On The Home Front

I’ve been working diligently to avoid the upcoming mortgage debacle and it’s looking like my perseverance may pay off.

I’ve been in negotiations with my lender to revise the terms of my deal.

Obviously the intent is for my mortgage not to drastically go up at all---much less every six months.

In fact, I hope my payments go down.

This sub prime mess is hitting everyone hard---including the lenders. I guess they realize that it’s better to get all of something than half of nothing.

Which is exactly what I told them when my dreams of refinancing went out the window.

The first adjustment---an extra $300 dollars on top of my current mortgage---would suck but I’d muddle through. The second adjustment in January of 2008 would kill me financially.

I estimate that I’d be paying an additional $400 for a total adjustment of $700 on top of what I already pay now.

There is no way financially I could pull that nut. I told him that I might as well mail him back the keys right now.

I don’t want to give up my home and I strongly suspect that my mortgage company doesn’t want to become homeowners.

Chicago, particularly certain neighborhoods, have been hit hard by this drama.

A six flat down the street from me is still very much in the throws of the foreclosures that happened almost two years ago.

Only a few of the foreclosed upon units have sold. The rest sit empty and their mortgage company owners keep on dropping the sales price to get the units sold.

Talk about a lose-lose situation.

The association loses, the neighborhood loses and most importantly property values go in the shitter.

It seems cheap prices will attract more investors who will rent the units which will rob our little piece of paradise of the overall stability that usually comes with owner occupied condominiums.

Stability equals stable property values. Not this roller coaster that we’re on now.

So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this whole deal works out---and in less time than I was quoted yesterday. I’ve been working on this situation since February.

Mama doesn’t have 8 weeks before this can be finalized. My rate adjusts July 1st.