Monday, October 31, 2011

Television

I have so many random posts during the day that I want to post here and just never have the energy. My little honey bee keeps me up nights and my monkey runs me ragged during the day. That said, I do love my life.

There is a commecial though that makes me sad. I am writing this commentary tonight because hoping I have the energy to write happy commentary tomorrow. I have an idea for happy commentary and want to see how long I can keep it going.

The commercial is for Lowe's. It has fun music and follows a couple from their wedding day through when their kids are grown. Its genious. The theme is "dont stop." With each new scene they make their house bigger and better.

This is something we will likely never do. I say this as fact, not as anything other than that. Reality is, we will own this condo since there is no way we can sell it, for the rest of our lives...or at least for a very long time. We can't stay here forever. I have a target move out date of April 1 at the latest, preferably Feb 1. We would rent this place. We are simpley too big. We have too much stuff, no matter what I pitch.

So we rent our place. And we continue to rent for years to come. Maybe we can buy a new place in 15 years, if we are lucky. But where that would be is anyone's guess. Point being, our life is on hold. We are stuck. We played by the rules and we got screwed.

But we have each other. We have our beautiful kids, who I must say were adorable tonight on Halloween. My son as an officer just makes me melt every time I look at the picture. And my daughter as a honeybee sleeping was too precious for words. Kim Kardashian may have way more money than we ever will, but God willing our marriage will last 72 years, and if we are all in this condo together, in the end thats fine with me.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Its time to tell the WHOLE story

President Obama announced with much fan fare today, and the media certainly played the part by hyping it as top story almost everywhere, that the goverment was announcing a new plan to help underwater homeowners.

The Washington Post had this story on its website by noon. I read it anxiously as I waited to pick up my son from preschool. Had someone finally decided to help the good people like us who never miss payments, who have excellent credit, who are just getting screwed by the big banks?? Were my prayers FINALLY being answered.

No.

Turns out that this program like so much of what the government has tried to do up to this point to help homeowners only applies to those whose loans are backed by Fannie or Freddie. What about the rest of us??

My first instinct was to email the reporter and tell him to look into it. But now I have decided I am going to try to look into it for myself, even if its only for me and the 10 or so people that read this, or I should say get this in email, who knows if anyone reads it.

So over the coming weeks I will find out who else this applies to and what, if anything can be done about it.

The sooner we refiniance our 800 sf of love, the sooner we can move out. The sooner we move out the sooner we start planning for the future and maybe, dare I dream, buy another house, our Someday House. This will be house we grow old in and watch our children grow in. We are the people the experts say need to start spending again, but we can't start spending until we know what we will be responsible for in the future for a home that will likely not regain its value for another 10 years.

So, if you are a homeowner whose house is underwater and who has not missed payments, but is not eligible for the government programs because your loan is not backed by Fannie or Freddie, PLEASE let me know. I am going to use my reporting skills, dusting them off after four years...figure its about time, please send me an email or comment here with a way to reach you.

Our story is not a singular one. Perhaps the more voices we give to this, the more likely we too can get a chance. I don't want to get off without paying what we owe, we signed the note thats our responsibility. I get that and would expect nothing less. What I do want is a chance to move forward and live my life. We can't do this until we refinance. Is that asking too much???