There was a time in my life for writing passionate love poetry and philosophical prose, articles on mothering my young children and local interest stories for a small town newspaper. However, and unfortunately, what has been on my mind most recently is the topic of “Foreclosure” with a capital “F”. Visions of the word in bold capital letters “FORECLOSURE” stamped on a black and white “wanted” poster which hangs in front of the saloon in an old western film, come to mind. I have been identified as a criminal and feel the shame. It is not glamorous, adventurous, or humorous so why write about it? Even living far from America, I can’t lighten or smirk the responsibility I took on when I signed the dotted line of the 99-page contract in 2002. (I really don’t remember the number of pages, I am only guessing). As a Christmas present three months ago, I found out that my house in Talent, Oregon is officially in “FORECLOSURE”. The story that lead up to this was a slow unraveling over four years; however, the final precipitous act was the fact that I couldn’t get my salary sent to the U.S until November. I submitted the amount each month that my renter was giving me ($1,000 each month) but it was still short of my mortgage and when it became more than 90 days late, I received the notice. I submitted a “loan modification” application in August, explaining the change in my job and salary and the fact that I wouldn’t be paid until the end of September and hoped that would keep the hungry tiger at bay until the application was reviewed. But in mid- November when I called to check on the application they said that I would need to resubmit it because the pay stubs were received too long after the initial application. I resubmitted my third application in two years at the end of December 2010 and began documenting the names, dates, and communication of my weekly calls. I tried to find solace in the fact that I am not the only “wanted” criminal in America for not being able to pay their mortgage. According to “Realty Trac” there were 2.2 Million Foreclosures filed in 2007 and currently in Oregon 1 in every 676 housing units received a foreclosure filing in February 2011. www.realtytrac.com/home/ Even as a teenager, I knew that when I grew up I would buy my own home. I enjoyed mowing the lawn, buying new plants for the family, and rearranging the furniture in the living room. Everyone I knew lived in a home in suburbia Parkwood, North Carolina. The first time I met Steve in his mother’s townhouse was a unique experience. It was cute but I never gave it another thought. Dreams of college, career, marriage, and children, all included a house to own. So after the divorce with two children ages 8 and 14 to nurture, I still felt the desire to provide a home for them. So I took the $5,000 I salvaged from my divorce of 17 years and added $3,000 more from a credit card to make the first down payment on my first home. My friend Pat, ten years older than me, has modestly been my mentor through some of life’s mysteries, and again she points a path for me. “Shannon, I can’t tell you how free I feel. After years of struggling and trying to get out from under the financial burden of my home, I listened to MC Hammer who had filed Bankruptcy and Foreclosure at the same time and thought, well if he can live through it maybe it is the best thing I can do right now.” Of course it is much more complicated than this. Especially for her. But somehow, she helped remove the first layer of shame and embarrassment so that I could begin to write more openly now. But this is the end of whatever light feelings I can express on the subject. Everything else is dark and lonely. As of yet, I haven’t met one person living abroad who is struggling with this topic. Either they are all young teachers who really don’t have many large material items to lose, or they are older than me and bought their homes earlier, stayed longer in them, and now prosper from a home without a mortgage. One lucky couple I know my age managed to sell their home just before the crisis and then moved abroad to teach. My timing has not been graceful or easy. (I think being on the edge of America’s baby boomers has always been a struggle). It was the same with my college loans. Teachers who completed their degree one year after me and who worked in poverty districts had their loans forgiven; teachers graduating one-year prior had $7,000 removed from their school loans. I fought and wrote and called Sallie Mae for months, but I could not be grandfathered in. So in 2005, I refinanced my house under the low interest variable loans at the time so I could pay off my college debt. At the time I bought my home, I knew it was the best investment I could make. Real estate had always been the best long-term investment in America and I thought, “My x-husband may have gotten half of my retirement in the divorce, I may not have fought for any alimony or child support but I have a home and ultimately it will support me in my retirement-- no matter what happens, I can always sell it for a profit.” At the time; however, I was working two jobs to make the mortgage payments, and wondered how long I could really endure the pace of life. As a single mother of two teenagers I was also feeling the aches and pains of wanting to give more to my children, and feeling limited. I wanted my daughter to have voice lessons and theatre camp, to learn how to drive a car, and experience the power and richness of travel. Ultimately, I wanted to help support them in college so they wouldn’t have to be in the same situation I had been in. Overall, I wanted a different lifestyle for myself, and my children, and considered the life of an international teacher to achieve it. At age 14 in 2007, my daughter wanted that too. Thus, my first teaching experience in Zambia came to be and the greatest challenge other than my daughter’s father became, “ what do I do with my house?” In the first year I was able to rent it for about $200 less than the mortgage. At the end of the year I tried to sell it but couldn’t find any buyers. The market was falling. In 2008 I went four months before finding a renter and had to evict a drug dealer. At the time I had nothing in savings. I was also required by court order to pay for all of my daughter’s expenses to visit her father twice a year. Finally, I found a lovely couple but the market rental value declined to $400 less than my mortgage. Things got tougher. I still tried to sell. No buyers. By 2009 I had incurred a $20,000 debt, couldn’t sell or rent my house, and couldn’t find an opening back into the American teaching market. By May of 2009 I had filled out my first Obama “Home Loan Modification” but because I wasn’t living in the home, I didn’t qualify. I submitted a new application and hardship letter in August but because I wasn’t able to wire any money into my U.S bank account from Morocco until November, the application again became invalid. It surprised me at first how similar this “run around” was to other experiences I have had with various “bureaucratic” agencies as I have lived abroad. It took four months in Zambia to import a car because of the paperwork with the governing transportation agency, several afternoons in Hungary just setting up a bank account and even more days to weeks, dealing with T-Home/T-Mobile over incorrect bills and trying to terminate a service. I’ve spent five months seeking reimbursement for a $300 shipping allowance that was wrongly charged for my luggage when first moving to Morocco because the original tickets were not recorded in the system as one international flight, but three domestic ones. I know the patience, persistence, and connections required in dealing with bureaucratic agencies all over the world in many different life situations. Dealing with American mortgage companies in the year 2011 is surprisingly similar to what I have experienced in much poorer and less structured countries. I’ve documented seven calls to LBPS in the last four weeks. Because the Mortgage companies in the U.S will not use email correspondence (they say it is an insecure connection--are you kidding? In this modern day of technology we can only accept a fax? How is that secure? Isn’t this just an excuse to superficially manage the huge number of calls they must be receiving)? So I call them every week if not more, to check on my application. Each time I try to make a friendly connection with the associate on the line. I’ve tried throwing aggressive fits but this isn’t effective. Each call takes about an hour, from hold time on the line to answering screening questions. I can’t ask my one question until after I have confirmed my mailing address again and for the twentieth time, “No, there is not a community regulation on my property”. Finally I am authorized to ask my question, “I have a loan modification application on file, and would like to check on the status, please.” I’ve been told, “yes, we have your file and it looks complete but... “The date for the 406T document has now expired and you need to send us a new one.” I sent it that afternoon and called again the next day... “Looking at the new 406T document, you didn’t check the small box on the left in the third paragraph.” So now I am waiting again and plan to call this afternoon. Meanwhile, my very good renter has received a notice of Foreclosure on the front door and has told me that he feels that because of the notice he should leave. I’ve tried for four years to sell my house. In the beginning I hoped to profit by $9,000. In the last year, I just wanted to sell it and walk away from it without losing too much. However, under the current situation, even if I were to arrange for a “Short Sale” there is no guarantee that the bank would forgive me for the difference between the sales price and what I might owe. I bought the home in 2002 at $135,000 and have invested over $25,000 in landscaping, painting, carpeting, and general maintenance. The house today might sell at $125,000. I’ve never thought of Banks in America wielding power or taking advantage of people. With a business degree myself, I gave them the freedom in my mind to operate like a business. But after two years of trying to sell my house during the peak of the housing crisis while also submitting three different loan modification applications and receiving the extreme “run around”, I am exhausted with it all and have changed my mind. I believe it is time for the government to step in and try to regulate this madness.
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