An Outstandingly Bad Day

Anyone looking for one of my funny or lyrical, thoughtful or tender posts may as well check out right now. I will say I'm not pissed at god, or politicians, or the tea party...today.

You've been warned.

So the people who are supposed to be buying our old house have apparently moved out.

The people we let move in without down payment or deposit because the house did need A LOT of work done on it- work they said they could do because they'd renovated houses before and loved old houses and they could see the potential in this one and planned on this being their last and final home.

So we told them "Just make our payments and we're good- we'll give you 2 years to sell YOUR house and get our names off of this one". Because I've been helped, my family has been helped, during times when we've desperately needed it and on paper really didn't deserve it, but people helped us anyway. They moved in less than a year ago.

At the time, I called our mortgage company to inform them we were no longer going to be living there and the MORTGAGE COMPANY offered to do a modification to make the payments lower for this 2 year period. The buyers said "GREAT- that will give us some leeway to do improvements". Due to some questionable wording on the papers we signed, we found out (too late) that instead of going from $710 to $595, the new payment would be $595 PLUS $330 escrow...every month. We couldn't afford that. They couldn't afford that.

So I started working to make it better.

Because making this move was financially and physically straining on them and they loved the house and because even though the mortgage company admitted that the papers read "vaguely" because NOWHERE ON THE PAPERS DID IT STATE ANYTHING ABOUT THE ESCROW and I had asked seventy-leven times "Does the $595 INCLUDE the escrow?" and was told YES seventy-leven times, I tried my damnedest to make it better FOR THEM.

Every month, EVERY MONTH I'd call the mortgage company trying to get it re-written since it was now falling behind because of the escrow not being paid. (The people were paying the $595 a week or two early every month- like clockwork). The mortgage company said "Why don't you just do a deed in lieu of foreclosure?" and I said "Can the people stay in the house and buy it from YOU then?" and they said "No. The house must be empty".

I didn't WANT to make the people move- didn't want them to have to face that when they loved the house. So I kept working at it.

They gave every excuse in the book for not doing a new modification-
-it was less than 6 months into this modification
-it wasn't delinquent enough to do a new one
-we were TOO delinquent to do a new one
-the house was no longer owner occupied (my favorite since this is the reason THEY OFFERED ME THE MODIFICATION IN THE FIRST PLACE)

Finally, a few weeks ago, the mortgage company agreed to another modification- the new payments are $660 per month INCLUDING the escrow starting Dec. 1.

*WHEW*

All I needed was the November rent to pay for the modification by Oct. 31st and we'd be home free.

That's when I got the note from the buyers asking if they could be a week late with this month's payment...for the first time ever.

When I wrote back saying that I NEEDED the payment by the 31st to complete the modification we'd (I'd) been fighting so hard for this entire last year I was met with the sound of crickets. Obviously they weren't "asking", they were "informing".

The old neighbors contacted me to say "There's been a big U-Haul making trips out of the yard several times now and all the dogs are gone and all the yard ornaments are gone".

(Interjecting here to say that up till a few months ago there were always 2 vehicles in the yard. Then there was just one in the yard, and the last month there were none. I didn't make any conclusions since my visits over there consist of two times a month for about 5 minutes each- once to drop off the water bill still in our name and once to pick up the check.)

Ward said "I've got a bad feeling about this".

I said "No- she's working out of town and away from a computer and her mom's been sick- they've never been late and they want the house. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for the U-Haul truck. It'll be fine".

So I didn't pay some of OUR bills and paid for the modification.

Because I didn't want the house to go into foreclosure and have to tell them they'd have to move.

Today was the day I was to pick up the check. They leave it in a little wrought iron mailbox by the front porch.

I stood in an empty front yard in the pouring rain looking at the spot next to the stairs where the mail box used to be.

I called Ward. "So you think it's a bad sign if the mailbox the check is supposed to be in is FUCKING GONE???"

*Silence at the other end of the line* followed by "Shit. I knew it."

The front door was unlocked.

I can't say the house is empty.

I can say that there's no sign of anyone living there. No furniture. No clothes. Nothing in the kitchen (although the sink is there...just not installed anymore).

I can say that the one bathroom is missing a toilet. Missing. A. Toilet.

What there IS is piles of "left-behinds"- yanno, the stuff you just abandon...WHEN YOU MOVE OUT OF A HOUSE.

The door to the living room was closed. Apparently they'd left the dogs to their own devices with the door open to the back yard. The dogs weren't housebroken and the entire wood floor is covered in dog leavings. The only way I know they left the door open is from the BIRD'S NEST ON TOP OF THE CEILING FAN.

You get the picture.

And yes. I have photos of everything.

I called the people *I* didn't pay, who I'd promised would get paid today and told them the story- they said "Wow". I told them I'd pay them on the 15th when I get paid...unless I get fired at the board meeting on Thursday. Not that I'm anticipating that, but it's been that kind of week. (spoiler alert for the next blog entry).

I called the mortgage company and talked to the girl who worked so hard to get us the modification. I told her the story and she said "Wow". I asked about the deed in lieu of foreclosure and we'll be looking into that as soon as I talk to the local bank THIS house is with- they said once we were out from under the other house officially they'd re-write our loan to a fixed rate, but the intent and understanding was that would be via a SALE, not surrender.

So.

It appears as if
-we're out $800 we could not afford to lose- we were prepared to cough up the $200+ difference to do the modification...FOR THEM
-we've got a huge stinking mess to clean up over yonder
-our chances of getting a better loan on this house may be ruined

No good deed goes unpunished.

And you want to hear the really "funny" part?

As I was talking about doing the deed in lieu of foreclosure, there was a little voice in the back of my head saying "But you haven't talked to the buyers yet- maybe they still want the house, maybe they're just...casual housekeepers with a liking of minimalistic furnishings, don't jump to conclusions till you talk to them..."

Good gawd, I'm an idiot.

Snakeoil Anyone?

OK. OK OK. Just ONE MORE post about the conference last weekend and then I PROMISE I'm done...

So I attended a session called Energy Sensitive Beings, because I had some very serious questions to ask. It was run by two people- one the obvious leader and one...not.

After just a few minutes, I was aware (as an Energy Sensitive Being) that the leader was more Showman than Shaman. Anyone who says he can be Anything and Everything Anyone and Everyone needs at any given time is...suspect. I actually expected him to break into song any minute, or at the very least for an organ to drop down from the clouds accompanied by a winged choir.

I was in a room full of adults- and they were all mesmerized by this man. I mean, really grown up adults- I was NOT the elder in the room by a long shot, and I know I should've just up and left, but it was like a car wreck- you've just gotta watch- you don't WANT to watch, but you just. can't. turn. away.

Two examples-

His girlfriend was looking to find something to do for her life's work- and by selective discussion, errrr....Using the Flow of Energy, they were able to figure out that she'd like to be a massage therapist.

So she was all excited (which is GOOD- you SHOULD have a passion for what you're going to do in life) and started ticking off things she needed to do from there- find a massage school, see about licensing and equipment...but he told her "NO- you want to BE a massage therapist- you ARE a massage therapist. You have the knowledge within you to do this". So she hung out her shingle and has a growing herd of clients.

Ummm....NO. Not just no, but HELL NO.

She has no idea of the workings of the human body and muscles and she's really gonna HURT someone. Stuff like that has to be LEARNED, I don't care how much Flow is running through your body.

And in speaking of the Power of the Energy, he related how he'd been leaving his house to come to the conference- his PHYSICAL body was headed for the car, but his ENERGY stopped him in his tracks- wouldn't let him continue to the car. So he listened to his Spirit and realized he'd left his computer in the house.

*The entire room gasped in wonder.*

Except for me- all I could hear was Stan from Southpark's voice- "Dude. You stopped to think if you forgot anything and you're calling it Magical Energy? Weak".

And I must confess to hearing that old Saturday Night Live character during his spiel about being everything for everyone all the time- the voice in my head kept saying "GET to know me!"

Anyhow- the other guy was different.

Different in that he clearly is uncomfortable with whatever Energy flows through him- he made no claims, no promises, no sales pitches. He related things that had happened to him, do happen to him, that defy how "normal people" think and see, and I thought- THIS one is the Real Deal.

After the session, after all the adoring women had made arrangements for "private consultations" with the leader (conveniently held in his HOTEL ROOM) for the special conference rate of about a Ben Franklin each, I asked him my question, which had to do with Alec.

The smile froze on his lips, because it was more than "What do I do with my life?" or "How do I access the Energy of the Universe to my benefit?" This was a real, specific, serious question, and he was clearly flummoxed. I saved him by adding "And I'd like to talk to HIM", pointing at the other man. He said "Oh, of course- that'd be best", then tried to talk to me about the Sliding Scale of Payment. I told him we have NOTHING left after all our medical problems and this conference was REALLY expensive and the other guy (who'd been studying my face very intently while I'd been relaying my concerns/fears) said quickly "I'll talk to you- no charge".

They had to go lead another session but I was told to call the leader's cell phone the next day to set something up. I did, and he never called back.

Not surprised. I suspect the other guy was never even told I'd called.

The best moment of the conference for me was as we were walking past a session room and the leader spied us and came almost leaping out of the room.

He said "I was in there and I suddenly FELT that you wanted to talk to me".

I said "Ummmm....no- we were just going to the dining room", and after introducing Ward and Alec to him we just kept on walking.

Score One for the Practical Hippiechick.