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Couple eases pain, anxiety of foreclosures
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by JOANY NAZDIN
LaCole Cole, left, and her husband, James Cole, at their Waldorf business, Rapid Mortgage Solutions, which they started to help homeowners stay in their homes instead of facing foreclosure.
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Glenn Jordan of Temple Hills was having a bad year last year.
He suffered a heart attack and due to the complications from his glaucoma and diabetes, began to lose his vision. As if that wasn't enough for one person to cope with, he had a stroke, which left him in need of a wheelchair to get around.
By the first of the year, Jordan had lost his job, was ready to declare bankruptcy and faced foreclosure on his home.
That is when he talked to James and LaCole Cole, owners of Rapid Mortgage Solutions in Waldorf.
"They paid my mortgage first thing to save my house," Jordan said. "Then they helped me to refinance. They are just beautiful people, and I am not saying this because I want to be on a commercial. What started as a business relationship became a friendship."
The Coles went above and beyond in helping Jordan keep his home, even trying to find him the wheelchair he needed.
For some people, acts of kindness might be something they do once a year when the holidays come, or for people they know, but the Coles feel they can help everyone all the time, and they do.
James Cole and his wife LaCole started Rapid Home Mortgage Solutions of Waldorf to be able to help people in crisis situations.
"We want to help people who are homeowners remain homeowners," LaCole Cole said.
The Coles were originally in the mortgage business, but decided last year that with credit scores dropping, and many people falling behind in their mortgages due to adjustable interest rate and interest-only loans, that people were in need of the services they provide.
"There are a lot of people who are not aware of the many programs which are available to help people stay in their homes, LaCole Cole said. "Also, a lot of people don't have the time it takes to spend on the phone negotiating with someone to get those services."
LaCole Cole estimates for a typical customer, the company spends an average of 20-30 hours helping them, most of it phone time.
Cole, who grew up in Malcolm and graduated from Thomas Stone High School, says she appreciates the hard times people go through, because she faced hard times herself growing up.
"My father came down with Hodgkin's disease when I was in fifth grade," she said, "And my mother developed heart problems when I was in the 12th grade. I really didn't think I would be able to obtain a college degree."
LaCole Cole went on to graduate from Bowie State University with a degree in psychology, and went on to work for the Charles County Department of Social Services for five years, as a case manager for housing services.
"That is when I discovered a great need for affordable housing in Charles County", LaCole Cole said.
While studying and establishing herself, LaCole Cole met James at a McDonald's restaurant, where it just so happened that her own parents met.
"Both our fathers are named James also," LaCole Cole said, while smiling at her husband.
James and LaCole Cole got into the mortgage arena with two goals, to keep people in their homes and to give back to the community.
LaCole Cole takes a holistic approach to dealing with a client who may be having trouble keeping their mortgage bills paid.
"We have had clients who make good salaries, and we can't figure out why they can't pay their bills," LaCole Cole said. "When I delve a little deeper, I may find that there are addictions or mental health problems which some people face."
LaCole Cole assists people to get the right services to deal with their problems, but she doesn't stop there.
"My cell phone number is available to my clients 24 hours a day," she said. "I have one client who calls in the morning because she doesn't want to get out of bed, and I can talk her into going to work."
James Cole said they also have some customers who come to them because they never received the basic education which would enable them to read and write, and they need help with their documents. This service, along with the notary public service they provide, is free of charge.
LaCole and James Cole have bought gift cards and baskets for needy people at Thanksgiving, Christmas and in emergency situations such as a house fire.
"We also provide school clothes and supplies to families who might need a little help," she said.
James Cole said that news of the help the couple provides has traveled mouth to mouth from different people; they also advertise.
"I am not bragging," LaCole Cole said, "But when I see someone who needs help I just jump right in. We are always looking for ways to help."
Mary Boyd, president of the African American Heritage Society, says the Cole family became one of the first business owners in Charles County to assist the society.
"They helped us when they found out what we were doing," Boyd said. "One of the reasons we started the society is because our history is sometimes left out of the history books.
