kind of way, it's like a failure. And it affects every kind of every relationship that they're in business, personal relationship.
And I've seen that a lot.
Michael Russell: Yeah.
Naseema: I'm not saying that women aren't like that at all, but moreover, I see the direct. correlation between how successful someone is doing or how successful they are portraying that they're doing related to their, how they portray their worth.
Michael Russell: There's no [00:16:00] question about it. It's the great American societal norms are broken, right? They are just broken. Men are defined by what they earn. Women are defined by what they look like. And all the rest of this stuff, and it's It's I swear a lot. I don't know if I can on this one, but it's a joke.
You know what I mean? No, it is. It's just it's they're unreasonable. They are unreasonable asks of people to be something more than you need to be, you know is and and then you it's it's broken The american societal norms are broken in this country, and I think they have been for a long time, but I think social media exacerbates that you know, there's no question sure it's You know, let me flaunt my success.
Let me flaunt how I look. Let me flaunt all of these things that are tremendously superficial and well below the surface of what really matters, and I think we all learn that on our own terms, [00:17:00] in our own time frame, or we simply never learn it.
Naseema: Yeah, it is true. It is true. And I don't want to blame social media because I
Michael Russell: I don't, yeah.
Naseema: media is great. But however, the way people consume things and what comes up on their feed directly. Impacts their how they look at themselves, right? There's a lot of comparison going on and a lot of people feel the need to keep up with the Joneses.
And it's even more prevalent now because it used to be just your neighbors and your coworkers, right? But now it's these millions of people that you get a little glimpse inside their lives, yeah.
Michael Russell: I grew up in the 90s, I didn't have to, I Whatever, none of this stuff existed, right? But now, I can't imagine being a 15 year old
Naseema: No, I say that all the
Michael Russell: be like,
Naseema: me too. Yeah. I'm just like, I'm so scared for my kids. I'm just like, goodness, the world that they have to grow up in is so much different. We didn't have phones like [00:18:00] that. We didn't know and to have all of these things, not only just the way that they're inundated with.
All these, advertising messages and all this kind of consumerism stuff, but just like what they're supposed to look like, what they're supposed to listen to, what they're supposed to be eating like stupid stuff. I there was this thing, my kids are only in elementary school and there was this.
Month where everybody had to have prime, you know that drink and it had to be like a certain kind of prime It couldn't be the prime from 7 eleven because that's not the real prime. It was just like crazy And I was just like how these messages are so pervasive in Everything that they do is scary as heck
Michael Russell: It is. There's no question about it. It just makes, it makes the fight even harder, to just be okay with you. To, it's, it's I certainly struggle with that for most of my life. I never really believed that That I was enough. I always believed that I had to bring something [00:19:00] additional and frankly unreasonable to every relationship conversation that I was in and which would often force me to pretend I was someone I wasn't.
And that plays a role in fiscal responsibility
Naseema: hmm.
Michael Russell: and access to just a little bit of money in the grand scheme of things really blew that off the charts for me. I was I was, yeah, I was, I was out of control.
Naseema: But what you're saying makes me think of financial infidelity and how people might not think that's what it is, but when they're not honest about what's going on financially, like when you were talking about, you were going through this bankruptcy, but you had to play it off, like in a relationship that is,
Michael Russell: Yeah, sure.
Naseema: that is a deal breaker, but I know a lot of people do it and they think I'm doing this to protect, Or because i'm trying to avoid this conversation.
I made this problem, but i'm trying to fix [00:20:00] it But that is financial infidelity if your partner is not aware of what's going on in any part of your finances And again, that's why most relationships in due to some kind of financial issue like it is so It happens so often like It's crazy
Michael Russell: It is. It's but that's a perfect way to describe it, and I certainly ended up in a, in a conundrum, like where I thought that if I didn't keep Buying these things, doing these things, acting this way that I would lose everyone around me, that I didn't believe that really, that I was enough, less than disease.
I, I had that most of my life, a lot of work to realize that that's just not a true story. It's just the story I was telling myself in my head and that takes far more effort than just being honest.
Naseema: Come
Michael Russell: takes, it's a full time job. It's a full time job to pretend to be someone you're not. It really [00:21:00] is.
It, it's, it was exhausting and I didn't even know it,
Naseema: it's exhausting. And then that exhaustion shows up in you not being present. It shows up in you not being able to have real conversations in every way you communicate. It shows up And it, that's one of my things, like I am too. lazy, but I don't have the energy to lie. I don't have the energy to be something that I'm not, because it is so much harder than just keeping it real.
And, living in fear that you're going to hurt that person. If you say the things, if you show up as who you are, like people need to see exactly who you are fully. Yeah, it's exhausting.
Michael Russell: It is, it is. It's really a job and you don't even realize it when you're, when it's happening. And it costs a fortune. It certainly cost me a fortune, there's no question about it. We were father and I were we were big gamblers. We love to gamble,[00:22:00]
Naseema: Hmm.
Michael Russell: and, and that is part of part of the story, right?
Is we, we would We would go to Vegas, we would do things, and we would we would waste a lot of money. And that infidelity was, like, literally, we had two sets of books, the real ones, and the ones that we showed my mother. And that was the path, and that, that kind of started pretty young for me.
And You know over the course of just a little bit of time what what I was taught is normal I started doing to my father.
Naseema: Hmm.
Michael Russell: I started making him. All right. Here are the real books Here's what i'll show my father and and it just like this stuff family on family crime. It's like American crime.
It's like the worst thing. And and it's, yeah, I, I have a ton of regrets with all that stuff. I wish that I had I had known better and done better.
Naseema: But it sounds like that's the kind of way, you started your business in your teens, if that's what you knew. [00:23:00] You did what you were taught, right? And it's just yes, of course there's accountability, but also if that is what and that's what you know, that's how you act. Like more is caught than taught, right?
Like this is, this is, this is, that's how you were trained to maneuver through your business. And I, I know it was hard at the end, not being able to make amends with your father, but a lot of it was Because of the way that you guys ran your
Michael Russell: Yeah, sure.
Naseema: really sad. Yeah
Michael Russell: thought it was cool. I really did. I thought it was cool at 21, 22, 23. I thought it was cool. I was like, oh, this is great. Okay. So we got two lives. I got it. Check. Got it. No problem. And, and it because money was always my drug of choice and it's the hardest one to break, that money thing is it is, it is a defining thing still to this day in my life, even through.
Great [00:24:00] work and great efforts to recover in my life. Money's still a problem. There's no such thing as enough. I'll, I'll say till the day I die that. The amount of money that'll make me feel okay inside is $5 more than I'll ever. And I'm aware of that.
Naseema: That is very that was a powerful quote
Michael Russell: I'm, listen, I'm totally aware of it. I don't like it, but I totally aware of it and, and it, it's, but so money, money is a great tool. It's an outstanding thing and it provides convenience is really all money does it. It makes my life more convenient and, but making the right decisions. Most of the time is the best any of us can do.
Naseema: yeah.
Michael Russell: There's no such thing as perfection. There isn't, it is not challenging to get yourself back to an 800 credit score and keep it there. You just have [00:25:00] to do things within reason. It takes time. And discipline and but there's a listen there There's there are addictions at play with everyone in america when it comes to this stuff It couldn't be easier to buy something today.
Like it'll take me like, you know what I mean? Amazon like just name it. It's so easy to spend money and it's it's hard for people to find the confidence and break through the fear of investing money, and I have Realtors who work for me and every single realtor I ever interviewed in my life came in here and said they want to invest in real estate And very few of them actually do i'm a firm believer that Real estate is still the best way to long term sustained wealth in america It is unless you're going to create an app and those skills wave bye bye to me it's just it's a great way to do it But there are so many [00:26:00] fears and obstacles in people to get to a place where they're comfortable doing it.
And the way that I always found it worked best for me was to find good partners instead of feeling like you have to do everything alone. And that's a process too, partners are tough. I've had bad ones. I've had great ones. But there are, there are investments that people can make in their lives and in their future that, that can help.
Make life easier because 10 years from now, I'm not going to have the same energy I have today. I'm not going to want to keep working all the time. And, and,
Naseema: Exactly.
Michael Russell: It's it's recognizing that, that it's growing up really, it's growing up and stop living in the day and the moment and thinking that you're invincible and thinking that, you'll be able to earn the same amount of money at 70 as you could at 45 is just an unreasonable ask.
Naseema: yeah. I'm, I'm. I'm curious, like, when people come to [00:27:00] you through your nonprofit, Hope for Hardship what do they expect they're gonna get? Do they think that they're just gonna get Like these tactical steps that they need to do to improve or get out of whatever hardship that they're in, or do they understand that?
A lot of it is the things that we've been talking about, those emotional things, those, the, the help with, understanding what drove you. To have those behaviors, do you, did you have to unlock that trauma of, being in a family that kept two books? Like what, what, how do people come to you?
And then how ultimately do they really get the help?
Michael Russell: so most people are looking for immediate gratification, right? They're looking for an immediate solution, right? They're looking for the magic pill, right? Most people. I spend the vast majority of my days, every single day, talking people out of their own way. That's what I spend my time doing. Most people.
Now, I will say that there is a small [00:28:00] segment of true victims. Of things that were outside their control health things, but I'm telling you it's small in my experience The vast majority of folks are in some stage of denial About the severity of the situation Whose fault it is? There are far too many fingers in this world and nowhere near enough thumbs.
They're just, it's just the reality of it. It's just the way it is. And I, for some reason, it resonates. People like that resonate with me because I completely understand the behavior. I don't judge it at all. And I know better. And we have a pretty solid dialogue and, and but yeah, so I break through those expectations.
I'm pretty curt, but understanding and empathetic and and that's, the way that we do this is what people fail to recognize is most people that I talked to that are in this situation tried something already.
Naseema: Mm-hmm
Michael Russell: They tried to get, because every bank in America, when you [00:29:00] have a mortgage, they will allow you to fill out in an application for assistance. And it's essentially, it's a very simple application. It's six pages. Income, expenses, assets, like what's your monthly income, some supporting documentation, a couple bank statements, some recent pay stubs, you need to prove, that's what we do, is we build a case to the bank that you are a viable bet.
That if we help you with the arrearage the past due amount you will be able to resume normal payments in a couple months so that's what we do. But what most people do is they get this application. They send it in completely incomplete And then the bank and then they say no, I sent that in three months ago The bank never called me and i'm like dude, that's not how this works.
It's not the bank's job to chase you It's your job to chase the bank, and that's what we do. And so we just understand the timelines. We fill out the application. We gather the [00:30:00] supporting documentation, and then we call every three business days, just calling for a status update on file 1, 2, 3, 4.
We submitted the application. I see there's missing documentation. We sent that in. I just want to confirm that it's received because all a bank needs to do is get the application to something they called certified complete. That can take, anywhere from two to four weeks to dig after they all the missing documents.
There's always something missing, it's oh, we're missing page seven, it's ridiculous. We get all the documentation together, we finally get it complete, and then the bank will put the file under review. Once it's under review, they will pause foreclosure proceedings. Every bank will do this.
And then upon successful review, which can take up to 30 days, they'll reach back out and say, okay, we've reviewed the file. It's gone to underwriting. These are the options available to you for assistance. And then we help them go through the different options. Most of them end up in retention where they can [00:31:00] retain the property.
If they agree to go through these different things, some of them are non retention. Some of them are, Hey, listen, we, we can't offer you any assistance. Okay. You need to sell the asset, and that happens sometimes it's rarer, but it happens people if they don't have a job if they don't have any income It's very hard to get a bank to agree to give them assistance, right?
But i'll tell you the the hardest thing That anyone in this situation faces and I understand it completely is getting your place to a level of acceptance Acceptance sometimes when it's necessary And that acceptance often has to be, I'm going to have to leave this property. That is such a hard obstacle to get over.
People feel, rightfully and wrongfully entitled. People make the mistake of believing it's their home when what it truly is in the eyes [00:32:00] of the law is collateral. That's what that is. I know you raised your family in it. I know. I know. You all, where all the skeletons are buried and all the warts are and all the rest, but listen, that is collateral in the eyes of the bank and they're coming for it.
And so it's, it's a very, that's the most challenging conversation when we, when we try to resolve it in any different way. And, and the final answer is no, we will not work with you getting them to a place where. You have to understand that dispersing of the asset, moving on from it, selling it in some traditional fashion is always better than foreclosure. You can always leave your home on your terms. If you do nothing and you just, you dig in and you go with that denial thing, I've witnessed that probably 300 times in my career, it's called a lockout. And what happens here in my state anyway is the sheriff shows up. With a box [00:33:00] truck and two movers and they knock on the door and they say you have an hour Everything you want to keep they'll put in the truck, but then we're changing the locks and you're out on the curb Will store your belongings for 30 days and then they're your responsibility is one of the most torturous things to witness And most people don't think that can happen and that that's the ultimate, you know So not only do you get the public event on your credit report just like a bankruptcy foreclosure But you get no money from the sale And it's on the bank's terms and so there there are so many options You Prior to foreclosure.
And so that's really what, what I've and I don't know them all, but I feel like I do. I've been doing this a long time and, and and I, I enjoy, for a long, long time in my life, I think we all enter people's lifelines and we are an inflection point [00:34:00] somewhere in their lifeline. And for a lot, a lot of years, I would be a negative inflection point and the trajectory of someone's life would go down from that point forward.
And now I just pride myself on being a positive inflection point. And playing a role in positive trajectory from people's lives after they speak with me and that and that's why I do it for free You
Naseema: is a very important thing. That's crazy that you offer these services. How do people typically find you and at what point, point in this process of potentially losing their homes? Are they
Michael Russell: sure. So In in most states, there's a notice of foreclosure posted publicly
Naseema: mm-hmm
Michael Russell: to all of those people
Naseema: In your state or,
Michael Russell: In right now in three different states. We actively You pursue conversations with them, but we can do this nationwide. We do it anywhere,
Naseema: What's three states? Are those[00:35:00]
Michael Russell: Florida, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
Naseema: Okay.
Michael Russell: Those are the ones that we, we currently, and eventually, as we ramp up here, we will, we will reach out to everyone nationwide that runs into this problem because the commonalities are, it's so simple, like it's, there's only 20 banks servicing companies in America, there's not a ton of them and they all have the same thing.
And. And at the stage they're in is emotionally, the stage they're in is denial. But the stage they are in, they are usually, if they did absolutely nothing, they are between 90 and 120 days away from a foreclosure auction being scheduled.
Naseema: Ooh.
Michael Russell: So timing is everything. Time's your enemy in this situation.
I can say what I've learned is if you're about 300 or less days behind on your mortgage, and I'm not suggesting you just go get to that point, but if you're under 300 days behind on your mortgage, there are great options [00:36:00] available to you with your bank. If you are less than 30 days away from an already scheduled foreclosure auction, you have very limited options.
Naseema: Hmm.
Michael Russell: The bank has already invested significant capital in hiring attorneys, auctioneers, scheduling these things. They've already cleaned title. They've done everything. They're on their path. They're ready to foreclose. They're a lot less interested in working with you. So that timing is so important. And one of the struggles I run into is.
Look, there are I don't mean, I don't want to disparage anybody. But there are, there are people in this world who simply seek to capitalize on what they perceive to be somebody else's misfortune. And when a foreclosure notice is published, you better believe they come out of the woodwork. And so I'm not the only person reaching out to
Naseema: That you're not the only one looking at those
Michael Russell: You know what I mean? And so it makes my job that much harder to get them to a [00:37:00] place where they understand, they'll say, what do you mean free? I'm like, no, really, this is and I, and I share my story and why I do this. And but it's, the more I get out there, the more I do stuff like this with you, the more I, the more I do this the more people can easily vet me.
And just, and, and I have a dozen people who. Will just call someone for me and share their story. Hey, listen, I didn't trust him either But you can you can trust what he says and and it's I think the the world's just converged I think it's a perfect scenario. I've been in and around real estate for 30 years And so I have the knowledge and the understanding of how to do this I have great personal ties to this and so I have empathy and i'm able to understand what people are going through and so I'm just It's not super hard work for me.
It's actually the thing that I enjoy the most in my day is talking to people and helping them find resolutions to financial struggle and then [00:38:00] staying. A lot of these people become my friends. I've got some really good friends in this that Didn't trust me at all when I walked into their living room.
And yeah, but it's tremendously rewarding, this, the turnaround in your life wasn't immediate. I'm sure it took some time, right? The turnaround in everyone's life does. Yeah.
Naseema: I don't know why it switched my microphone, but it switched my microphone. I'm going to have to,
Michael Russell: Okay.
Naseema: Stop and then I'll restart here.
Michael Russell: Yeah, no problem.
Naseema: Yeah, so how are you able to do this for free?
Michael Russell: I turned my life around quite a bit. I I, I made a lot of investments in my life after I, I got sober, and I turned my life around. I still own a real estate company that's productive. And I, I have a manager who runs it for me. And so that makes my life a lot easier, you know?
And so it allows me the free time to [00:39:00] focus on this, which is really, I don't know, someone said it's my passion project,
Naseema: I was gonna say that that's what came to mind
Michael Russell: right? Sure. That's what it is, right? This is, I've been in every arena of real estate, there's, there are buckets, right? There's. People who are so excited, first time homebuyers, leveling up, buying your dream home.
And there are all these experiences, and the ones that always stuck out to me and resonated with me were the sad ones. Those lockouts I described. Death, divorce, disaster. There are reasons people sell real estate that are not happy. And what resonated with me was my ability to have empathy and communicate with people when they were going through something very challenging. It never really resonated with me much that someone was excited they were buying a house, for some reason it just I, I think the one thing in life you can't fake is shared struggle. I can [00:40:00] fake anything, but I can't fake that, and that and that's I think what it is is I understand struggle and I have a way of effectively communicating with people.
I think that that have gone through it. And I, it's what I enjoy most, there's nothing better than meeting someone when they're down and out and then knowing them when they're not. I don't know of something more rewarding in life. And that it's it's service work, right? It's service work.
And that's a big part of my recovery, is the deal that I made was just to pay it forward to the next man or woman. That's the deal I made.
Naseema: I love that and I appreciate you for that because it's not a lot of people just helping You Of the bottom, like from the bottom of their heart, like with no strings attached. It's very rare that we find these people. And so I'm honored that I'm able to share you with my platform. [00:41:00] So if people wanted to work with you do they have to get to the point where they get the fi, the foreclosure notice, or if they are at a point where they're falling behind on their
Michael Russell: Getting there. Yeah. Sure.
Naseema: falling behind on their
Michael Russell: Absolutely.
Naseema: reach out to you?
Michael Russell: Yeah, absolutely. Miss one payment and the likelihood that people are going to catch up is very small. And yeah, absolutely. And being proactive is great. So yeah, they can call me directly at 508 501 9214. They can go to my site, learn about my story.
It's HopeTheNumber4Hardship. org. So HopeTheNumber4Hardship. org. And you can learn anything about me. I'm an open book. I'll tell you anything you want to know and, There's nothing you're going to ever tell me that that I'm going to judge.
Naseema: I love that. And I, like I said, again, I love being able to connect people who are there to just genuinely help because that has not, that is not the case across the board. Usually [00:42:00] somebody has something to sell, which is, that's not, I'm not saying anything about that, but, to be able to, First of all, you, that means that you've done a lot in your life to overcome those things that you, your struggles that you went through and you set yourself up to be in a place financially, mentally, spiritually, time wise, to be able to give back.
And that I want to really give you your props for because That's what most people aspire to. You aspire to be to a place where you don't have to work for money anymore, but you can genuinely serve in the areas that bring you passion without having to worry about money. I know that is my personal goal.
And I know a lot of people that are on the path to financial freedom like that is their goal. I don't have to work for money so I can serve in the area that brings me joy. And so I am a [00:43:00] fangirling you for being in that space. And again, I aspire to be like that. But also, I am super grateful that you're in this role that you can do that because being there just like you, I've been there in that place of hopelessness and not knowing what to do.
We're the same age. We were going through the things. At the same time that 2008, 2009 is when I went through my bank, my foreclosures. I had 2 foreclosures. I had 2 short sales and nobody was able to walk me through those journeys because the real estate agents that I have been working with were going through similar things themselves.
And we were
Michael Russell: It's true.
Naseema: Nobody knew what to do. First of all, it was all unprecedented times and
Michael Russell: It was.
Naseema: than they were before. Nobody kind of knew what to do and to be able to have a resource like you would have changed my financial trajectory. It would have changed the trajectory of my life, period.
So I want people to understand how [00:44:00] important having access to someone like Michael is to having access to what hope for hardship is. So if you're not in this personal situation, I'm sure there is somebody, just one person removed from you. That is, somebody that is struggling paying for their mortgage.
Somebody who is a couple of steps away from losing their home. So if this information from this podcast can't benefit you, please share it with someone who can benefit from it because, and I, I'm not trying to overwhelm you by the
Michael Russell: No, listen, it's my honor. Yeah, no, listen, it's my honor. There's no shame.
Naseema: Yeah.
Michael Russell: no shame in falling behind. And what I've learned about people in life is that if you stop paying your mortgage payment, There are other problems in your life.
Naseema: Yes.
Michael Russell: There are other problems in your life that in the day to day process are actually even bigger than
Naseema: Mm hmm.
Michael Russell: and I can help, I can help you. [00:45:00] I, I'm no different. I wish someone like me was around when I went through this, unfortunately, I had to go through all of it to figure this out. But the reality is I could have helped myself. My future self could have helped my past self make much more strategic decisions.
wiser decisions that would have put me in a much better place coming out on the back end. And and that that's the reality of it. And so it's, it's my honor to try to help people do that. I think it's a great it's, it's a great thing to do. I enjoy it.
Naseema: And I'll again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you do, because I know the impact it can have. And, I just, I'm begging my audience to, to make sure that they save your information, that they share your information and that they reach out to you. And I just appreciate you having this conversation.
It definitely brought up the emotions of the things that I was going through at that time and just. Thinking of like how impactful you could have been for me. But at the same time, I'm just [00:46:00] super grateful that I'm able to have access to you and be able to share you with my audience. And I appreciate you taking the time to
Michael Russell: course. Thank you for the opportunity.
Naseema: we need more conversations like this.
Michael Russell: No question.
Naseema: Thank you.
Michael Russell: I'm honored. Thank you. I'm glad to meet. And hopefully we'll talk again in the future.
Naseema: Most definitely and I'll put all your information in the show notes. So your phone number, your website, everything. So you guys reach out to Michael check out hope for hardship and, be in touch again, share, say like this episode save his information because there, I can guarantee you there's somebody one person removed.
If it's not you that needs to hear this one person. There's a person just right next to you that needs to hear this. Yeah,
Michael Russell: keep the faith, everybody. Keep the faith. You're gonna be all right.
Naseema: There is hope there is hope and again, you know It's hard if you're in the situation and to think that there is help for you, but there is help And [00:47:00] don't let your pride get in the way of you seeking out that help and doing the things That need to be done for you and your family because even if you don't have kids even if you're not in a relationship It's affecting your life in some way, in more ways than just you losing this house.
So it's super important that you get ahead of it. So thanks
Michael Russell: Amen. Thank you so much. Yes. Great. Awesome.
Hey there I’m Naseema
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