My Financial Implosion: Foreclosure
‘œPersons who have been homeless carry within them a certain philosophy of life which makes them apprehensive about ownership.’ ‘“ Jerzy Kosinski
By the fall of 1997, much of my financial implosion was over. I had closed my business, filed for bankruptcy, and decided not to keep my mobile home. Since the mobile home had been purchased with my ex-husband, and he didn’t want to assume ownership, it went into foreclosure.
I’d known I would have to move for quite some time, so I’d been packing my possessions for months. After my bankruptcy hearing, I started packing in earnest, as I knew it wouldn’t be long before the mortgage company began eviction proceedings. I was terrified of having the county sheriff show up at my door with an eviction notice, and finding my property being thrown into the street. I was broke, scared, and didn’t have anyone to help me move.
Worse, I didn’t have a clear idea of where I’d live next. My credit was ruined, I’d been working for less than a year at my current job, and I had a dog and a cat I refused to abandon. I called every rental agency in town, and was politely told they couldn’t help me. Most of the rental agencies refused to rent to people with bad credit; those that did wouldn’t take pets.
My “plan B” was to move in with my father and stepmother. I would stay with them, save up several months’ rent and then try again to find a small house or an apartment that would allow my animals. ‘œMoney talks’ my father told me, and we figured if I could pay six months’ rent in advance, most landlords would be willing to overlook my seriously damaged credit.
I got a few calls and letters from the mortgage company. I told them I wasn’t going to fight the foreclosure, and that I would move willingly. They were somewhat vague about when I had to move out, and at one point said I would have about 90 days. November 30 became my move-out date. I packed with even more feverish intensity, and rented a large storage unit where I would keep my furniture until I could find a place of my own.
Quite suddenly, my father was offered a plum job six hours away. He moved, and with his move went my place to stay. I could have gone with him, but I already had a decent job, and wasn’t sure that changing positions so soon after my bankruptcy would be a wise move. I continued, unsuccessfully, to look for a decent place to live.
After exhausting all my search options, I came to the realization that I wasn’t going to find housing unless I abandoned my pets. I had no friends with whom I could couch surf, and no landlord would consider renting to me. I was no longer counting the days until I moved. I was on a countdown to homelessness.
Since I couldn’t afford to hire movers, my mother came to help finish packing. At the last minute, my sister and brother-in-law made an 1,100 mile trek to California to help move my possessions into storage. I still had nowhere to live, so I gathered my clothes and a small number of personal items, and loaded them into my 18-foot travel trailer. It was 14 years old, a little shabby and had a leaky roof, but it was better than nothing. At least I would have a bed, cooking facilities and a working bathroom.
The morning of November 30, 1997, I stood out in front of my house for the last time. I’d left the house reasonably clean, with the appliance manuals and extra house keys locked inside. I left a note to the next owner describing the things I knew needed repair, and any paperwork I thought would be helpful. My truck and trailer were waiting, so I sighed and slid into the driver’s seat. I left the park, pausing just long enough to drop my remaining set of keys into the mobile home park manager’s mailbox.
Lessons learned:
1. Don’t be in a hurry to move out of your foreclosed home. Although I don’t advocate squatting in your former home indefinitely like one congresswoman has suggested, it makes sense to stay as long as you reasonably can. Although my mortgage company gave me 90 days to move out, they didn’t take possession of the house or put it to auction for several more months. Had I understood the foreclosure process better, I would have stayed longer, which would have allowed me more time to search for a suitable place to live.
2. Understand the financial consequences of allowing your home to foreclose. At the time my home foreclosed, the difference between what it sold for at auction and the amount I owed on the loan would be considered forgiven debt, which would have had significant tax consequences had I not also filed for bankruptcy. Although this problem has been temporarily ameliorated by the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, seek professional help to make sure you fully understand the consequences of your unique situation.
Next in series: Living in an RV
Photo credit: stock.xchng
Hi Alex, this must have been really painful to move out of you home after all the other stuff that happened to you. How did you keep your sanity?
This is a great question, one that probably deserves its own post. At the time, it was very difficult to do things to take care of myself, simply because there wasn’t much money available. Mostly, I just tried to focus my attention on the immediate, short-term tasks that needed to be done. Deal with the creditor who is on the phone right now, gather my list of creditors and get it to my lawyer, or pack a few boxes and take them to storage. I tried very hard not to think of the big picture, because if I did, it quickly became overwhelming.
Alex: Gosh, your circumstances get progressively worse with each post… I’m really sorry you had to go through this experience.
One thing I was curious about… did your new employer have any idea what you were going through and how did this impact your work life? How did these financial stresses get in the way of your on-the-job productivity?
This is another question worthy of its own post. To be honest, I’m not sure how aware my employer was of my circumstances, as I did my very best to discourage creditors from calling me at work. I’m sure they knew something was up, because I’d asked some hypothetical questions about filing bankruptcy, and it wasn’t long after that I moved into my RV. My boss knew I lived in it, as I’d parked it at work several times when asked to work late-night shifts. As for my performance, I was lucky in that my job was relatively easy at the time. I’d been asked to offer company-wide computer literacy classes, which didn’t require a great deal of effort. The classes were actually a welcome distraction, because I had to be up in front of a room full of people and not dwelling on my problems.
Hi Alex, thanks for answering my question, as well as Nina’s. Your candor is really refreshing. I can totally see what you’re saying about the big picture being too overwhelming.