Well, I just need to vent. I just found out today that ANOTHER family is ditching their home on my block. There are 9 homes on my street and when this guy leaves that will make 5 empty homes. I just don't get it, can't wrap my mind around how SO MANY people (on one street) can just walk.

5 years ago I became ill and had to give up my job. First thing my husband and I did was call the mortgage company to see what they could do for us. Our thinking was we are not going to loose our investment!! (They did help us by cutting our payment in half for 2 years).

3 of the homes have been empty for 2 years, the prices are so low I could throw up. The homes are 1500+ sq ft brick colonial's built in the 1950's - all really beautiful. I saw one of them on line selling for 54,000 ~ we paid 148,000 8 years ago.

My formerly pretty block looks like an abandonded field with all the overgrown yards. I can't sleep at night b/c I am so worried that we will be broken into. I am becoming embarrassed about where I live when I used to be so proud. I'm wondering if we should just pack up and leave too - why not - there is no way we will ever get our money back!! In fact we are loosing money every day we stay!!

I know its really hard right now. So many people are struggling with money (including my family). But the first thing we do is pay the mortagage! (one family who left bought a new car instead of paying for their house)

I am just so angry!! Angry at the people leaving, VERY angry for the mortgage companies for handing out money to people who could clearly not afford these homes (or the up keep of them) and angry at my city for not going after the banks to get them to take care of these overgrown yards!!

Everytime I think things can't get worse, they do!!

Thanks, I just needed to vent (my husband is tired of hearing about it).

Anybody want to buy a house?

Unbelievable. Today, at 11:30 a.m. my doorbell rings. It is FedEx with a package from Countrywide. The letter inside is dated June 25th. It says my loan modification has been approved contingent upon my completing all the enclosed and requested documents and return them by a certain date. Failure to do so will null and void the modification and they will place my home up for auction. They want all kinds of copies of stuff that I have sent them a million times in the past few months. Then, both my husband and myself have to sign all the documents they have enclosed and have them notarized. Lastly, we also have to send them a certified check for $980.00. OK, to save my home I am willing to do all this. However, I got this via FedEx today, July 11th. The due date for everthing...July 11th. WTF? It is impossible for me to get everything in their hands by close of business on 7/11 when I didn't get it until 7/11. Needless to say, I have been on the phone on and off with them ever since trying to get an extension. They are willing to admit they made a mistake, but are arguing the extension. I hate Countrywide.

Susan,

I'm very sorry for what you are going through, which none of it was your fault at all, I've gone through a similar situation in the past and it's terrible, you are 100% right about EVERYTHING you said.

I don't believe that anyone in the right mind would put him/herself in that situation on purpose, even if one makes a bad decision at some point, everyone makes mistakes and it is still unintentional, and I think we must be compassionate, you know, we never know when it's going to happen to us, it can happen to anyone.

I really hope things get better for you and your family, hanging in there.:thumbup:

Unbelievable. Today, at 11:30 a.m. my doorbell rings. It is FedEx with a package from Countrywide. The letter inside is dated June 25th. It says my loan modification has been approved contingent upon my completing all the enclosed and requested documents and return them by a certain date. Failure to do so will null and void the modification and they will place my home up for auction. They want all kinds of copies of stuff that I have sent them a million times in the past few months. Then, both my husband and myself have to sign all the documents they have enclosed and have them notarized. Lastly, we also have to send them a certified check for $980.00. OK, to save my home I am willing to do all this. However, I got this via FedEx today, July 11th. The due date for everthing...July 11th. WTF? It is impossible for me to get everything in their hands by close of business on 7/11 when I didn't get it until 7/11. Needless to say, I have been on the phone on and off with them ever since trying to get an extension. They are willing to admit they made a mistake, but are arguing the extension. I hate Countrywide.

WTH!?! FedEx has proof that you didn't sign for the package until 7/11. One would THINK that Countrywide would want someone to continue to pay on their mortgage instead of defaulting b/c you know if they have to sell your house, they might have to sell at a loss. My former mortgage (during the good real estate times) was with them but thank God I don't have a mtg with them now. Stupidity drives me crazy. After I bought my current house, i got all kind of "come back" emails and letters from them. Little did I know....

I was having trouble sleeping Thurs night and saw Treasury Secy Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke testifying about the Bear Sterns situation to the House Financial (or was it Financial Services?) Committee. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about the intricacies of real estate to completely understand what was being said. It was interesting timing to see that Friday, the announcement was made that the FDIC had taken over conservatorship of IndyMac Bank in California. WTF is going onnnnnnnn? This also doesn't taken into account about the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae situation.

I agree with the earlier poster that Americans definitely have the entitlement mindset and spend way too much and save too little. However, there were scrupulous and fraudulent lenders that got many into this horrible, horrible situation. I personally believe anyone and everyone associated with fraudulent mortgages should GO TO JAIL. That, of course, would be nearly impossible to pull off.

Enough of my rambling. Susan, I will be thinking about you and praying that you get the crap with Countrywide figured out. GIVE 'EM HELL.

PS - And don't even get me started about the healthcare industry in this country.

Edited July 13, 200818 yr by SickNTired

I don't mean to sound cold hearted. And I don't mean to imply that anyone who has trouble is irresponsible, but no one here can deny that MANY are! I work in finance in retirement services. Perhaps I'm burned out with this topic... but I deal all day long with people who want to take loans, withdrawals from their 401(k)s, and early retirement from their pension because of their overextending, living on credit ways. America already has issues living within our means, we don't know how to save. And then we expect the government to come in and fix it for us. It's not fair for people like me who lived frugally during the good times to have to pay for the people who couldn't control themselves when they got good rates and more credit than they could handle.

Back in the day, middle class did not mean big house, two car, cell phones, cable TV lifestyles. Yet now we think we're somehow "entitled" to these things. I want nice furniture and good vacations as much as the next guy, but I know I need to mend my husband's clothes, repair the car when there are problems, and eat ramen when it's necessary.

There is a chronic saving problem. There's a chronic living beyond our means problem. Living on credit is living on phantom money. It never existed. By forgiving loans, then we're creating the SAME problem for ourselves again. It the same reason why oil is so high. We keep saying we need new solutions for energy. Well, yeah, we did... twenty years ago. Now we're being FORCED to find new solutions. I'd personally rather have the option to make a decision and not be forced by economics.

Be thankful you have a job and good health. I posted earlier so I wont bore you again but if you look into it deeper you will find most people with problems did NOT bring them on by living frivolously. Granted some do but it sound like they give you job security! Right now I cant even find a job in a grocery store. I spend hours looking everyday.

I certainly don't live beyond my means. Well, at least I didn't until I had to quit work. We don't have credit cards and pay everything with cash. We have two fairly new cars because we both do a great deal of driving and need the warranty for repairs, etc.

My husband works very long hours at with his own business which doesn't always guarantee a steady income. He'll fix up and sell cars for extra money when he can. I have a masters degree in teaching but can't work yet until my son's health starts improving.

We have a big house, admittedly but our plan, when I was working, was that this house would be the investment to put our son through college. Although it's huge, it was left empty for over a year and needed a lot of work to fix up. We don't have "savings" and saw this house as our only means of giving our son a future. We'll do what it takes for him, although it's a struggle.

I don't think anyone really understood the effects this economic situation would have on all of us personally. For the most part, none of us have really seen such a weak economy. I grew up in the 80's and 90's when America was going strong and seemed indestructible. I think we're all in a bit of shock about the state of our country right now.

BTW, Susan....keep fighting. You should try and contact someone in the US government regarding your "deadline" That's absurd!

here is the name of the mortgage guy who got me out of my adjustable with countrywide and into a fixed with BofA. everything was done by mail.

if you want a name pm me

Edited July 16, 200818 yr by miztrniceguy

here is the name of the mortgage guy who got me out of my adjustable with countrywide and into a fixed with BofA. everything was done by mail.

dsfjsdklfkjlsdfjkl and tell him i sent you

Oh my. Miz, you may have all of the best intentions but it is inappropriate to post this on LBT. Why doesn't PHughes have a BofA email address? Applying for a home loan requires a LOT of personal information that someone could use for identity theft. I realize that there are numerous folks in major binds with their Bank, S&L, etc but again, I strongly feel that this is inappropriate and hope that no one goes this route.

I reiterate - you may have the best intentions but it's just too risky of a situation for folks on here to go with a stranger over email IMO.

Edited July 16, 200818 yr by losingjusme
clarifying my stance - mod editing out email address

Everyone is accountable for themselves. Miz is just stating what worked for him. If anyone picks up on his thought, they are responsible for themselves and their actions. There is risk in everything we do, but we make choices that guide us to our fate. Us... not the market, the president, our boss, etc... the decision is ours. And our consequences are based on our own actions.

And it was MY decision to castigate for trying to pick up some business on a WL website.

Ahhh, Mrs. FlipFlops, it must be nice to still be that young and naive. There actually are things that happen in life that we could not have known about in advance and have no control over.

i was not trying to pick up any business. i do not work for mr hughes, nor will i get anything if anyone uses him to get a mortgage. i was just passing along the name of someone who helped me. his name was given to me from one of my bosses at work. i am glad someone gave me his name.

and Sick, dont call him, as i hope you never have someone help you

Susan- that's highly offensive for you to assume you know that nothing in my life has happened that wasn't planned for.

I'm not saying we should all carry crystal balls, although it would be nice... I'm saying every choice we make has a consequence. Whether we know it upfront or not.

If someone calls someone they don't know, they made a choice. If a fraud person calls you asking for account information pretending to be your bank and you give it to them, you're making a choice to do that. I think it's MORE naive to think that the world is full of roses and that we should all pat ourselves on the back for doing such a good job, yet our job is on the line and our house is being foreclosed. I would say preparing for the worst even during the BEST of times isn't being naive, it's being careful and conservative. I could've bought a house on an ARM or had too high a payment, or made too little a down payment, or bought a house with not enough resources to fall back on, but I knew (as we all should have) that by making that CHOICE I am at the risk of the payment going up and not being able to afford it either because I make too little or because I could lose my job. Very few people who are in the mortgage mess, in my opinion, are so because of something greater than themselves. They took on too much house, with too high a payment, or with not enough savings or resrouces to fall back on. The majority, IMO, are there because they had classic American syndrome- buying things we can't afford so we can drive like the Joneses, have a house like the Jackson's, have cell phones and cable like our kid's friends have.

Choices and responsibility. We are accountable. I bet you don't hear that often from a "young and naive" person.

Edited July 16, 200818 yr by MrsFlipFlops
.

i've read this thread with genuine concern & compassion for those going through the current mtg crisis. ms flipflops - i totally see where you are coming from (as a savings point only) - however life happens, no matter HOW much one can be prepared. i walked away 3yrs ago from my 6 figure salary to get a semblance of quality of life. with that meant i traded my benz for a pickup - we got rid of the "extras"; i became the maid/pool boy/landscaper/chef & the laundry god. we went to cash - no credit cards - no more lavish trips overseas; i became frugal for the first time. even with a strong savings, nobody could prepare for internet fraud that happened to DH and myself. $35k later, and STILL working to have crap taken off & out of our names --- one could never have prepared or "could" afford lawyers to get themselves whole. typically the "hole" gets deeper. i have wanted to post my progress pictures here a million times - but get caught up in internet fraud, well your more than reluctant to show a real face - for me i struggle because i have made some genuine friends here ... and would like to share my charming self (LOL); but i get checked.

susan, et all going through these challenges.. you have my heartfelt best wishes. i truly hope life turns the corner & you have better days ahead.

lulu

Susan- that's highly offensive for you to assume you know that nothing in my life has happened that wasn't planned for.

I'm not saying we should all carry crystal balls, although it would be nice... I'm saying every choice we make has a consequence. Whether we know it upfront or not.

If someone calls someone they don't know, they made a choice. If a fraud person calls you asking for account information pretending to be your bank and you give it to them, you're making a choice to do that. I think it's MORE naive to think that the world is full of roses and that we should all pat ourselves on the back for doing such a good job, yet our job is on the line and our house is being foreclosed. I would say preparing for the worst even during the BEST of times isn't being naive, it's being careful and conservative. I could've bought a house on an ARM or had too high a payment, or made too little a down payment, or bought a house with not enough resources to fall back on, but I knew (as we all should have) that by making that CHOICE I am at the risk of the payment going up and not being able to afford it either because I make too little or because I could lose my job. Very few people who are in the mortgage mess, in my opinion, are so because of something greater than themselves. They took on too much house, with too high a payment, or with not enough savings or resrouces to fall back on. The majority, IMO, are there because they had classic American syndrome- buying things we can't afford so we can drive like the Joneses, have a house like the Jackson's, have cell phones and cable like our kid's friends have.

Choices and responsibility. We are accountable. I bet you don't hear that often from a "young and naive" person.

I do understand your points and they are valid and it is impressive indeed to hear them all coming from a very young person like you, obviously you have a very good head on your shoulders and that's more than half the battle won in life, you are very smart and I sincerely admire you . I hope that one day my teenage kids grow up to think and behave like you when they reach your age, I wasn't as mature when I was in my early 20's... ,but I'm 45 now and many moons ago I learned my lesson , and I've tried to live responsibly, financially and in every other way, and I teach my kids the same.

I also agree that some people get into these problems because of the wrong choices they make, but I must say that sometimes we make choices that are right at the time we make them, and later on something major may happen to us that changes our lives completely, and unfortunately for the worse sometimes...and those responsible choices we made before don't matter anymore and you can easily go financially under in spite of having made all the right choices, not every negative situation that we encounter in our lives is a direct consequence of a bad choice we made, IMHO...

If we pay with a credit card at a reputable store, or at a reputable restaurant and the cashier happens to steal our credit card number and steal our identity and charge thousands of dollars under our name which will cause us a financial burden, well obviously we didn't make a bad choice by paying with the credit card, the cashier committed a crime and we had no way of knowing that in advance, maybe that restaurant and that store should be responsible for the employees that they hire and maybe do criminal background check on them or take the necessary precautions and take responsability, I don't have the perfect solution for such situation but somehow I don't see how we could be held accountable for something like this.... the other only choice we could've made was not to pay with a credit card and pay cash, but then we would be going around with cash in our wallets and we will be taking the chance of getting robbed too, that choice can end up having negative consequences as well...

Or let's say we make $100K a year and have made it for a few years and we have saved money conservatively and all of a sudden we lose that job for reasons that are out of our control and takes us a very long time to find another job even when we are trying hard, there is a possibility that we will go through our savings and can end up financially hurting, losing our homes and maybe all we have... or if we end up getting sick and not being able to work for a long time, I mean there are tons of scenarios...

I guess my point is that choices do have consequences, and we are responsible for our choices but unfortunately sometimes even when we make good choices, the consequences could still be bad due to someone else's iresponsability and I think that does happen very often. Just my 2 cents...:eek:

Edited July 16, 200818 yr by ELENATION

and Sick, dont call him, as i hope you never have someone help you

How lovely, thank you. :cool2: I was actually specifically ASKED about your posting, tyvm.