Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Not a HAMP Success Yet


We finally found out what the hold-up on getting our final modification under HAMP was. It wasn't our so-called negotiator who let us know what was happening. It was a new gentleman from the Bank of America Office of the CEO and President. My case got transferred several times within that office and also several times from negotiator to negotiator within the Home Retention Dept. It's been a mess and has given me more than one nightmare--I kid you not.

Anyway, this guy actually seems to care. He gave me his direct number, returns my calls promptly and calls regularly with updates and whatnot. I haven't experienced this yet in the last year of our ordeal applying for the Making Home Affordable Plan which was set up by President Obama to help responsible homeowners to keep their homes. It's been a long, bumpy road and it's really refreshing to get some help from someone who isn't evading my questions (along with not returning my calls and passing our case on to the next person so they can ignore it too).

It's taken over six months to get an answer as to why this isn't all finished yet, but he found one for me, because he kept looking and didn't just give up when our negotiator couldn't give him an answer. Apparently, there was a problem with our signatures. They said that it looks like, for whatever reason, my signature, done with the notary that they sent out to our house, looks like it's been X-ed out. They should've received three signed and notarized copies, so you would think at least one of them would be acceptable, but apparently not.

In any case, we have to sign the same documents with another notary (this time we find our own), and then send them back in and get this finished up so they can stop reporting us as delinquent to the credit bureaus and get our new loan set-up and running in the system. As things look now on our account with them, it's a big mess, despite us jumping through every hoop that's been put in front of us and paying every modified payment on time for the full amount (we even pay the higher amount that I was told by one of the many reps I talked to over there, rather than the one on the paperwork, so there could be no excuse to have our modification canceled).

So, with the help of this new agent in the Office of the President, hopefully we can get this done soon and I can rest easy. We'll be praying for that, anyway.

If you, or anyone you know is going through this, don't give up. Keep fighting. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's just not so easy to see or get to at times.

Please be careful of the scammers out there who are preying upon people like us. The best place to go--as hard as the process may be--to save your home is to your very own mortgage company. Please don't pay attention to the mailings from outside companies who are claiming they can help you. We made the mistake of falling for a scheme like that once years ago and it didn't end well, though we came out smarter and stronger for it.

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Keep that in mind. Help is available for free so beware of anyone offering to help you for a price. Also, there is support for you out there and one of the most informative sites I've found is Loan Safe.

Don't lose faith and remember that everything happens for a reason. God is there for us when we need Him, so don't ever hesitate to pray for strength or guidance. Best of luck to you all!

A New Look

I decided I was ready for a makeover. Not on me personally, since at 35 weeks pregnant there's not much I can do to beautify myself at the moment. Haha! But I did makeover my website here. I thought I'd go for something lighter and easy on the senses.

You'll have to let me know what you guys think. I probably should've taken the hour it took me to redo things, though, and spent it writing some more helpful tips for you all out there. Forgive me? ;)

Anyway, I think that the new layout should be easier to navigate and you shouldn't have to scroll down quite as far as with the old site. Also, I'm hoping the new color scheme will improve the mood of those who visit. :)

I hope you all are doing well. God Bless!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

National Doughnut Day


I have a weakness. Okay, well probably more than one, but we don't have to go into that just now. Hah! Anyway, I LOVE doughnuts. I'm not too picky about them either, though I do know the difference between excellent, good, edible and well, you get the point.

Anyway, imagine my delight when I checked my email today and found one from Krispy Kreme in my inbox. Apparently, tomorrow, June 4, is National Doughnut Day. What does this mean for you and me? Well, it means we get a free doughnut. Yay! I'm so there! Of course, this offer is limited to one per customer, but that's six free doughnuts for my family alone!

Here is a link to participating Krispy Kremes. I'm excited to report that there's one close to me! :)

So make sure to get your free doughnut tomorrow! Mmmmmmmm.....

Summer's upon Us

Well, you can definitely tell that summer is coming. I admit, I've been yearning for it. I feel like I'm in school all over again with all the work that's been coming home with the kids. I thought I'd only have to do that once? Hah! But after tomorrow, I get a break. No more researching on the internet to help dust out those cob webs in my brain when the kids come home with something I just can't remember how to do. I'm pleased though, at how much I did retain from my school years. ;)

I suppose we're not getting much of a break just yet. We've been working like crazy it seems. Our garden is in. We're combating the weed issue we had last year (originating from the field behind us) with some plastic mulch. It's very thin plastic sheeting made especially for gardening purposes and it keeps the the weeds at bay. We bought the black kind so that none of those weeds could survive underneath the sheets. We'll have to cover it with grass clippings or some other barrier as the weather gets hotter though, so that we don't scorch the roots of our plants. Wish us luck!

We had our first serious injury of the season last night, or rather my son did, while doing fun summer-day activities. Poor Tyler fell while rollerblading and broke one of his front teeth. He also knocked it loose--go figure. So we paid an emergency visit to the dentist and he's in for some more dental visits in the future. He's a brave kid and did the first visit without being numbed. I'm not looking forward to seeing that bill, though (think after-hour rates). Yikes! :(

We also finally, for the first time this year, turned our central air unit on last night. We've been opening the windows and using the ceiling fans up til now. We decided, when some neighbors were having some guests over, to close the windows so we could get to bed a bit early after our exhausting day. We got a nasty surprise when the the unit ran continuously for an hour and a half and the temperature stayed the same.

After checking the obvious things, like the fuse box and the breaker on the unit outside, we got out our wallets and called to have it serviced. Unfortunately, $90 later, we found out we need an electrician. Things do get better, right? Haha. Sometimes I'm more optimistic about that than others.

We're still looking for ways to save money, and have managed to cut some of our expenses by selling two of our vehicles and replacing them with one. It's saving us on our insurance, but I have to admit that while we got a good price on it (make sure to do your homework and check out sites like Edmunds before buying anything), it hasn't been trouble free. We got it several thousands below blue book, but have had to put a lot of that back into it for it to get on the road (think tires, ball joints, muffler...). We knew some of the issues going into it, but did have a few unexpected things come up too. But, that's the gamble when you buy whole sale and as-is. Still, we're within the low-book value of it, so I'm trying not to take it too hard.

If you want to know how we paid less than half the blue book price for our truck, I wrote an article for it on HubPages here.

On the up-side, the baby is doing great and I'm having a pretty good pregnancy this time around. Something I'm VERY thankful for. Over-all, my family is healthy. I have great kids and a good, hardworking, loving husband. So I should count my blessings and brave the bad stuff! :)

I hope all is going well with all of you! Remember, you have to experience the bad stuff to really appreciate the good. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!