My husband and I sold our New York apartment to move to California in 2005, which I did both for health and professional reasons. I opened a healing studio and over the years have helped thousands of people. My husband found a job at Bank of America.
When he got this job his boss called him her “token white boy.” She promised him a raise and great future at the bank.
We were outgrowing our rented apartment and longed to own a home again like we did in New York. It was the height of the real estate market but we believed since my business was going well and he had great promises at the bank, we could do it.
Not long after we bought our home, the health food store where I had my healing practice went bankrupt. The only space I could find at the time had very high overhead, but I felt I had no choice - it was either that, or lose my business entirely. My profits were quickly eaten up by this new rental space.
At the bank, the promises of my husband rising up in the ranks didn’t happen. In fact, he started hearing threats of Bank of America laying people off. We were devastated and felt so lied to. Bank of America gave us the mortgage and Home Equity Loan for our home knowing our financial situation, and his manager knew we were relying on his advancement at the bank to afford our house. Amazing how she gave us the loans and didn’t keep her word.
I worked my butt off to try to make enough profit to contribute to my home, but with my husband out of work realized I couldn’t afford both my home and office. If I left my office, my practice would be over. I felt in a catch-22.
My husband, realizing the bank wasn’t going to promote him any time soon and us falling behind in our payments, started looking for another job. It took him a while and with his BA in business he ended up working for minimum wage at a hardware store for months. We fell further behind. The financial stress led us to file for divorce. He moved out and I had no way to support my home.
I ended up having to break the lease on my office and my practice fell apart. I went from making $7,000 a month to less than $1,000. It’s been 6 months and I’m still in shock how everything was going so well and fell apart so quickly.
My husband ended up finally getting a better paying job and we immediately called the bank to modify our loans. After a rep at Bank of America told us the great news that our payments would be lowered substantially, we had hoped we could keep our home!
After being approved on the phone, weeks later we received a rejection letter from the bank in the mail. I don’t understand this company. There is no word, no trust, no ethics.
I have been trying to re-build my business from home, and now I’ve been living every day wondering when will I receive notice that I have to move. Where will I go? The stress has made me physically ill, and I don’t have health insurance so I feel stuck. The financial stress is overwhelming, I can’t sleep or eat. I’m exhausted all the time and my stomach is a mess.
The loss of my practice has been incredibly painful not just for me but for the community that was receiving help. All I could think is if they just modified our loans, we could make it here. My husband would move back in and it would not only save our home, but help heal our marriage.
We would have never bought this house in the first place if we had any idea that he wasn’t going to be promoted as promised.
Generations of my family fought and died for this country.
I almost died at 21 years old in this country because I was ill, broke and uninsured.
Now my house is being threatened with foreclosure because a promise from a bank turned out to be a lie.
This is not my country. They ask us to be patriotic and boast about unity - what unity is this? How can this country ask us to be proud and loyal when God forbid if you get sick and are struggling this country will abandon you?
I used to have dreams but now I believe only the rich, greedy, and conniving survive in America.
I am now dreaming of the opportunity to move to Europe where it’s citizens are treated like human beings instead of commodities whose value is determined not through common decency but through “what can you do for me” capitalism.
America’s motto should be, “Give us all you’ve got and we’ll take it.”
Sincerely,
Lauralyn
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