Saturday, August 25, 2007

Sick


I feel awful today. I don't know if it's allergies or something I picked up yesterday at the doctor's office or what. I'm really stressed out because I'm having to declare bankruptcy. This is, of course a sneak peek at what I hope is the ending to the long story I've been posting on here. If you're out there, hope that it goes well!

ANYWAY, I'm sick. My nose is all stuffed up and my head hurts. The nose stuff started last night. I bet poor Jason has felt like this all week! He's still the best ever, by the way. Really helping me get through all of this.

Picture is where I'd like to be...

The Next Episode

Okay, when I left the story before, I had just lost my job, and was still getting promises from my (ex) roommate that she would pay bills and help me out as I looked for a new roommate. I got a new job 2 days after I lost the first, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I had a good lead on a better job, so I left the new job to pursue this one.

Something I hadn't mentioned yet, during all of this I was discovering that she had transferred all of the utilities into my name without my knowledge. I asked her about it and she said that the companies had let her when she said we were both on the mortgage. When I talked to the utility companies, they said that only I, with my social security number could have changed them.

At this point, it had become obvious to me that :

1. I could not find a new roommate.
2. I sure couldn't afford the house on my own.

I called the mortgage company and asked them what I could do. They recommended a short sale, but said I would have to have her signature to do it. She was not answering calls or emails. I sent her an email asking her to take responsibility and work with me to dispose of the condo. I received an email in return that was full of venom. In it she told me that everything was my fault and that every bad thing that had happened to her in the 7 years we lived together was due to me. It also said, however that she would be glad to do the short sale.

I moved in with Jason. I had the condo cleaned. I started the short sale paperwork. The condo was empty. Soon, I begin to get "final notices" for utilities and home owner's association dues that had not been paid. I pad them all. I settled a lawsuit from the home owner's association. These were not the utilities in my name, but the ones in hers from when we were both living there.

Pretty soon, I got that new job I was hoping for. I started teaching preschool at a daycare. I liked it, but it was hard work, with no recognition, and little support from administration. The ex-roommate came through with a signature on the quitclaim deed that the mortgage company told me I would need to pursue the short sale on my own. I sent in all of the paperwork for the short sale. I had to get counseling to send in the short sale paperwork, and the counselor thought everything would go well, as long as there were no liens on the property. I assured her that if there were, I would surely know about them. Everything was on track. Then in February, there was a sticker on my door, asking me to go pick up some certified mail.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Happier news


I didn't want my first depressing post to just sit. So, here's a happier, shorter one. We got a new couch! It's awesome!!! It's green!!! It's really comfy. We are so happy with the way the living room and whole house are shaping up! We are going to paint the wall behind the couch blue, and one wall in the kitchen is already beautiful bright green. Jason is putting up white shelves all around, and we are going to put cars up on them. I really feel like it's home. This place feels more like home to me than the condo ever did.

Not as good, but hopefully getting better...

Here's the first of many posts on what has happened to me in the last year. I'm going to describe all events exactly as I recall them happening, and try to avoid any opinion (though I have many). Draw what conclusions you may.

In early November of 2006, I wrote my monthly check to the mortgage company. Sometimes, I had written the check to my roommate and she had sent a single check, but this time I wrote it to the mortgage company itself. A few days later, a check for my half of the mortgage cleared my account. Surprised at how quickly it had happened, I wanted to check the date on the check. When I looked at the check online in my bank account, it was a check that I had not written. It was a check that my roommate had written from my checkbook, made out to herself.

At first this was not cause for great alarm. I trusted my roommate. We had lived together for 7 years, and been friends for 8 more. On Jason's advice, I called the mortgage company and asked if they has received payment. They had not. Since May.

I immediately called my roommate at work. Her first question was "Why did you call them?" I told her what had happened, still convinced that this was some kind of horrible mistake. She promised to call them and sort it all out. That night she told me that she had been sending the payment via EFT. Suspicious, I asked if I could see the EFT statements when she got them so that we could figure it out together.

A couple of days later, she tells me that the bank did misdirect the money, that the EFT slips had been ruined in her car, and that she is trying to work things out with her bank.

Next, a few days after that she tells me that the bank won't return her money. That it went into some sort of account that she can't access. I asked her how, that if it were her money, that the bank would keep it from her. She said it was their policy. She, at that point said that it would be 3-6 months before she could get at it.

She had talked to the mortgage company and set up a loan modification. This extends the period of the loan, and puts late fees and back payments on the total of the amount owed. The paperwork was in the mail to us.

She had set up a roommates.com account for me and had told me she wanted to move. I was actively pursuing a new roommate, and she had told me that she would continue to pay bills (I couldn't on my own) until I found someone.

On Nov 30, I found out that I was going to lose my job (a long story that I'm not discussing here, for legal reasons. If you know me, you know all about it). I got home that night and the house was empty. She had taken all of her things, and was gone. I called her and she explained that her relatives were in town that day and could help her, but not to worry. Nothing had changed, according to her. She was going to move out, but keep paying bills.

The next day, I lost my job. About a week after that, we met at the UPS store to sign the loan modification paperwork. She made the same promises that she would pay bills and help. I never saw her again.

To be continued...

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Here I Go!


I'm creating this to entertain, I hope. It's all about me, my life, and everything. So, the answer to this blog would be somewhere around 42. I'm 28, engaged to the most wonderful man in the universe (Jason!)and planning to be married in February! We have 3 lovely cats, Diana the Cat, Tabby Cattenhausen, and Danica Catrick. Shock of a lifetime, we are race fans! We've gone to a whole bunch of IRL races this season, and even though I wasn't sure I would have any fun, it turns out that I love it!
We live in Greenwood Indiana, and we like it. We're super close to the mall, but far enough from the city, that it ends up a good mix. We like to grill out, always make some extravagant meal that's waaay too much for us. We love movies, subscribe to the blockbuster total access thing (more about that in another post) and like to see them in the theater too. Jason is really really into cars, and I learn something new from him every day. I'm also into (and am assimilating Jason into) anime. Sailor Moon is my all time favorite, started watching in high school, and never really got tired of it. We are sci-fi fans, and proud geeks.
I'm a librarian and Jason works in I-T. I'm happy with my (relatively) new job, but his job is like being whipped with a cheese grater. Soooo, we are always looking for new opportunities for him. A lot has happened with us in the last year, some good, some bad, and I'm sure it will keep going, so check back for more adventures!