Hullo from the "there be dragons here" area of MA

[Gothichome]

The finial on the newle post? A certificate of competences to buy a home? I saw that mentioned in a previous post. That sounds a bit silly.

[Lily left the valley]

Gothic, It's not that fancy that I'd call it a finial. You can see the identical one better at the top of the stairs in this image:


From the Angel catalog, these are what they offered. It looks like both are what they call the Landing Newel on the first page below, as they don't have the lower detail that the "starting" variants do. Spouse doesn't even think of it as a cap, since it's not beveled like the one they show on the paneled newel on the second page, but to me what's up top is the cap. My stair related lingo is lacking, though.


Oh, and the certificate just means he went through their program, so he's an educated buyer, and therefore supposedly less likely to not understand the process as well as budgeting and how much it all really costs aside from the purchase price. The joke is we wish we had learned about the program back in August. It would have saved me a LOT of research. ( http://newvuecommunities.org/register-for-a-class/ )

[Lily left the valley]

Another reply because it's a whole 'nother heart attack I had today. This is a lesson in why everything must be in writing because not everyone can be trusted.

This is a story.

When I called our mortgage guy to make sure I was sending him every last bit we were lacking, I found out that something came up on spouse's credit report. Something that oddly did not come up when they did the first pull in August. What made it so odd is it was an item from 2011.

After calling first the credit bureau and finding out only one of the big three even had what turned out to be a civil judgement listed as well as additional info, I then called the court in question only to find out the number listed was no longer in service. So off to the web to find another number, to get a secretary who forwarded me to someone else, but I got their voicemail. Now the wait begins.

Meanwhile, I'm playing phone tag with our realtor and mortgage guy about how we will have to push back closing because of this as underwriting won't approve unless we can produce a document saying it's been tossed out or satisfied. All the while wondering how on earth, with all the credit checks we've had to do since then, NOT ONCE has this ever come up before. No, we don't normally order reports from all three each year because we moved so often, our reports were being pulled regularly anyhoo from renting alone. This year, of course, we managed to get a new credit card, line of credit and both get prequalified and preapproved for a mortgage with this never coming up once. Our mortgage guy simply could not understand why it wasn't in the August report or any of the other prior reports pulled for the other money matters for the very same bank from the very same reporting company either.

Even though it felt like forever, the court did call me back today. Apparently, when we moved out of one place we rented in NC, despite what we were verbally told that it was ok to break the least early, they decided AFTER we left the state to file a claim for "unpaid rent" and eviction. Which we knew nothing about as we moved out of state and no mail about such was forwarded to us. Since we didn't show up, it was judged in their favor. Turns out we are well past the time we could have tried to appeal. The person I spoke with didn't even know how we might contact the plaintiff, as they only had a line item in their computer, and would have to pull up the file, which would require a records request. (I wish I was kidding). Of course, if we even still have that lease, it's in some box somewhere on the three season porch and who knows if the phone number or address for them is still the same. Worse, that court has a $0.64 cent per day late fee. That has added over a thousand dollars to what is owed and will continue to add until we pay up. We cannot get that knocked down for not knowing either. We absolutely positively do not have the funds for the now just over $4000 due. Even if we were to make payments, the court will not issue a satisfaction letter until it's paid in full. I ask the nice lady on the phone, who has been polite and patient despite my obvious ruffled demeanor how this can happen. How can it not show up on the credit report in all these years? Why didn't we ever get forward notices? She says they don't even contact the credit companies about such, since it's public record, and whether they pick it up or not is up to them. As to the forwarded mail, she's not sure why the court never got the mail back, since such is not supposed to be forward and the post office should have returned it with the proper notice. Then she admits in almost a whisper, that they don't send past due bills because it cuts into the court's profits.

Throughout all this, all I can think of is HOW am I going to tell spouse that we're about to lose the mortgage...meaning we will lose the house. I decide it's best not to call him at work, because he's already stressed enough.

Our realtor, trying to not sound in a panic, asked if we could possibly contact the plaintiff and ask them to drop the matter. I pointed out that if they went back on their word then and filed after they knew we had left, why on earth would they drop the suit now? Also, why on earth would the court let them, since they'd be getting this nice juicy late fee check as well. He then asked if maybe they would knock down what they original asked for in judgement by the amount of the late fees, and I admit I said something rather harsh before taking a breath, apologizing and saying I really appreciated that he was trying to help problem solve and I was looking at having to tell spouse the worst news I think I may have ever had to tell him so I really am sorry for being so short. A whole lot of other ideas were tossed around, and none of them will help, or we just don't have the money to get a lawyer to try to sue to try to fix things that way. Because we took their word, it would be a waste of time anyway from what I researched today. I also learned in my research that in 2018, this wouldn't show up on the credit report either because the longest they would note it is 7 years. I can't even imagine how much the interest would be if we only found out about this even later! Oh, and of course we can't pay over the phone, it has to be paid with a bank check, and we have to calculate to the day's interest when we "think" the court will process it because if we're too low, it will keep accruing interest. No, we will not be refunded the difference because it wouldn't cover the cost of mailing a check back. Of course, we're welcome to come down to NC and that way we'd be sure to pay the exact amount due, no more, no less. (You just can't make this stuff up.) So we'd have to overshoot just in case so that doesn't delay things even further.

As I'm hashing this out with the realtor, spouse walks in the door. After getting off the phone, I try to compose myself and fail. I can't help myself, I start crying when I tell him that we're going to lose the house. One snuggle later with copious amounts of sadness intermingled with anger and more strong language, and we decide we have to call the mortgage guy and tell him we just can't fix this, even if we had another month to work with. Just as spouse is about to call, I ask, "I know we're totally NOT supposed to do this right now, but what if we got our LOC extended enough to cover this *explicitive* mess?"

So he called our mortgage guy, and we tell him about this lovely late fee on top of what was already an impossible number. Spouse asks about the LOC. Mortgage guy thinks, then has a few choice words of his own to say about how it's so odd that this only came up after a first mortgage inquiry but it would show up on the second. Then he pauses and says (not exact, my memory isn't that good), We're going to fix this. I can either convince underwriting to ignore this, or I'll make sure the added LOC won't kill things either which for that small of an amount, it shouldn't. I'll call you back when I have a final answer, maybe today, most likely tomorrow. (I have to admit, when he said "That small" I almost lost my mind. My brain was full of things we planned to do with/for our home that would now be further delayed. I half expected him to fall back to his laughing manner he had when he first found out how "reasonable" we were being as to what kind of home we could afford. This was always a thing with him, since he gets so many folks who he has to give the hard reality money talk.)

Spouse gets off the phone, and BOOM....we're stunned. We honestly didn't think there was a shred of hope left. This is so against everything we've been taught as first time home buyers. Yet here's our bank's mortgage guy, doing everything he can because in his mind, this is a wrong that he wants to help us get through as best as he can.

We want to be bouncing off the walls, but we are still dreading that somehow, our mortgage guy's determination will not be enough to carry this though. He definitely seemed confident that either Plan A or B would be enough, but right now we still feel like we're at that cliff's edge, with one foot over. We still decided to get fast food even thought it's against our super strict budget right now because it would probably work out, right? So that was sort of a break.

So we're waiting to be truly happy, until we get a definite yes. This situation is just awful and lots of other bad words, but it still might not prevent us from getting the Baker Bungalow.

I will admit, I waited a while thinking about if I should post something like this, even though our only fault was trusting without verifying in writing. Yet if I'm blathering away about the process, honesty is best. Yes, I could have waited until we got a "it's ok, we're still good and here's how this plays out" before posting, but it felt dishonest waiting until the end result was positive. I admit I didn't know what I was going to write if the answer comes back, "Well, I tried, but we can't manage it." So since I'm already at the darn cliff...here it is.

, but still...

[Vined Porch]

Oh Lily, I'm afraid I don't have anything constructive to add,your mortgage guy's plan seems the best option but I just wanted to give you a virtual hug and hope you have good news today.

[Deb]

Another hug, and lots of positive thoughts, prayers, crossed fingers and toes...maybe even my eyes, for you!! Hoping and praying it works out for you!!

[eclecticcottage]

Hang in there! When we sold the Old House, it was 6 MONTHS from the "accepted offer" (it was a FSBO to the tenants so it was more of a formality than anything) to closing. During that time, they lost their financing (they didn't tell us that, just that the bank was the problem, then it was the lawyer that was dragging his feet) because although they did prequal (we saw the letter), the bank un-qualified them due to the length of time he had at his job. Their mortgage agent pulled strings and worked her tail off and still managed to get them a loan in the end. It did take longer, but it worked out. Hopefully your mortgage guy can do similar things and it will all work out. I guess they have a bit more pull than I originally thought (I figured a computer in some server room somewhere was really what decided things).

[Lily left the valley]

This is why I love y'all as much as I do. It's times like this that the support you offer makes the oh-noes a bit easier to get through.

We did talk to our mortgage guy today, and he was back to his much more usual chipper self. He said he's still waiting on the final answer of if it will be Plan A or B, but it looks like we'll be ok one way or the other and he will absolutely know the details by tomorrow.

Oh Lily, I'm afraid I don't have anything constructive to add,your mortgage guy's plan seems the best option but I just wanted to give you a virtual hug and hope you have good news today.

No worries. We just feel, well, like idiots. Although we're angry, we're also embarrassed for being naive. Lots of virtual hugs back too! We're one step closer to resolution, and that's GREAT news.

Another hug, and lots of positive thoughts, prayers, crossed fingers and toes...maybe even my eyes, for you!! Hoping and praying it works out for you!!

Thankies! We really appreciate the good thoughts, and hugs are always awesome.

Hang in there! When we sold the Old House, it was 6 MONTHS from the "accepted offer" (it was a FSBO to the tenants so it was more of a formality than anything) to closing. During that time, they lost their financing (they didn't tell us that, just that the bank was the problem, then it was the lawyer that was dragging his feet) because although they did prequal (we saw the letter), the bank un-qualified them due to the length of time he had at his job. Their mortgage agent pulled strings and worked her tail off and still managed to get them a loan in the end. It did take longer, but it worked out. Hopefully your mortgage guy can do similar things and it will all work out. I guess they have a bit more pull than I originally thought (I figured a computer in some server room somewhere was really what decided things).

EC, I used to think the same, that the math was all that mattered. It may well still be for some companies. However, in this case, it's one of those times that I remember what it was like back in the day when you had a local bank that would call you to say, "Oh, you have a check that might bounce. Could you stop by today so we don't have to do that?" I haven't felt loyalty towards a bank in well over a decade, but that's certainly changed now. Thankies for the support.

Thank you again for all the well wishes! Hopefully tomorrow we'll have it all settled, and I'll be able to give our realtor the new dates for commitment and closing. That reminds me, since it's after 5pm, mortgage guy won't be calling back today for certain, so I need to let our realtor know the latest.

[Lily left the valley]

It seems our Christmas Miracle is coming early this year.

Plan B was chosen, so spouse will be stopping by the bank today on the way home to extend our Line of Credit so we can then pay for a bank check that's almost as big as our down payment to settle the matter so underwriting feels like they've done their job properly and we can try to forget the stress and anger and move on with our lives.

Everyone at the bank is aware and onboard, so our Debt-to-Income change won't trigger any further issues, since we'll still be well within what's acceptable anyhoo.

So now it's a matter of getting the check to the court, and then the court telling the credit agency that, yes, the debt is satisfied. Then the credit agency can send the updated report to our bank, and although our mortgage commitment will be late, we might actually still close on time if the court processes things quickly.

I have to say, when our mortgage guy said we could still close on time, I couldn't believe it.

He also told me that it will take less than an hour from when the credit company makes the call to the court to when the adjusted report will be at our bank. That surprised me, and he laughed saying that they when I call them (credit agency) they'll know what to do. Apparently he's been on the horn a lot this week.

And before I trundle off for a nap...
for all the support. I really love how caring and thoughtful folks are here.

[Vined Porch]

Congratulations ~fantastic news! You should sleep soundly with that knowledge!

[springmoon33]

Yay! I went by your soon to be house the other day. It is beautiful! I hope it all goes well moving forward, seems that it is all now about waiting, she'll be worth it!