The Katastrophe Family Recovery Act of 2009

[Katastrophe]

Okay, as promised, I'll be chronicling the steps taken for the KFRA '09.

The purpose is to track my progress, as well as get a little encouragement from y'all, as we'll not only be moving, but completely straightening out our finances from the ground up.

This ain't gonna be easy. '08 almost put my family into bankruptcy, but we're digging out as best we can right now. I figure there are a whole bunch of folks out there that have found themselves in a similar situation and can identify.

All righty then, let's get started. Please feel free to repond with hints, tips and encouragement!


Step 1: Move.

I'm packing up our items today, and the movers are coming tomorrow. Computer's about 30 minutes away from temporary residence in a box. We still haven't found a renter for our home (or a buyer for that matter), but we do have a family that should be signing a lease soon. I hope so, as I can't afford rent in the new house and a mortgage payment on the other.

Calling the bank for a payment deferral of one month fell on deaf ears. They said that they couldn't process the request for 90 days, and they would start collection / foreclosure proceedings in the meantime.

Foreclosure ain't an option here, not as long as I can work. By Gawd, we will figure this out.

Next step: Arrival at our new home, unpacking, and tackling the finances.

[Blaze]

I went on Google traduction to see the exact meaning of the german word Katastrophe that sound the same in French so here it is :
1. catastrophe
2. disaster
3. cataclysm
4. tragedy

I know you re well known as Katastrophe but should nt be a good idea to get to your new life start with a more positive username ...

Just a suggestion ...

Good Luck to you man !

Blazes :

[marnold***]

I think the biggest thing with this is making sure that you and your family are dedicated to making it happen. You can't say "We're going to get out of debt" when you or your wife keep spending like mad. We finally got out of debt last month. It took awhile because there were some unanticipated expenses, but we got there. Now that we actually have a little bit of spare cash, the big struggle will be to save it (my '95 Olds with 214K miles isn't getting any younger) instead of blowing it. You'll get there. It will just take patience and determination.

[aeolian]

Why would a bank start foreclosure proceedings when you are only going to miss one payment? I constantly read stories about people behind on house payments for 6 months and still live in their house. I would make sure you have the name of the person at the bank that you talked to and when you contacted them, so you can back up your story that you tried to work with the bank but they are not cooperative.

Marnold gets it right. If you know what you are spending, then you know if you are going to get into debt or not. Good luck with the new job and hope you get back on firm financial footing.

[bigoldron]

I saw a video clip someone sent me that was apparently from ABC News. If your bank sold the note to a mortgage company and they want to start foreclosure proceedings and DON'T want to work with you, you can wait until right before the sale takes place and use these 3 words: "Showme the note." They have to produce the mortgage note that you signed or an electronic copy of it before anything else can happen. It's basically a stall tactic, but might come in handy some day.

I'm not against paying your debts, but sometimes you just need a little time to work things out and the bank may or may not be willing to work with you.

Good luck to you Kat and family! Hope your 2009 is a much better year! :

[luvmyshiner]

Best of luck from someone who's been there Kat! You'll make it brother.

[Katastrophe]

The movers just left about an hour ago.

We officially suffer from FTMS (Far Too Much S##t) syndrome.

The unpacking will wait until this weekend. I have to work Friday and Saturday.

I didn't think that it was possible to hurt in so many places all at the same time. The house is awesome, though.

The financial restructuring phase begins this weekend as well.

Found out today that Mrs. Kat's car was hit by someone today, causing damage to the driver's side rear door. No note or acknowledgement of the damage whatsoever. Nice.

More updates to come...

[Childbride]

The movers just left about an hour ago.

We officially suffer from FTMS (Far Too Much S##t) syndrome.

The unpacking will wait until this weekend. I have to work Friday and Saturday.

I didn't think that it was possible to hurt in so many places all at the same time. The house is awesome, though.

The financial restructuring phase begins this weekend as well.

Found out today that Mrs. Kat's car was hit by someone today, causing damage to the driver's side rear door. No note or acknowledgement of the damage whatsoever. Nice.

More updates to come...

that sucks, buddy. but what you do bad comes back on you three times three. mark my word.

we're pulling for you.

[Katastrophe]

Just an update... Sorry I haven't posted in a while, my computer has been down for a few weeks now.

The KFRA '09 is in full swing...

The family is together.

Mrs. Kat's car is fixed (they put a whole new skin on the door - can't even tell anyone hit it).

Underwent credit counseling to get the credit cards in line. It's gonna save us a pile of money in interest, and knocked our monthly outlay down quite a bit as well.

We are working to get our spending down, with good results. Redbox is our friend to satisfy our movie cravings (DVD vending machines that cost $1 per rental per night - rent, watch, turn in the next morning = cheap entertainment).

The next few months will be tough, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and all is well.

[poodlesrule]

Good news.

A quick note: If renting your house, be very careful with selecting prospective tenants. My BIL had to work overseas for a while and rented his place to a family that stopped paying shortly after moving in...

I read about it, there are "professional" non-paying renters out there, they know the rental laws very well....