Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween: A Month Long Celebration??

So I have spend almost this whole month getting ready for Halloween. Yes, I am crazy. Carl wore the same dragon costume for two years in a row (because it took me a month to make that one as well). This he really wanted to be a Jedi Knight. So I found a pattern and collected material. I also decided to make Jedi costumes for Brian and myself. So making all three costumes took me a long time.
We have also had great fun with Cub Scouts, had Early Release, Fall Break, babysitting, sewing, quilting with Mom and Brian gone for three days to Atlanta for work (stuff for GABOE). I also got a cold as we didn't get the new heat pump installed in time! I procrastinated making the call during the one week of warm weather for October, mainly because my mind was on those Halloween costumes. It still amazes me how we can let our thinking get so focused on one or two tasks that we forget to do anything else (including cleaning the house.
Lisa came to visit the family as well. We were so excited to show-off our new home! We got together at Richard's home and carved pumpkins.
And the most exciting news: Sarah gave birth to Kenzie Marie Copeland on Tues. Oct. 28, 2008.
We are so excited for her and Larry.

Enough said

So I know I have to write about the last month, but I read this story on line (Yahoo News) and just had to share it. "Allow me to highlight where these people show how stupid they are."-Brian

14. Grave mortgage lending
Zombie Bank approved a $430,000 loan for my wife with an income of $110 a week. She only worked for a retail store for eight months and had no previous work history. (And you let them?)

The lender, Blood-sucking Mortgage in Fairfax, Va., did not check her employment and made up fake documents stating she worked for a grocery store as a manager and made up a bogus income to get the loan for her. She worked there for only six or seven months in the past five years. She never worked as a manager and she barely speaks English. (So, you signed fraudulent papers. Who's the crook here? Um...YOU!)

Blood-sucking Mortgage did not tell her about the 2 percent penalty if the loan transferred to another lender within three years. She only realized it when she was at the settlement table in Florida with a Budget truck loaded outside the settlement office.

My wife and I did not even know what types of loan we are getting. (WHAT?) At that point, we had no choice but to finish the deal and unload the truck. (The choice would be DON'T finish the deal and get a hotel room and a storage unit. We are talking $430,000 you idiot!) The settlement agent did not know anything about the other terms and conditions. She suggested we should get more detail from Blood-sucking Mortgage. (And you didn't?)

When we went for a walk-through, the agent and owner was sitting in a black SUV 200 yards away outside the house. She handed us the keys on the curbside like she was giving us something free. We had no idea how to operate the pool, the garage doors, community entrance and much more. (While I must agree that the black SUV does automatically make them evil, precisely why didn't you ask about anything?)

When I received the second mortgage statement from Zombie Bank, I noticed the original loan amount went up. I immediately called Zombie Bank. They told me it is an index loan and it depends on the market, blah, blah, blah and kept explaining how index loans are calculated in Wall Street each month and other factors. (You signed the papers! You didn't read them?)

We were making a $2,300 payment, but $500 was adding each month to the original loan amount because I was not making the full interest payment. The $2,300 was just a minimum payment. (Okay, now Quicken loans tried to trick us with this crap. Even when I specifically asked, the agent kept saying "It's the minimum payment." I would ask "Is that the intrest only, or is it less than the interest?" Becuase I had READ something in the PAPERWORK that they wanted me to SIGN. The response was always "It's the minimum payment." At which time I said "Then you can keep it, I think we are finished here." and hung up. He then proceeded to send e-mails about how he was worried etc. about our situation. He was worried about his commission!)In March 2006, I placed the house for sale and it was in the market until February 2007. In February the original loan amount went up by $6,000. We became so divested financially that I have to stay in my job in Virginia and visit my kids only once a month.

Finally, in March 2007 we decided to pay the 2 percent penalty and refinance the loan. The banks were not able to refinance the loan for my wife because she had no job and I was working in Virginia. (Really, you got a crooked loan and can't get honest people to take it on? Amazing!)At last, I found a lender who suggested that the entire loan should be transferred to my name in order to refinance and we agreed.

In July 2007, my family moved back to the same townhouse (So wait. You had no choice earlier. Sounds like you had a townhouse you could have moved back into.) and we rented the Florida house. I am working two full-time jobs and my wife went back working as a deli clerk in order to cover the two mortgages. I had $33,000 in savings and $7,000 from 401(K). They have all vanished to cover the mortgages.

Rebecca says, "And Yet one more example of why our economy is in the toilet. Frankly, we did it to ourselves."