Refinancing: Justice or Injustice

I just had a revelation, an incredible revelation.

I’ve been trying to refinance my home since May of this year.  No one wants to do it.  Why? Because I have no debt to speak of, I’ve never been late on anything (going back to 1974) and I’m not in the process of foreclosure or bankruptcy.  WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO OURSELVES?????

My parents taught me to be honest, forthright and do the right thing.  This has been my mantra my entire life (sometimes to my own detriment).  When it comes to life, my priorities are this: God, family and financial responsibilities.  In that order…

My kids and I always pray over our food, and thank God for another day in hopes of survival and treating others with the same courtesy we expect.  If I have to choose between going somewhere with friends or family, my family trumps that card.  Then the financials – mortgage, utilities, food, and “other”.  In that order….

So the questions I keep getting are “Are you in the process of foreclosure?” and “How far behind are you on the mortgage payments?” and “Have you filed bankruptcy?” and “Are you planning on moving within the next six months?” and my answers are always the same “No, zero, heck no, and with the current property values, I’m going nowhere!”.

You know I’ve written about keeping up your property to help increase values.  At my current pay, I need the refinance to continue to maintain and upgrade my property.  I’m one of the folks who are fulfilling my contractual obligations, even though my pay was reduced by half due to a layoff, and after six months unemployed.  I’m not trying to run away from a poor economy, or a depressed
community, I’m actually sticking in there trying to improve things.

I remember when home ownership was a privilege.  You had to meet a certain standard in order to get into a home to call your own.  Thanks to my fav…predatory lending…anyone could own a home, they just juggled the numbers and ended up getting folks in houses they couldn’t afford.  Then priorities ran amuck with expensive cars, lots of clothes and everything came before that contract. Incredible.  Now the folks actually living up to their promise are getting to pay for the ones who were just trying to take advantage of the system.

When did we get permission slips to run away from our responsibilities?  To break our promises?  I’ve had enough!  Now I’m being punished because the folks around me don’t have the wherewithal to do what they promised they would do.  They abandon their homes and move to another area not so depressed.  Vows mean nothing anymore, do they?  I mean think about it! Promise?  Only if it’s convenient at the time.  Honesty?  Well, we might tweak that for certain circumstances.  What happened to a home and family life?

Wake up, folks!  This is the real world!  This is your life!  Get a grip, take  ownership in what is yours, and develop it into what you like and want!  Adjust accordingly to survive.  This does not mean getting Food Stamps when you drive a BMW.  If you continue to bury your head in the sand, or run from reality, you will never be content.  However, if you’re happy and content with the way things are, then by all means, keep on keeping on…just don’t complain when things don’t go your way.