Our Home...Our Story.

Here is the question you've all been waiting for and wondering, what our BOMBSHELL is all about? Our home of 7 years is up for sale. The home we built from the ground up, the yard, oh the yard. For those of you that know it was really ugly at first now it's one of the greenest on the block, it is the home we have brought both our boys home to from the hospital after they were born, the home we have raised our family in. Why? It is so complicated, embarrassing and heart wrenching...too much that I cannot explain other than to those of you that are family, close friends or neighbors invited to our blog, not Facebook.
I ask you to PLEASE not share with others, this is our life and our home and we want to share it with who WE want to share it with, no one else.

December of 2009 we heard about loan modifications and were referred to Modify Utah. We paid them $2995.00 to modify our home loan and help a financial situation that not many knew about. With Scott in school and me working part time money was hard to come by and difficult to stretch. They told us we should have qualified easily and we would have to do a "trial modification" for about 6 months with our mortgage lender. Let me explain what a "trial" modification does...basically it reduces your monthly home payment so you can pay down other debts to better your debt to income ratio. Modify Utah got a "trial" modification granted by our lender and we started making about half payments on our home loan January 2010. Come July it was to be all said and done. June rolled around and I started calling Modify Utah, only to never have my phone calls returned. I thought no big deal our "trial" doesn't end til July. Come July I made the last "trial" payment and called Modify Utah again, again, again and again. Never to have those phone calls returned. Then I lost my job, a company I had worked for for almost 9 1/2 years! By the beginning of August we received a statement from our lender requesting a "balloon" payment of almost $8000.00!! What!!? I thought Modify Utah would do there job, this was new to us. We didn't know what to do. So I called our lender and told them we had paid a company to modify our loan and for some reason it wasn't done. At that time our lender told us it was past the time they needed additional information from us and forms. I asked what we needed to do, they stated we had to start a "trial" modification over again. Ok, so that's what we did. We sent them everything they requested and were granted another "trial" modification. It started in October, again about half of our original home payment. We started working on paying other debts down. In the mean time I requested a refund from Modify Utah, they did have a money back guarantee. Only to be denied because I was told we received a "trial" modification and that is all they were required to do. Are you kidding me!! I don't go to a grocery store and pay for all my groceries and only go home with half of them!! They only did half their job!! I was completely and absolutely upset!! Later they closed their doors and are no longer in business, go figure. Come January 2011 our "trial" was up with our lender and it was time they could "choose" to finalize our modification. I made that last "trial" payment and 2 days later I sent all the forms and information they requested to finalize this modification. I called 2 days after it was faxed making sure they received it, they verified they did. I was told the guy that had our file would overlook everything and would call if anything else was needed. Now if there was one thing I learned from the first time, it was to keep calling at least once a week and following up. Anyone that really knows me, knows that I am good at following up and double checking everything. I tried calling this guy with our file 2 times, I received a voicemail back from him one time and called him back another 2 or 3 times. Wednesday Feb 9th I received a call from a lady requested 2 additional forms, she asked when I could fax it by and I told her Friday Feb. 11th. Come Friday Feb. 11th I received another call from a man this time requested $12,750.00 another "balloon" payment. I explained how we were doing a modification and were at the end of our trial and that I was faxing the additional information they requested 2 days ago that day. He then told me our "trial" modification was DENIED!!! What!!? Are you kidding me, again!!? No, he wasn't kidding me! But get this...IT WAS DENIED THE FRIDAY BEFORE!! Yes that's right Feb. 4th!!! Before the lady had called and requested the additional information! She called me after the fact!! I was extremely upset and started crying. We were denied because they didn't receive the additional information they were requesting, something I didn't know about until after the fact. I asked what we needed to do and he said we would have to start all over again and start another "trial". Ummm, no I don't think so!! I asked to speak to a supervisor and while speaking with him he told me I needed to call the guy with my file, the guy I have already called 4-5 times! I told him I called him numerous times but he said he was the only one that could over-ride this denial and so that is what I did. I called, and called and called a total of probably 9-10 times just on Friday the 11th! But I have still NOT received a call back from him. I spoke with Scott and he said if he didn't call me back on Friday it was cut and dry, we would be putting "our" home up for short sale! So that is what we are doing. We are to far behind since we have been making all these half payments from these "trial" modifications and it is just not worth it. We owe more than our home is worth. Therefore it is easier to short sale and wait 2-3 years to buy another home. Then we will be able to be on the upside and have equity in our future home again. Something we haven't had in this one for quite some time. We had refinanced back when we were going to sale before by owner and they recommended we roll some of our debts into our loan so our debt to income ratio would be better. Well that was right before the economy dropped making it impossible to sell our home.

So no, Scott hasn't got another job yet. But he has currently applied for 5 different possibilities. We are hoping and praying one works out and ask that you do too. Then we will know where we may end up for the next few years til were able to buy again. If one doesn't work out we will be looking to rent somewhere close so Karter can stay in the same school and keep the same friends and a couple of these potential jobs would still offer that. As of right now we will stay here until we get an offer and our bank accepts it and we have to move. Our realtor said to expect at least 5-7 months (with our lender) if not more. The good news is we will be here at least through the summer and possibly longer. I have cried many tears, lost sleep and wondered why. Scott has been really quiet and I'm sure he feels like a failure, but I know and he should know HE IS NOT!! We didn't ask for this, no one does. Last Friday our life changed, for a reason I believe we still don't know. But I have faith knowing better things lie ahead. This has been one of the hardest most trying decisions we've ever had to make. We love our neighbors and ward. We have made so many life long friends! Hopefully moving, wherever that may be doesn't change that. I have realized it is just a house, our family makes it a home. So there you have it our BOMBSHELL, called life!!