FAIRBURN, Georgia (CNN) -- In a south Atlanta neighborhood lined with palatial homes and manicured lots, the Hicks family was living out its American dream.



Breylan and Terese Hicks play with their sons Bryce, 3, and Jordan, 2.



But like many Americans, that dream was interrupted when they almost lost their home to foreclosure.



Terese, a firefighter, and her husband Breylan, a police sergeant, had always dreamed about owning a spacious house in the suburbs.



When they began their search, the young family was living in a south Atlanta neighborhood. They grew concerned and decided to move when crime in the area started to pick up.



Although they didn't think they could afford their 'dream home,' they started searching in an affluent area just south of the airport and across the street from the 190-room estate owned by famed heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield.



"I've always been looking in this subdivision, but never thought we could afford a home here," Terese Hicks said.  After discussing their financials with a mortgage broker, the family was presented with a deal and payments they could afford. The interest-only, adjustable rate loan sounded good at the time. And since they were not first-time homebuyers, they thought they knew what they were getting into. Terese Hicks figured they could always refinance before the interest rates were adjusted.



Soon, the family settled in their seven-bedroom, five-bathroom plantation-style home with a pool.



It all seemed like a dream come true, until the couple learned the interest rate on their loan would readjust in just six months, making the loan a short three-year ARM. The mother of two, who handles the family's finances, had wrongly assumed that their loan was a five-year ARM.



The news couldn't have come at a worse time. Breylan was unable to work because of a serious back injury, and the family's income took a hit. They were also paying mortgages on vacant rental properties when they couldn't find tenants because of the housing crisis.  To make matters worse, Terese Hicks, a city employee, had to take a 10-percent pay cut in her salary, and the family was burdened with a mountain of medical bills for numerous surgeries their 6-month-old son Jordan underwent to treat a birth-related medical condition.



Struggling to pay the new adjusted mortgage, Terese Hicks appealed to their mortgage company, Homecomings which is owned by GMAC, for help.



"They said there was nothing they could do about the rate readjusting, so I said let's weather the storm and see what we can do," she said.



She continued to make regular payments for all of their mortgages in order to maintain their good credit. But within a year, they were in the eye of the storm and their savings dropped to around $75.  Desperate, the Hickses asked their mortgage company again for help. But they were told there was nothing they could do because they were current on all their payments.



The Hickses decided they had no other choice but to "play the game" and stop paying their mortgage, even if it meant damaging their hard-earned credit.



Homecomings acknowledges that the guidelines for modification at that time made little sense, but they were caught in the middle of a "symptomatic" relationship between working with third-party investors and homeowners.



"In order for us to have been able to modify the loan we needed to get permission on the investor on whose behalf we are servicing the loan," said Jeanine Bruin of GMAC. "It's a balancing act, what's in the best interest of the customer and the investor."  At the time of the Hickses request for a loan modification, investors backing the loans required some proof of financial difficulty. Things have changed since then, including new government concessions geared towards helping homeowners, explained Bruin.



"The proof was in the pudding," said Bruin, "You had to be late in your payment to prove hardship."



The Hicks family
Where did the Hicks family purchase a dream home? In what city was the home purchased? What did the Hicks suffer? What was the name of the family? What did the couple struggle with?
south Atlanta Atlanta almost lost their home to foreclosure. Hicks to pay the new adjusted mortgage,
question: Where did the Hicks family purchase a dream home?, answer: south Atlanta | question: In what city was the home purchased?, answer: Atlanta | question: What did the Hicks suffer?, answer: almost lost their home to foreclosure. | question: What was the name of the family?, answer: Hicks | question: What did the couple struggle with?, answer: to pay the new adjusted mortgage,