Two more days

And the bulk of the move will be finished. On Tuesday we move the furniture, with the exception of the pool table. While we may be able to move it ourselves (others have done it, I know), we have opted to have professionals do it for us. It will be the very last thing to move, though.

Today, after the Texans game, I’ll be headed to the new place to clean up a bit. We’ve moved all the boxes over, and the kitchen is unpacked and my studio is mostly unpacked. Once we get furniture in, I can finish unpacking the clothes that go in the dresser (the kids do their own moving stuff like packing & unpacking), and making some changes to the house to make it more livable for us – like removing the towel bars in both bathrooms to make room for bookcases. While the house is large, storage is at a premium, particularly in the bathrooms, so we’re having to make some changes there.

But, the bathrooms DO have clean towels, and have been cleaned (and will be cleaned again before we move in, probably tomorrow). In fact, about the only thing missing at this point is furniture. I was determined that since my vacation officially begins tomorrow, I didn’t want to spend the entire time packing, moving, and unpacking. I think we’ve done a decent job of having things unpacked that could be unpacked, so we won’t be living with a mountain of boxes for several weeks – which would drive me nuts, and cause me to spend my entire vacation unpacking, at least until everything was sufficiently put away. My closet is slowly filling up with clothes – I take a few every time I go over there, leaving only enough here to get me through till Tuesday. I’ll be so glad when this move is over!

What I’m really looking forward to is some studio time, even though it will now be in my bedroom. And Thanksgiving! I can’t believe it’s less than two weeks away. And of course, I’m really looking forward to spending time with my husband and kids while I’m off. I am so excited about the next eight weeks or so, I can hardly contain myself – the holidays in a new house, new decorating opportunities, and just the excitement of the holidays themselves practically give me a contact high! LOL I don’t know why I’m so excited for the holidays this year – maybe it the relief of four years of stress, or maybe just the idea of being with my family, but this holiday season will be fantastic, I know it.

 

The End, or a New Beginning?

I’ve mentioned here before the struggles we’ve had trying to hold on to our house. It’s been a horrible experience, which I have not documented here for the sake of a little privacy, but suffice it to say that no matter how hard we tried, we were not able to work things out with Bank of America. After years of trying to come to an amicable agreement, we have decided that our health and sanity is more important than trying to hold on to this house. And so, with mixed emotions, we have decided to let go of the house and move on.

I know that there are few folks who will take responsibility for losing their home to foreclosure, but the brunt of this problem rests squarely on my shoulders. It wasn’t that I willfully or even accidentally missed any payments that caused my problems. I didn’t suddenly lose my job and face a loss of income. And I didn’t have some massive medical issue that made me miss a payment. No, none of these things occurred. My problems with this house started with a payment that my mortgage company at the time, Countrywide, claimed had been returned to them for non-sufficient funds. It took them four months to decide that the payment had been returned for NSF before they let me know about it. That’s when they decided to add exorbitant fees to the account, going back to the first day of the month for the “returned payment”. Of course, upon receiving their letter, I immediately called my bank to find out of the check had ever been presented – after all, the money was still in my account, and I couldn’t locate an NSF fee from my own bank. My bank insisted that the check had never been presented for payment, and thus, never returned for non-sufficient funds.

I called Countrywide to try to make the payment, and to discuss the fact that my bank said the payment had never been presented. I also hoped to get them to admit the mistake and reverse the fees. To the contrary, they told me that not only would they not accept the payment, as it was now a “partial payment,” thanks to all the fees they had added to my account, they would not reverse or even reduce the fees, and they in their turn insisted that the original payment had been returned. I asked to speak to a supervisor, thinking someone at a higher level would help, but never could get past the first line of customer service. I hung up and made a trip to my own bank.

At my bank, I again checked to be sure that the original payment in question had not been presented for payment. It had not, they assured me. I asked the bank manager to write a letter stating this, and he did. I sent it to Countrywide, asking them to again reconsider their position, reverse the fees and accept the payment. Weeks went by before I got a response – no way, it said, in effect. By now, one payment was returned to me, one was the original payment in question that they claimed had been returned by my bank, and another payment had been refused as the account was “seriously past due.” I called again, and was told that they could “redo the loan” and fix all the issues. I agreed, thinking that at least everything would be caught up again. I was told that during the period in which they were reworking the loan, not to make any payments. That was not a problem, since they wouldn’t even accept a payment, so I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I’d call every so often to find out what was going on, and would be told it was in progress. Seven months later, I saw a man outside my home taking pictures. I went out and asked him what he was doing, and he said it was in relation to the loan by Countrywide. I thanked him and went back inside.

Three months after that, I finally had the new paperwork in hand. A total of ten months had gone by since they started the process to “rework” my loan. During that time, Bank of America announced plans to purchase Countrywide, so I was concerned that might throw a kink into the works, but I was assured it would not. I signed the paperwork, returned it, and waited for my new payment information. I got that about two weeks later, and I thought, “Good, it’s done. I can get on with life again.” But I believe it was this mis-step – allowing Countrywide to “rework” the loan – that has caused all of the problems I have since experienced. On a fairly regular basis, I would get letters from BofA that would state I owed them a dollar amount that was in the thousands of dollars, and a demand for payment of that amount. The first time, I called and the customer service rep told me that it was a mistake and to ignore it. That was fine until a few months later when I received another letter, and the amount had increased due to late fees, and advising me they wouldn’t be taking anymore “partial payments.” I managed to scrape together the money, thanks to a bonus at work, and paid it. The CSR I spoke to assured me the account was caught up. At the end of 2009, I received another letter claiming I was behind on payments, even though I had bank records to back up my assertion that I was not. In the second quarter of 2010, we made a very large payment to catch the house up, and I received monthly assurances that all was well, until the end of 2010 when we received yet another letter claiming we were once again several thousand dollars behind. It was then that I decided I was done.

In the midst of all of that, I received two letters on two separate occasions from my Homeowners Association that said the dues had not been paid and they would foreclose on the house. Those dues should have been paid by BofA, but they never were, despite the fact that when I requested an account statement shortly after the last letter from them, my escrow account had almost $8,000 in it (my taxes and insurance did not total $5000).

I’m done. I think we have done everything we could reasonably do to hold on to the house, including attempting a loan modification, for which we were told we did not qualify. We considered filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy but eventually decided against it. While it might help in the short term, at the end, we would still be with Bank of America, and the shenanigans would begin again as soon as the bankruptcy plan was completed.

So, while this is the end of one era – of realizing the dream of owning a home – it’s the beginning of another. Understand, this isn’t a decision that was easy to make, and we don’t take walking away lightly. We have fought to keep this place for the last three and a half years. But enough is enough. My sanity is worth more to me than this house, as much as I love it.

We’ve found another home in the same neighborhood. Our address will change, but our lives will remain much the same, only with less stress. We were lucky enough to find someone willing to rent to us despite the bad credit, and for that I will be forever grateful. She’ll be getting Christmas presents from me for a long time to come. I’m sad to leave my home, but excited for a new beginning. I have loved this house since the moment I stepped into the model home, and I have spent many happy occasions here. I will miss it. But it’s time to look forward to making memories in a new home. I cannot wait.

 

The Final Chapter on housing & unemployment

Well, ok, so it’s not TRULY the “final” chapter, but it is the BEST chapter. I am SO excited and happy to report that the house payments are CAUGHT UP – both loans. I am STOKED. We also made April’s payment today – I am less stoked about that because it means our housing costs are nearly $1900 a month. Yeah, that totally sucks, but … it’s ours. I’m pretty happy about that. So YEAH!

I go back to work on Monday – new job, closer to home & more money. What could be better than that? Well, yeah … winning the lotto WOULD be better but … how about this weather??

Anyway, I am so very happy about the housing situation … so to celebrate I’m going to take a trip to Lowe’s or Home Depot tonight and pick up some paint to paint the kitchen and maybe the upstairs bathroom. And maybe some lamps … but don’t tell Chris!

 

A housing update

Well, things are going pretty well for us right now – a big turn around from a few short weeks ago when we were facing letting the house go and unemployment. I start a new job on April 5th. Chris got a big raise at work. The house is still ours, and looks like it will be for a while to come. God works in mysterious ways … and answers prayers.

I had yet to talk to the mortgage company because I wanted to wait till I had money in hand to give them to get the payments caught up. But last night they called – after nothing from them for WEEKS – and I answered. I knew who it was before I picked up the phone; I figured it was better to go ahead and find out what’s going on rather than waiting till it may be too late to do anything at all. I prepared myself for battle, but actually the guy on the other end of the phone was quite nice. He told me how far behind we are – eight months – and how much we owe.

Whoa. Hold the phone. EIGHT MONTHS?? That can’t be right!

Oh but it can be – because they started escrowing for taxes … at some point. Without informing me. I’ve gone back through all the paperwork I have and there’s nothing there about escrow, except where it says there is no escrow account and I’m responsible for paying the taxes myself. When an escrow account was added is beyond me. I’m not even sure what it covers at this point.

But … the good news is, the bank hasn’t even started foreclosure proceedings. They obviously don’t want the house – which is the one good thing this sucky economy has done. I guess they have somewhere in the neighborhood of about 20 to 30 houses in this neighborhood alone in foreclosure, so I guess if they can get someone to pay their bill and take the house back up, they’re thrilled not to have to try to sell it themselves. That works in my favor and I won’t complain about it.

I should have the money in hand within the next week to get everything caught up – which, since the payments are higher and we’re further behind than I thought, will cost more than I had originally anticipated. Still, the house is ours, and we can still afford even the higher payments with our improved economic outlook. This is all very good news to me. I’m hoping that we can make a couple years of on time payments and be able to refinance so we can get out from under the ARM and the current mortgage company.

Even if it takes us a little longer, at least our house is safe, and we’re not moving. As soon as I pay up the mortgage and it’s all caught up, I’m SO unpacking! I hate boxes.

 

It all hinges on one thing

Today I got a phone call about the interview I had yesterday. This was an interview set up by a headhunter in the industry from which I recently departed but it is with a different company. The job sounds really interesting, it’s something I think I would be good at doing, and I would really love to have it. I’ve been trying to keep my hope damped down just a bit because if I don’t get it, I don’t want to be completely crushed. But it’s hard not to get a little excited when it’s something you want so badly you can practically taste it.

Anyway, I got a phone call about that interview this afternoon. It was a bit cryptic, sort of vague, but I was assured it was good news. It seems that the manager who interviewed me really liked me, and is very interested in me, but they’re having trouble with their HR department. I’m not really sure what that means, but the headhunter told me that hopefully it will all be worked out tomorrow and that I may be getting an offer soon. The manager who interviewed me did mention yesterday that his preference would be for this job to be a direct hire, not a contract job (it was pitched to me as a contract job for a period of time and then an offer of employment would be made if it was a good fit). I think he may still really want to put someone in that position in an employee role, and it makes sense, considering the type of work it entails. It’s only a guess, but I think that makes sense based upon what the headhunter told me today. Maybe soon I will get a definitive answer.

Over the last couple of weeks, Chris and I have been talking about what we’re going to do about our living situation in view of everything that’s been going on. We decided to withdraw my 401k and use it to supplement my unemployment benefits until I can find a job, and as such, he contacted the realtor about the house we really liked a few weeks ago. You know, the realtor who called him last week and asked if we were ready to move in. Today Chris called him and told him that we’re ready to put down a deposit and start moving, to which the realtor replied, “Well, I have someone coming into town this weekend who wants to look at it so you’ll have to wait till Sunday to see if it’s still available.” Uhhh, really?? REALLY??? This called for some serious discussion, as I’m sure you can understand.

We sat down and started looking at our options. The house, the apartment (where they want a double deposit, and we would have to move Travis to a new school), another house in the area, and … our current home. Yes, that’s right. Our current home. We agreed to think about ALL the options and discuss the pros and cons of each of them, and this IS still an option, I think. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been anything done by the bank to start foreclosure. If I were to get this job I want so badly, and with Chris’s new job … this would be a viable option for us, if we use the 401k money to get it all caught up. Yes, it will still be expensive. Yes, it will still be too big. But it’s ours. And we can do with it what we want. And most importantly with an additional $40k in income, it becomes much more affordable to us. Of course, this will really only work for us if this job comes through for me, so right now it’s very conceptual. And if we can get the 401k money before foreclosure proceedings are started. I’m sort of afraid to call the mortgage company right now to talk to them about it because … well, I don’t know what’s going on with the job. But if I find something out tomorrow … maybe I can get them to take a payment now as a good faith gesture, and let us get it caught up when the money gets here? What are the odds that they want this house as opposed to letting us get it caught up and staying here?

I’m not really sure whether this will work or not, but maybe with the market like it is right now, if I DO get that job, the bank will be more than willing to work with us to get the house caught up and back on track? I think maybe it’s worth a shot, don’t you?

 

When it rains …

Well, it’s not truly pouring, yet. Sometimes I just want to run screaming down the street, but so far I’ve managed to keep my cool and avoid that fate. I keep telling myself that “life happens” and I just need to roll with the punches, but darn it – it’s hard to do that sometimes!

Remember the house we looked at a few weeks ago? The one that would keep Travis in the same school but the realtor was unsure if the owners would rent to us because of our house/credit situation? Yeah, that one. The realtor called Chris last week and asked him if we were ready to move in. Uhhhh … what? Seems that he’s been working “so hard” to get us approved and he managed to do that. Chris was stunned, understandably, because it’s been almost a month since we last talked to the guy. And of course, our situation has changed, what with me not working and all right now. He told the realtor he’d have to get back with him on it, and then came home and told me. I was pretty discouraged because we just cannot move into a new place as long as I’m not working.

However … things may be looking up on the job front. I had a very promising interview with a headhunter on Friday morning; she thinks I’m perfect for the job she’s trying to fill, and she said I was the first one she’s talked to who seems to know the oil & gas sector so well. She’s going to set up an appointment with the director of the firm for me; I’m hoping that happens on Monday. She said this guy is very much a fast mover, so if he likes me he’ll probably make an offer pretty quickly. Fingers crossed on that one! Then I got a call from a company who is interested in my resume (sent to them at the prodding of a friend). I sent it but really didn’t think I’d hear much from them – I mean, how many people do you know who submit unsolicited resumes to get a call? But I got a call and I’m set to meet with them on Wednesday.

If I manage to get a job offer this week, we have decided that we will move next weekend. It’s going to be a really tight timeframe, but it will be worth it just to keep Travis in the school he’s already attending. And then I’ll have to start a new job on Monday, probably. Ugh. But in the long run, it would definitely work out. It’s likely I’m going to be making less money than I was before, so a cheaper house is a great start to cutting expenses.

Wish me luck this week; I’m going to need it!

 

So…Apartments

Today was the day we went to look at apartments. As our somewhat self-imposed move date looms ever closer, we feel a bit of a sense of urgency to just get this done in the most timely manner possible, with as little fuss as is necessary. As you may recall, our “wish list” for a house included at least three bedrooms, dining & breakfast areas, and two baths. We also wanted a decent backyard. We had to scale that list back somewhat for an apartment – three bedrooms, a dining room, decent sized living room and kitchen, two baths and a balcony/patio. The best laid plans and all that …

We started at a complex I called on Friday, who said that they were pretty confident that they could work with the credit situation. They claim to have a three bedroom, two bath apartment that comes in at around 1300ish sq ft. They further claim to have the biggest living room I’ve ever seen on an apartment … 20×30. Once we got there, though, the girl couldn’t find the key to the three bedroom, so she offered to show us a two bedroom with an office. Ummmm … well. That was probably a bad idea because I really fell in love with that apartment. I mean, it has CHARACTER. And it’s BEAUTIFUL. I love it. LOVE it.

I love it so much everything else pales in comparison, even the three bedroom I wanted to see, which is what brought me to the complex in the first place. It doesn’t hurt that it’s $300 less than the lowest priced three bedroom that we saw today. I talked to my daughter, who doesn’t spend a lot of time with us anyway, because I think we could make the office area into a place for her when she comes to visit (it’s much too small for us to use as an actual office because we have four computers). We discussed putting a day bed in there, and putting up curtains in the two doorways to give her privacy when she wants it. When she’s not there, we can take them down, or more likely close them, because we’ll probably put some of our soaps in there for storage. She liked the idea a LOT, which surprised me but made me feel better about considering it.

The other thing that I REALLY like about this place is it’s proximity to the high school. My son would have to change schools, but it is very close – right across the street, actually. For most people, that would be a deal breaker but for me … it’s perfect.

So … maybe. Maybe. We’ll see.

 

All things considered

Apartment life is not bad. At least that’s what I’m telling myself, as I come to the realization that renting a house is not in the cards for us at this point. After denials from half a dozen agents, and another half dozen who suddenly “lose” our phone number after finding out what our situation is, the message has become quite clear. You can have bad credit and still be able to rent a house, as long as you have good rental history. You can have bad rental history and be able to rent a house if you have good credit. But if you have bad credit and NO rental history, you cannot rent a house.

So tomorrow we start looking at apartments. This is not a thrilling adventure for me, because I don’t particularly enjoy apartment life. I mean, there ARE good things about it – not having to worry about maintenance, for one thing, is VERY nice. And not having to take care of a yard is wonderful, for all that I enjoy having a yard for BBQs and such. But the down side to apartment life – like noisy neighbors and a lack of privacy – doesn’t do a lot for me.

Fortunately, I think that living in an apartment could be a temporary thing for us. Once we have spent a year or two in an apartment, we can start looking at houses again. We will have established some rental history, we will not be facing a foreclosure (that should be over by that time), and we can start to slowly rebuild some credit. Also, the deposit for an apartment will likely be lower than a house. For a house we were looking at putting down a “double” deposit – which means it would be equivalent to two months of rent, PLUS the pet deposit AND the first month’s rent, just to move in. Most apartments I’ve spoken with will have at most a $300 deposit, so even if they “double” it, we shouldn’t have to put down much more than $600 plus a pet deposit of $400 on average. So we’re looking at about $1000 for a deposit on an apartment versus $2600 or more for a house. Hmmm … I think I can probably live with that.

I’ve had lots of suggestions and encouragement not to give up on finding a house, but the truth is, this has been dragging on for some time – since the beginning of January, really. And we are running out of time here, I feel. I just do not want to be here when the bank decides to come in and change the locks (I’ve seen that happen before). I would much rather just find an apartment we can live with and move on with our lives. I would like to get the move over in March if at all possible. It’s just TIME. I don’t want to “keep looking” and “not give up hope” … I’ve checked craigslist and ebay and the realtor sites and everything I can think of … all to keep getting the same rejection. We drove around for DAYS looking for signs in front yards that would indicate that an owner stuck it out there hoping to attract a tenant, but we found few. Of the ones we did find, four were agents who were “posing” and one … well, one made me very nervous.

This is not really where I want to be in my life – in foreclosure and unable to even rent a house. I thought I was done with this sort of thing, but apparently, I am not. I’m not really one to wax poetic about God’s hand in my life, but in this case I cannot help but think that He has put me in this place – all these financial difficulties of the last two years – to humble me in some way. Message received, Sir. Loud and clear. I get it. Cut out the unnecessary crap and focus more on the things that really matter. Got it. So please, can You cut me some slack and let us find a place to live? Please?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think God wants us to stop having fun or even to cut out every unnecessary expenditure. I think the message is more, “Save more, spend less” … because I haven’t ever really saved a lot of money, ever. That is about to change.

Anyway … tomorrow we plan to hit a marathon session of apartment hunting. We have somewhat specific needs, and I have seen a few floorplans on the internet that seem to fit the bill. I’m not sure if they actually will stand up to scrutiny when we actually see them in person, but I think we have a good place to start. At least I have my fingers crossed.

As a cooking aside, I made homemade ravioli tonight. It was my first time making any sort of pasta at home and it was quite the learning experience. In short, before I do it again, I will make sure I have a pasta roller, because a big part of the problem was that the pasta was too thick, and therefore, not very good.

I’ll try to remember to update tomorrow about the apartments we see … and maybe even post some pics of them if we get lucky.

 

The things I’ll miss

I’ve talked a great deal about what I won’t miss once we move from this house into something smaller and more within our means, but I haven’t really talked much about what I will miss, or at least I don’t recall doing so. Today I was in my studio packing it up – or rather, trying to pack it up. It’s just so depressing, because I know that it’s unlikely that we will be able to find another house that will allow me the flexibility to have a room devoted to a studio.

My studio is not very large – and I use it for fabric arts. Quilting, in particular, but it’s also used for the occasional home or fashion project as well. But it affords me the luxury of not having to put away everything each time I use the space. I can lay out fabrics and “audition” them for various pieces for days at a time, coming back occasionally to look at them with fresh eyes to see if I still like the combination, or so I can make changes when I feel the whim. I hang many of my tools on the walls there, so they are within easy reach. And I have TONS of things in there that I’ve collected over the years – rotary cutters & mats, threads, fabrics, two machines, cabinets, and a host of other sewing paraphernalia that I find, if not essential to the task of sewing, very nice things to have anyway.

With the studio room gone, I will have no choice but to pare down and downsize my things – I suspect that most of the scrapbooking items will get the boot long before my fabrics do, though.

Another thing I’m going to miss about this house is the gameroom. It is HUGE. We currently have two computer desks, a full size pool table, a 55 gallon aquarium, a loveseat & sofa, two bookcases, a large entertainment center, and two end tables up here. It’s practically a house on it’s own! This is where we spend the majority of our time, and where I am right now. It’s also one of the warmest places in the house during the winter …

I will also miss our large bedrooms. Each room is big enough for at least a double bed, with lots of space left over for other things. Of course, when you live in a house that has 2600 sq ft, 10×10 rooms would seem a little odd, wouldn’t they? But I have seen them in houses this big. That’s what makes these bedrooms so wonderful. Each one is big and wonderful.

There are some people who seem to think that walking away from a house is an easy thing, but it is not. You try to look at it from a business type perspective, but the truth is, your home is a big part of who you are and how you live your life. This is the place where I met my husband for the first time, where my son and I reconnected with one another after two years of my being in school and working full time, and where my daughter and I have spent wonderful hours baking cookies, making soaps and gifts for friends and family, and where we’ve cuddled together and watched chick flicks after particularly difficult weeks. We weathered a hurricane in the house, and met some of our best friends here. We met people here who have made an indelible mark on each of us, and we hosted parties, holiday gatherings and enjoyed every minute of each of them.

No, it’s not easy to walk away, and I wish it wasn’t necessary. There’s nothing I would like more than to stay here and live happily ever after for years to come. But the truth is, we just cannot afford to stay here, and so we must go. And go we shall … we just need to find a property owner who is willing to give us a chance to prove that our credit score does not reflect who we are today, nor who we were a year ago. All that score reflects is someone who lost a job and then had difficulty finding a new one in a very bad economy, and someone who struggled to keep too many balls in the air, and then watched them all come falling to the ground. It reflects a couple who hit a rough patch, but is trying to get their feet back under them.

Surely someone will see all that and understand, won’t they? It’s feeling increasingly like no one ever will, and I’m becoming very discouraged.

 

We thought …

We found a house today. I mean, it was a little smaller than what we wanted, but the price was ok and the guy we talked to manages the property for a minister who’s living in New Jersey. We explained our situation, and what we are doing, and he seemed to understand and said he was willing to give us a chance. We were so excited. And then the shoe dropped.

He wanted the deposit AND the first month’s rent TODAY. And the electricity on ASAP so he can have the carpets cleaned. WTH? WHO goes out looking for a house and is ready to move in that day?? When we told him that we were looking to move the first of March, he acted like we were somewhat insane to think he would “hold” the house for us. We even told him we’d give him a deposit today, but we weren’t ready to pay the first month’s rent until March. He didn’t want to wait. So we walked, and figured that we’d consider it if it’s still available in March.

The other thing that was so weird was, he wanted us to pay the rent before the first every month. I didn’t get that either. He said that the previous tenants had “trashed” the house and they had to replace the flooring – they put in tile instead of carpet. And they had someone come in and paint the baseboards. He also said that the last tenants broke light fixtures (how does one break light fixtures?!). I mean, I guess I can understand it, but I thought all things considered, the carpet isn’t so surprising and painting the baseboards? Really? It’s that big a deal??

So all in all, once we walked away, I didn’t have a very good feeling about it, overall. We still haven’t heard from the one house down the street we were interested in, and three houses we had our eye on were rented this weekend. And so we are still looking. *sigh*

Back to the drawing board, I guess.