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Woman buys foreclosed home for stranger

03:52 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

By MONIKA DIAZ / WFAA-TV

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Monika Diaz reports

DALLAS — Two strangers were brought together by a leap of faith and one piece of property that was among 200 North Texas homes up for auction at the Dallas Convention Center this weekend.

While the misfortune of others lured hundreds of bargain hunters to the foreclosure auction, "Tracy" said she came to find closure. The woman took her seat among a sea of investors and strangers to say goodbye to her Pottsboro home, which is located just west of Denison.

"It means so much to all of us," she said of the rural residence that she lost to foreclosure. "It's not just a house."

At the fast-paced and energetic event, Tracy's tears did not go unnoticed.

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Tracy was crying when Marilyn Mock saw her.

"She was crying and I asked her what she was upset about," said Marilyn Mock, of Rockwall.

When Tracy's home, listed as "No. 73," came up for auction, Mock raised her hand and bid. With no picture of the property in the auction book, Mock had only Tracy's word on the home's value.

"I just kept asking her, 'Is it worth it?' She said, 'Yes,' and then it went again," Mock said.

Bid after bid, Mock kept raising her hand.

"The next thing you know, she tells me she is doing this for me — and then she had it," Tracy said.

Tracy's second chance came from a stranger.

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"People need to help each other," Marilyn Mock said.

Mock paid less than $30,000 for the property; she has no idea where it is.

"I have to look it up on the map," Mock said.

She said she plans to meet with Tracy in the next few weeks to work out the details of her return.

Despite the risk involved in this transaction, Mock said it was a simple decision.

"People need to help each other, and that's all there is to it," Mock said.

"She knows how much she has blessed my life," Tracy said. "Nobody's ever done anything like that for me before, and I hope that I can repay the favor."

E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com

 

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