I sat down at the computer this morning and found my face staring back at me from my Facebook NewsFeed. Yahoo News was inquiring about homes that were underwater.
http://news.yahoo.com/
Since my picture is already up there, I might as well tell my story.
Here goes........
First, let me start by saying "that's me". Not just that's my same story, that's literally me in the picture, so I obviously have a few things to say here. The question being posed is important, but it is only a portion of the story, for myself, and for many others. For most Americans the purchase of our homes represents the biggest financial investment we’ll ever make. Those homes quite literally become the foundation of our lives. They are where we eat, sleep, and raise our children, but until the time of the real estate collapse they were also a big part of our financial security. Part of the American dream has been about building ourselves a little nest egg by buying a house, paying our mortgages, and pouring our own sweat equity into the property. We become part of neighborhoods where we look after each other. We become a part of that proverbial village. But what happens when we find that we owe a significant amount of money more than the property is worth? Does it still make sound financial sense to continue making payments on a bad investment simply because we are emotionally connected to our homes, or are we at some point just burying ourselves into a much deeper financial hole?
That’s the inquiry here, but it’s not the end of my story. Aside from the question of “should” we continue to make payments on a now defunct financial investment, there is the question of “can” we. See we didn’t buy at the top of the market, or take out a crazy loan. We were well positioned to make our payments when we bought the house, and we did make them. We made them every month, on-time for over seven years. So why am I pictured here as a troubled homeowner? That’s part II. I wasn’t prepared to tell my story today. I only decided to speak up when I saw my face on Yahoo. So you’ll have to give me a few minutes to compose myself.
http://news.yahoo.com/
Since my picture is already up there, I might as well tell my story.
Here goes........
First, let me start by saying "that's me". Not just that's my same story, that's literally me in the picture, so I obviously have a few things to say here. The question being posed is important, but it is only a portion of the story, for myself, and for many others. For most Americans the purchase of our homes represents the biggest financial investment we’ll ever make. Those homes quite literally become the foundation of our lives. They are where we eat, sleep, and raise our children, but until the time of the real estate collapse they were also a big part of our financial security. Part of the American dream has been about building ourselves a little nest egg by buying a house, paying our mortgages, and pouring our own sweat equity into the property. We become part of neighborhoods where we look after each other. We become a part of that proverbial village. But what happens when we find that we owe a significant amount of money more than the property is worth? Does it still make sound financial sense to continue making payments on a bad investment simply because we are emotionally connected to our homes, or are we at some point just burying ourselves into a much deeper financial hole?
That’s the inquiry here, but it’s not the end of my story. Aside from the question of “should” we continue to make payments on a now defunct financial investment, there is the question of “can” we. See we didn’t buy at the top of the market, or take out a crazy loan. We were well positioned to make our payments when we bought the house, and we did make them. We made them every month, on-time for over seven years. So why am I pictured here as a troubled homeowner? That’s part II. I wasn’t prepared to tell my story today. I only decided to speak up when I saw my face on Yahoo. So you’ll have to give me a few minutes to compose myself.
Wait, that's me you're talking about!! Part II
We purchased our home back in 2003. It was the second home
we’ve owned in this same wonderful, older neighborhood in Sacramento, CA, and the second home we’d been fortunate enough to purchase as only the
second homeowners on a home built in the 1930’s. It lacks adequate storage for
today’s lifestyles, and needs updating, but where it is short in amenities, it
is deep in character. At the time we
purchased our home my husband had been with the same high-tech employer for
almost 20 years. The company expected a
lot of their employees, but they treated them reasonably well. It was his intention to retire with them, and
he was getting pretty close. His father
grew up knowing all too well the struggle for financial security, and proudly
called his oldest son a “company man.” Then one day his entire division was
sold off to another company. Suddenly, quite unexpectedly, he was working for
somebody else. He wasn’t particularly fond of the transfer, but the contract
with the new company disallowed the employees in the acquisition to return to
their employ for at least two years. So he stuck it out. He acquired the office
space they would need to open up a new location. He arranged for the equipment
they would need, and he hired employees. His diligent efforts were recognized, and he received
excellent reviews by the new company. Then, one day, from out of the blue, he
was laid off. They called it a workforce reduction.
We immediately contacted our lender, Bank of America. We explained that we had suddenly encountered some unexpected challenges, and would likely be experiencing some difficulty in making our payments until my husband could regain employment. That was January of 2009. It took two years to the day for him to find new employment. The gap came at a heavy cost. We sold stock so we could pay our mortgage. We took early retirement distributions so we could afford to pay our mortgage. We fell a bit behind in our payments, but continued as best we could to pay our mortgage, right up until the bank decided they would no longer accept payment from us beginning in March of this year. The bank had apparently decided they would rather foreclose on the property. They set a sale date of July 13th (ironically it was a Friday). I have continued in my pursuit to seek some relief from our lender. Although we have been barraged with offers to help us do a short sale or Deed in Lieu (some of those offers even being arranged through our lender), we’ve always maintained that it is our desire to keep the home, and to resume making our payments. I’ve logged a ridiculous number of hours contacting our lender. I’ve sent, and resent, and sent again, the papers they request. Bank of America did agree to push out the sale date until August 13th because we do have an open request for modification. We’re still waiting. On pins and needles.
We immediately contacted our lender, Bank of America. We explained that we had suddenly encountered some unexpected challenges, and would likely be experiencing some difficulty in making our payments until my husband could regain employment. That was January of 2009. It took two years to the day for him to find new employment. The gap came at a heavy cost. We sold stock so we could pay our mortgage. We took early retirement distributions so we could afford to pay our mortgage. We fell a bit behind in our payments, but continued as best we could to pay our mortgage, right up until the bank decided they would no longer accept payment from us beginning in March of this year. The bank had apparently decided they would rather foreclose on the property. They set a sale date of July 13th (ironically it was a Friday). I have continued in my pursuit to seek some relief from our lender. Although we have been barraged with offers to help us do a short sale or Deed in Lieu (some of those offers even being arranged through our lender), we’ve always maintained that it is our desire to keep the home, and to resume making our payments. I’ve logged a ridiculous number of hours contacting our lender. I’ve sent, and resent, and sent again, the papers they request. Bank of America did agree to push out the sale date until August 13th because we do have an open request for modification. We’re still waiting. On pins and needles.
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