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Mortgage Saga Finale

After my experience with Wells Fargo, getting denied by other borrower assistance programmes and not even getting a call back from the asshole lawyers I was referred to (Tom Stubbs and Mike Froman, to name names) today I decided to call a lawyer from the internet. Why the fuck not?

I start by doing some research about principal mortgage reduction – which turns out to be a pipe dream. The banks do NOT have to do it, so they don’t. I began to see that the banks have no incentives to work with anyone since it appeared that the mortgage bailout plans were all geared for the BANKS, not the borrowers. I was right. The banks WANT the borrowers to default. Why? Because they get paid in full by our illustrious government. Even as I read this, I was thinking “No way, this is surely not right! Why would the banks PROFIT from default? Why would anyone NOT just walk away? This makes no sense!!”

With those thoughts in my head, I decided to try another tack. I did a search for “principal balance reduction lawyer” and ended up at georgiaforcedloanmodifications.com. I called them up and got a CSR who immediately started soft selling me and telling me how great this lawyer was. First red flag. I told him our situation and after reminding me again that this lawyer was most excellent, he told me that our loan amount was “less than the payment to us would be”. Second BIG red flag. I said, “WHAT payment to you? Is this not a regular lawyer that you pay and he does a job?” Dude said, “Well, you see, you pay us a retainer that starts at $795/mo for us to find an irregularity in your loan so we can then force the bank to re-do the loan”. WUT? I told him, “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” and hung up. SCAM!! SCAM!! SCAM!! The fact that this shit is allowed to go on AND the banks get paid for defaults is making me nauseous.

Disgusted, I then called up the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance to see if THEY had any ideas. The nice lady advised me to go to the Georgia Bar Association and find a REAL lawyer to talk to. So I did. I ended up at the Atlanta Bar Association’s search engine and I called up The Roberts Law Firm, P.C., which listed real estate as one of their specialties. The lawyer I spoke to was very nice and very sensible. I told him where we were with this mortgage (we are technically not responsible, but we pay it to keep living here, and we’re interested in getting a principal reduction to keep the property) and he told me flat out what I’d already surmised: there is no way that’s gonna happen.

It’s in the bank’s best interest to ignore pleas of borrowers so they can cash in with the government and get 100% paid on the defaulted amount. In our case, they make 100% profit, since the property is worth half of the mortgage amount.

The lawyer also told me that stopping payment is the best option when we are ready to go. Stopping payment will give you 6-12 months of living there without payment before the bank will get around do actually filing to get you evicted. Since we are technically not responsible now, it’ll probably be closer to 6 months than 12 in our situation.

So, yes, our feeling that we were being pushed into a corner by the bank is 100% accurate. Why should they bother with us? They can collect $93k from the government on a property worth $50k if we just walk. It’s better for them if we do! Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

The fact that we are not obligated on the loan in the first place is irrelevant. The bank *can* toss us out any time they like, but again, it’s in their best interest to keep collecting payments from us on a worthless property. And it’s in our best interest to keep paying until we are within 6-9 months of moving away. Then we just stop payments.

Is your head spinning yet?

Our government is paying the banks to continue destroying the housing market and tossing homeowners out on the street. It is severely fucked up and I think a clear indicator of this country’s ultimate demise. When the rank and file no longer have anything of value, they have no economic stability. When economic stability is gone, where’s the incentive to invest in communities?

I don’t know why the fuck things are like this, but I can tell you that it’s wrong. Every fibre in my being is telling me that it’s wrong for a government to destroy people’s lives in the name of corporate interests.

But what do I know? I’m just a rank and file citizen who will walk away from a perfectly good home, leaving it to the scavengers to rip out the copper and take the A/C unit. WTF ever. I hope Wells Fargo enjoys the spoils of their conquest. It just makes me SICK.

I am now grumpy and sad. And really despairing for this country. ;_;

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Wells Fargo: Eat a BAG of Dicks!

I just wasted about an hour and a half on the phone with fucking Wells Fargo. What a useless bunch of twats. After calling 4 different numbers, being in 5 different queues and talking to five people, this last guy pretty much sums up why I think the banks can SUCK IT.

Wells Fargo: “…unless your house appraises for $75k, Fannie Mae will not offer you any sort of refinancing. They offer ONLY 125% refinancing and your house would have to appraise at $75k.” [Which means: we are not eligible for any help whatsoever and neither is anyone else whose property is more than 25% underwater. VERY helpful, yah.]

I: “Well, how about I offer you $75k for a house worth $50k and we split the difference?”

WF: “Who eats the $20k?”

I: “Wells Fargo, that’s who! $20k ain’t a pimple on the ass of WF!”

WF: “If we did that for everyone, we’d be out of business in about 4 minutes!”

I: CLICK

O RLY? Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae, who received BILLIONS of bailout money from MY TAXES, can’t afford to help anyone whose house value has dropped more than 25%? OMG. I’ve heard it all, now.

This is why this country is in the shitter. The banks AND Fannie Mae (government) do not give a rat’s ass about the rank and file. And YES, they would rather write off abandoned properties than keep someone in them, which would allow for neighborhoods to come back. But who cares about neighborhoods? Just let the homes be empty so the banks get PAID.

This total and complete disconnect with PEOPLE and NEIGHBORHOODS is the issue. This total and complete disregard for rebuilding is why people (like us) are just saying FUCK IT and walking away. Which is what we’ll end up doing in the end. I will not pay $93k for a house valued at $50-60k. I will not do it. And Wells Fargo/Fannie Mae can just have it the fuck back. Good luck getting your $93k then, assholes. [Maplehurst ended up being worth about $40k, which made it $80k underwater. NOT SORRY we walked. -A ]

What an absolute FARCE. I am seriously dumbfounded by the attitude of that asshole at WF. It’s like WE are the assholes for buying a home in the first place. WTF?

Enjoy your losses, WF. We won’t be here forever and we will NOT pay this mortgage forever. Believe it.

Just damn.

Addendum: I also got turned down by Atlanta Legal Aid cuz we too rich. Riiight. All I got left is talking to some referred lawyer and stop paying. I vote stop paying. The lady at ALA said if we were 6 mo behind on the mortgage, we’d qualify for no less than 6 different plans, but since we’re current, NADA. So currently, you are rewarded for NOT paying rather than trying to work things out. Got it.

This is seriously FUCKED UP.

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Angela’s BBQ Stuffed Meatloaf

This is a derivative of my original stuffed meatloaf recipe, here.

BBQ Meatloaf w/ spaghetti squash
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Angela's BBQ Stuffed Meatloaf

This is a delicious meatloaf with show stopping looks, but it's EASY to make! I use a mix of ground chicken and beef, but any combo of meat is fine. Meatball (or meatloaf) mix is excellent if you can find it. It's shown with spaghetti squash on the side (recipe in notes). Leftovers are amazing, too!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword bbq meatloaf, beef and chicken meatloaf, meatloaf, stuffed meatloaf
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author misangela

Equipment

  • 9x9 square baking dish, sprayed with food release (PAM)

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg ground chicken (about 1#) preferably not just breast, which is very dry
  • 1 pkg ground beef (about 1#) I like no more than 10% fat
  • 1 med shallot, minced about 1-2 Tbl
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced about 2 Tbl
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs any type is fine
  • 2 Tbl tomato sauce or ketchup is fine
  • 2 Tbl BBQ sauce any kind is fine, plus more for topping later
  • 2 tsp L&P Worcestershire
  • 2 tsp dried marjoram sub ONE tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 Tbl dried mustard sub 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp white pepper optional
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten

Stuffing

  • 4 slices thin sliced deli ham any flavor
  • 3 oz sliced cheese, any cheddar blend is good about 3-4 slices or equivalent shredded
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Mix meatloaf ingredients together in a large bowl. Use your hands and DO NOT overmix or your meatloaf will be very dense and dry. As soon as the meat is evenly mixed, stop. Divide meat into two equal portions.
  • Form first portion into a flat oval-shaped loaf and place in the baking dish. It should be about an inch or so thick. Make a 2" ditch in the center for the stuffing, keeping at least 1" from the edge of the meat.
  • Put a layer of dijon in the ditch. Place ham slices, with enough to overlap the cheese. I use a couple of layers of sliced honey ham. Proscuitto would work here, too. Next, place the cheese on ham, drizzle with more dijon and wrap ham over cheese. Try to keep the layered items within the ditch you made.
  • Form second portion of meat into another flat oval to match the first and place on top of filled section. Pinch together the layers and make the loaf whole. Decorate with some BBQ sauce on top.
    BBQ meatloaf before cooking
  • Bake for about 40 minutes or until meat is 165F at center. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before you slice.

Notes

Spaghetti squash side is simply steamed squash separated into strands then quickly sautéed with butter, salt and lots of black pepper.  Finish with parmesan. 
This meatloaf makes great leftovers and will freeze well. 
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Brain Dump

While we are having Quiet Time™, I guess I’ll do a brain dump post. I’ve got lots of little things knocking around in here, just nothing big enough for a full post. So let the info dump commence!

Nick is tired today, hence Quiet Time™. He’s back to not drawing. WTF ever. I’m about to give up that fight. He’ll do it when he’s damned good and ready. It’s the Way of the Taurus Weasel.

We have set some goals. Besides getting the fucking comics wrangled, we want to achieve escape velocity and GTFO of this stuck mojo place we’re in. We are comfortable and it’s killing us. Seriously. Sometimes you’ve got to do something FIERCE to get your life going. We are planning FIERCE. And VERY uncomfortable. We aren’t sure of the timetable, but we have the goal. I hope we can achieve it. It does NOT involve Atlanta. That’s all I’ll say at this time.

I had dreams of being in a new house with lots of room. There were people there (roommates?) that were annoying but seemed to serve some sort of purpose? Nick and I were rearranging furniture (very NICE furniture!) and debating over which pieces to put in storage. The other night I dreamt of not scary zombies. And Madonna. Madonna was NOT a zombie, sadly, that would’ve been cool!

I had a busy week. Lots of stuff to do for the bakery and the taqueria. Also had to get the magazine up as usual. I got stuff done LIKE A BOSS.

Graphicly has started a new thing where they will convert and distribute your book, magazine, comic, whatever to all the various digital outlets for $150 per document. That is the special discount rate and will go up, but let me tell you: even if it doubles it is an AMAZING deal. If you have thought of going digital, I strongly suggest you get thee to Graphicly right away and contact them about their new digital conversion business. [Graphicly died in ’13 or ’14, sadly. -A Feb 2016]

DJ is in his decline, I think. He’s eating well, but he’s still getting thinner. ::sigh:: He’s now got a small bump on his nose which is probably the Cryptococcus neoformans digging in deeper. I hope I’m wrong, but I dunno. A kitty mama knows when her elderly children are slowing down. There’s nothing to be done about it, I’m just saying it out loud to try and get used to the idea. Makes me melancholy. :(

The dieting is going along. I’m still not very disciplined about it, but I’m losing a little, so it’s good. Shakeology shakes are pretty good, but I can’t really see that they actually help with weight loss at all. Meh.

Missy has been a little bunghole this week. She has decided that 6am is the perfect time to get up. She wakes us up then runs and hides so we can’t put her in timeout (the bathroom). The other day, I gave food to DJ and grabbed her, tossed her in timeout and went back to bed. She was quite angry about this, so she pooped on the bathroom floor. I didn’t speak to her for a full day. We’ve since worked it out and she has not woken us up at 6am, either. Damn cat!

I finished the Steve Jobs biography. It was pretty dry and I’m not a huge fan of Isaacson’s style, but I still loved it. It’s really the story of Apple, you see, as much as it is about Jobs. It’s sort of like reading my own biography with Apple/Macintosh. And I also share some personality traits with Steve: coldness, binary thinking (it sucks or it’s the best), perfectionism, deeply sensitive (but well hidden) and some others. I can totally understand his behaviour despite never having met him. And I still mourn the loss of genius that really DID change the world. I know all you naysayers will pooh-pooh all of this, but just look at what his crazy head thought up (or modified or paid to have made):
GUI
the mouse
the trackpad
touchscreen w/ gestures
tablet
phone with apps
music device with apps
Gorilla glass (yep, he paid Corning to start making it again)
digital music
digital books, mags, newspapers, etc.
Pixar (and subsequently Disney)
and tons more stuff!
The sheer industrial design that Jobs came up with is amazing. Ives and Jobs changed the way technology looks. The world would not be full of these marvelous devices if Apple (aka Jobs) hadn’t had the stones to make it happen. His loss will be felt for a long, long time. Like it or not hatahs, he is why all of you have Droids and Kindles.

I read the Normal Mailer photo book Marilyn. While the photos are great, the actual quasi-biography written by Mailer is hideous. That man had some sort of hang up about sex. It was mentioned on just about every page – usually right along with his psychobabble about Marilyn’s supposed issues. I can’t believe that man won a Pulitzer! Marilyn was horrible to read. I gave up and just looked at the iconic pix instead.

The Weasel is up from his nap and I’m gonna wrap. It’s been a nice brain dump. Thanks for reading! Now it’s time for Super Bowl blabbing and GO GIANTS!

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Year of the Water Dragon

It certainly is starting off in a soggy, watery kind of way! My year is next year (Snake) and don’t know who of my friends are Dragons. Chime in, you!

This last weekend was not stellar. Actually, it kind of sucked. All the stress and angst over the comics finally came to a head and ended up ruining most of the weekend. The good news is that we worked through it and it’s all OK today. Mostly.

The weather today is gross and rainy, which pushes my housecat buttons. I just want to curl up with the other housecats and NAP. They’ve got the right idea, I tell you!

We started the Shakeology diet thing today. Not a big deal. Wish she’d have sent ScaryBerry rather than the chocolate, but it’s OK. It’s really a VERY good product – just pricey as hell. $100/mo for ONE person. Ugh. We are working for our Shakeology, but I doubt we’ll continue it once the testing of the plan is over. We just canNOT afford $200/mo for that shit. I’ll devise some other protein shake and we’ll go back to our regular vitamins. The Shakeology shakes have pretty much a multivitamin in them, which is nice, but I can do my own supplements for FAR cheaper. Anyway, we are on the plan and I hope it works.
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I forgot about this post I started yesterday. So today I shall finish it.

Today’s weather is much better than yesterday so at least there’s that. I woke up feeling a bit creaky today. :/

I’ve got some goldfinches at my feeders. They usually come by this time of year. My large flock of grackles and red winged blackbirds have cleaned out the feeders – again. They eat a lot when it rains, oddly.

I’m getting some work in from Rob, which is great because our digital publisher, Graphicly.com, has launched a new programme for multiple platform digital publishing for an amazingly small price per unit. $150 for one pdf? YES PLEASE! We are going to use this to reboot Think Weasel!. If we can get things rolling sufficiently, we might use it for Awkward Ninjas, too. Stay tuned.

Speaking of Think Weasel!, I’m going to redouble my efforts at doing a half way regular newsletter with special deals and such. Like maybe give away collections or sketchcards to the first responder, etc. Perhaps even a contest with a T shirt prize. Dunno. I’m going to try pushing it and actually USING our MailChimp account. For a change.

Ok, that’s it. I got a Darth Jr cat wanting lap. I must comply!