I am a real estate broker that deals only in country property. In 2006, my income was one-fifth my income in 2005 and it has stayed that way since. Many of my buyers are cash buyers and most of the rest have significant down payments, so I don’t think that any of them are in danger of foreclosure. Our area has not experienced the typical housing inflation that you read about and, as a result, we have not had any, or much deflation. Right now, there is good demand for the very cheapest properties, but very slow demand for anything else, no mater what the value represented. Still, I am aware that foreclosures in our area (mostly not the type of thing I would handle) are going up.
Monthly Archive for February, 2009Page 2 of 8
We lost our home because of predatory lending and outright lies from our mortgage company. When my company downsized and shipped its production overseas, we applied for a hardship deferment from our mortgage company. During the same time, my father, who had lived with us for 9 years, had a stroke and was in critical care. While taking care of my father, I was also calling our mortgage company every few weeks to find out the status of our deferment as we had not received any papers. Every time I was told not to send in a payment because it would be refused. They also told me to be patient because the company was restructuring and it would send out our deferment packet soon. 7 months later we received a letter from them stating that if we didn’t come up with over $10,000 now, our home would go into foreclosure. During those 7 months, my father passed away so I was grieving for the loss of my father and the grief my daughters had over losing their Papa.
Because we wanted to keep our home, my husband agreed to take a job in another city for the summer which would pay him bonuses. He would come home before winter and we could be a family again. After he left, our mortgage company informed us that our adjustable rate was going up and our payments would go from $1,300 per month to over $3,000 per month. There was no way we could afford this, so we lost our home, the last place my father lived. We also had to move away from my remaining family. We are currently in a lawsuit with this company and so far they have fixed part of our credit but are dragging their feet on the rest of the stuff. We are still far away from home. I have lost so much this past year. I just want to move my family back home.
On Wednesday I wrote a piece on Huffington Post and another here at Open Left talking about the centrality of fixing the foreclosure crisis to any recovery from the economic meltdown. Since the toxic assets at the center of the meltdown are based on mortgages that are entering foreclosure at a rate of one every 13 seconds, we have to address foreclosure as a part of getting America back on its feet.
The Homeowner Affordability and Stabilization Plan (HASP), announced in Phoenix on Wednesday by President Obama, which will help up to an estimated 9 million families, is a good first step – and the first serious effort by the Federal government to confront the challenge. But just because there was an announcement does not lessen the urgency of the problem. We are still in a situation where four families every minute enter the foreclosure process. We believe there must be a moratorium on foreclosures until HASP is fully implemented.
In the extended entry I give a report back on ACORN’s actions on Thursday to create a sense of urgency around this crisis and help some families stay in their homes.
We are 14 months past due on our mortgage payment of $3676.00 a month. Fremont Investment & Loan does not even answer our phone calls or e-mails. I know they will be foreclosing on my home any day now. I tried to file Chapter 13 but was dismissed because I could not qualify for the payment plan dictated by the trustee. The only income we have at present is $647.00 per week. My wife has been unemployed for almost two years and my mortgage is higher than the value of our home.
We do not know what to do. Can some one help us?
I got caught in the housing crisis and went upside down on my mortgage after the housing bubble burst.
I begged and pleaded with my lender to re-negotiate the loan, but they would not budge an inch, even after I defaulted.
No matter what, they would not change the terms of the loan or reduce the payments. They are bloodsucking vampires.
I was forced to move out and rent it out for half of what I was getting to rent it just a year before, and now I am living in near poverty.
This should not have happened in America, and if nothing else I hope your film brings to light the truth, and that those responsible for this get their due.
My name is Sandra and I am 66 years of age; my only income is Social Security. I have no savings of any kind and no other retirement income. I am trying to save a house I share with my son-in-law after losing my daughter to cancer a few years back.
I know this is a long shot but I thought I would reach out to others and see if there are any options for buying a little more time until other means like funds and or options might become available. I realize the likelihood of receiving any help might not be there but I thought I would try. This house was very dear to my daughter and son-in-law.
I moved to Dallas to be with my daughter. I no longer had work and the last remaining member of my family, my sister, passed away, so I packed up and moved and hoped to start a new life in Dallas. Everything was going well. I found a job shortly after coming to Dallas, bought a new car and lived with my daughter in her apartment. Michelle was working two jobs and going to school. Michelle was dating a man named Allen who she was very fond of. He found a really good job working in IT Telecom Helpdesk for JC Penney in their corporate office and after her graduation they talked of marriage and wanted to get a house big enough for all 3 of us, because we all got along quite well.
Michelle was a Navy Seabee/carpenter for 5 years so she wanted a fixer upper with hopes of getting married and having a family. Michelle found this house in Richardson , TX , and she loved it and thought it would be a good place to start. However, although they started a lot of repair projects, such as painting, ceiling fans, some new doors, cutting down trees etc., all seemed to slow down to a halt when Michelle discovered she had breast cancer. I thought maybe she had a good chance of surviving as I am a breast cancer survivor myself of over 20 years.
The doctors she worked with gave her a very poor outcome, so my soon to be son-in-law Allen started researching cancer on the internet in order to buy her more time. Nothing was working. Michelle had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and than a mastectomy removing the right breast. And then another small surgery to remove even more cancer, numerous rounds of radiation to no avail. The cancer became metastatic, moving to the bones and spine. Michelle was spending quite a bit of time in the hospital while Allen and I and other church people kept vigilance at her bedside. Long story short, Michelle was labeled terminal and told she should get her affairs in order. My son-in-law found an experimental treatment at www.IPTQ.com. The treatment held a lot of promise with hope of managing the cancer or at least buying her more time.
Atlanta, Georgia was closer than Mexico. Michelle’s cancer was now spreading to her face and shoulder and lower back so after some fellowship and prayer Michelle decided to try Atlanta and did OK the first few days, but the guy treating her was deceptive in his skills and grossly overdosed her on Methyltrexate. Because of the overdose Michelle suffered with failed kidneys, septic shock and passed away of congestive heart failure on Christmas Day a few years ago. It was like a horrible nightmare for me and my son-in-law who felt guilty or responsible because he was the one who found this nut.
My son-in-law and I were both at the hospital, my son-in-law begged the doctors to keep trying and she was revived 4-5 times to no avail; Michelle passed away at 3:20 AM Christmas morning. It was hard for both of us to return back to the house with all the projects that were started by my daughter. Allen ended up on many meds., with side effects as well as accidentally over dosing on them. He did try to return to work but he couldn’t deal with the grief and guilt he felt along with some of the co-workers who bullied him and others. He lost his job and has had a very difficult time trying to find work since; he has been hospitalized several times at places like Green Oaks, Baylor, and Medical City etc, and is mentally and emotionally disabled still. He has been trying to continue the work on the house in memory of my daughter, while looking for work while being under psychiatric care, being treated for PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression, etc.
At Present:
Currently, Allen was just approved for SSDI, but we are behind on the mortgage almost 8+ months, and Wells Fargo is threatening to start the foreclosure process on us after April 1st. Wells Fargo told us they would do a loan modification after the moratorium time if we could bring more money into the house but now they won’t.
We were told to catch up the late payments in full ($12,274.22). I took an early retirement because of health issues. I have been basically taking care of Allen and in so doing, have used up all my funds, maxed out every credit card, hoping that I would find work or Allen would get well and find and keep work also. None of which happened, although he was told he would start to receive SSDI some time in March. There are days Allen is too depressed to get up out of bed and other days he seems to do better and works on the house trying to finish whatever he starts. However, if someone or something upsets him he is back in bed in a very depressed state for days.
The house still needs many repairs. There are wiring problems in the attic, no insulation, and the roof leaks and needs replacing. There is no yard, no fence, the inside flooring is bad, and more. Allen has no one and we both have nowhere to go. Allen created documentation for the Dallas County Appraisal office which has kept the house low on taxes based on the condition. The only way to survive is to find some way to get the house paid off or at least secure a loan modification that would drop the payment and interest down and attach the back payments on the end.
Employment Options:
Allen has sent out thousands of resumes to no avail. Allen and I have been to many job fairs to no avail. The few who have called, told both of us they have so many applying that they have a long list of qualifying questions such as good credit, recent work history and experience, active, up-to-date certifications, retail experience, and more. I have witnessed Allen on the phone begging for a chance to work with no luck. Allen did try and get his job back at Penney’s which ended up in the Sherman Federal court house with hopes of clearing his name and getting his job back, but to no avail. Although, there was a settlement and he did help to expose and get rid of some of the bad stuff and people.
(See - Civil Action No. 4:05CV238)
Allen has expressed interest in writing and making short films – documentaries about the house but I don’t know if he could make any money with that type of work or not. I was hoping to get some type of work but I guess it’s the worst time to hunt for it, considering the economy. The fact that I no longer could pay my bills and my credit rating is so low that it is now, I believe, preventing me from getting work.
Seeking other help:
Allen and I have tried many charities and organizations to get help, have gotten help with food but they can only do so much. I have always paid all my bills, always had a job, and provided for my children and I am not used to being this destitute. I want to stay in the house; I have a few pets, one of which was my daughter’s Rat Terrier named Sassy. With my present financial situation, I probably couldn’t find other housing because of income and credit. I really need to keep this house and not be homeless. Allen has called Wells Fargo Countless times begging them for more time or some type of Loan Modification etc. but they won’t work with him with his SSDI and my Social Security now.
Again, our only way out at present is to get out from under the mortgage; I might mention we are in an upside down situation with the mortgage. The appraised value of the house is more than it could sell for, so getting rid of the house is impossible and if we did, we would not have any money left to move anywhere else. With no mortgage payment or at least a loan modification I believe we might have a chance to stay in the home my daughter loved. I am still actively seeking work but to no avail at present.
We have several small dogs and birds that help keep both Allen and I from going nuts. They are like children and to lose one of them would be very hard. I realize this is a long letter, but I had to give you some background to show you that I have been trying to stay afloat, but I am now drowning. I have no family to help with anything. If you know of anything more that I can do or any other programs that will help me survive this situation, please let me know ASAP. The house in an FHA, 30 Year Fixed loan, at 6.5%, monthly payment amount of around $1230.00, and payoff of around $135,000, counting the 12,274.22 late payments. Allen has been talking with the Wells Fargo Corporate office who have told him there is nothing they can do.
I had a business but I lost it and it had to close because the economy went really bad.
I had no more moeny to make my house payments. I had to choose between my family or my mortgage payment. The job I have now, thanks to God I still have. It is stable.
I spent a lot of time talking to the banks about renegotiation and I kept asking for my interest to be brought to 2%. It went to court, where the judge agreed that 2% was fine for 40 years.
We’ve spent a fair amount of time. It means a lot to me because when I was renting an apartment, I had kept an eye out on this house. Here, my youngest son was born. Everyone on the street knows us. The threat of losing this home was difficult, especially on my wife. Thanks to God and all the people that helped us, we are staying in this house.
The difficult thing has been talking to the bank. We’ve gathered the documents but the bank keeps on putting up obstacles to negotiation. We still have jobs that are stable, thanks to God, but the amount of work has reduced considerably due to the bad economy. The worst thing has been that our interest has gone up so much that we can no longer make payments.
At first, we could not agree with the bank on the terms of our loan modification. Then we returned with people from our church of the Sacred Rosary and were able to get a fairer interest rate and monthly payment.
What brought me here was the problems I’ve had with my house. We received a notice that I had defaulted on the loan and it seemed to me that they were going to foreclose my house.
My husband had lost his job and had to take one with lower income. Because of that, we couldn’t make the payments we were handling before. We tried to re-negotiate the loans but the bank was no longer taking our calls. When they would hear who we were, they would automatically hang up.
We are hoping to save the house and continue with a negotiation. The most difficult thing has been the stress we’ve been through with the possibility of losing our home. Also, we’ve gotten a lot of calls from institutions or professionals who claim to be able to help us, but for a fee.
On a family level, this has been hard on my daughters. The possibility of losing a home they feel comfortable in is very troubling.
I’m worried a lot because I’ve seen many people that, sadly, have had to leave their house. It’s sad because they put so much work and effort into their home life for their children. I hadthe same problem. At first, things were going well with my house payments because I had a lot of good hours at work. Then business started going down and the CEO of my company made us all take two days off a week because they couldn’t come up with funds to pay us.
I investigated and asked a lot of information about how to renegotiate my loan and was successful. Now I want to help other people in the same situation. I’m happy that the banks that I’ve talked with have accepted the request to modify the loan and lower the interest for my friends. Sometimes I come across homeowners who, in their nervousness and their desire to be proactive, seek the advice of people who call themselves “lawyers.” Lamentably, they often worsen the situation and take the small amount of money the homeowners have left. It’s very difficult to see this.
