Today the "F" stands for foreclosure. And yes, I am thanking God for it.
It's not the plan we had, but it was obviously the plan HE had. I feel horrible for all the people involved in this process with us that are now left high and dry, though. The buyers, their agent, our agent, and the loss mitigator all put a ton of time, energy and money into this deal, with nothing to show. But again, God's plan, not ours.
Ultimately, Mr. Four Walls and I have accepted that this is likely the better ending for us. The wording of the short-sale acceptance was so vague, we would have spent the next 6 years (the statute of limitations on collecting on a default here in our state) looking over our shoulders, waiting, wondering if the bank was going to come calling, wanting more money. This path, foreclosure, saves us from that and while I didn't expect to feel this way, I'm relieved - almost celebratory for our own personal situation (but again, NOT for those of everyone else, especially the hard working Realtors that fought so hard for this to go through).
It's over. Yes, we will have a foreclosure on our credit history, and that will likely cause a few more bumps in the road for the next 7 years or so. Overall, though, it's over. The question has been answered and we can move on with our lives.
So, TGIF.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The End is Near, Part 4
And ANOTHER update:
No signing today, or ever. Just received a call from escrow that our bank is refusing to sign one measly piece of paper in a timely manner, and without it, we can't close. Again, they also refused to delay the foreclosure tomorrow, so it looks like it's done. The "F" word officially wins the race.
The end is no longer near, it is here.
No signing today, or ever. Just received a call from escrow that our bank is refusing to sign one measly piece of paper in a timely manner, and without it, we can't close. Again, they also refused to delay the foreclosure tomorrow, so it looks like it's done. The "F" word officially wins the race.
The end is no longer near, it is here.
The End is Near, Part 3
Another update: we will be signing at escrow at 2 p.m. today, so if all goes smoothly this will end in the short-sale and not a foreclosure.
The End is Near, Part 2
I intended to have this as a running, day(or-every-other-day-)-by-day run down of the last few weeks in our race to the finish line on the short-sale, but life intervened. In a good way, but so much that taking time to blog about something that has already eaten up so much of my time and energy just wasn't at the top of my to-do list. So, without further do (and minus the day-by-day) here's a run-down of where we're at.
The short-sale still has not closed. Once everything on our end was handled, we expected to be able to close early last week. However, there were some roadblocks on the buyers end and now we're coming down to the wire. The foreclosure auction is tomorrow morning, September 9th. Yesterday the bank rejected our request for a one-day extension.
Today is the THE day. At this point, if we can close in the next 3-4 hours, the sale can get recorded at the county and be taken off the auction list for tomorrow. At last update, they buyers should be called to schedule their signing "soon." Escrow has not contacted us, however, and time is ticking. It takes us about an hour to drive to the escrow office. I've made arrangements for a friends to get the older girls after school if I I am still battling my way home, but if it is the case that I'm signing that late, there will only be a slim chance that the sale will actually record today.
So, we're back to Purgatory (link to a previous post), but just like then I'm doing my best to remember that my life is good - wonderful in fact. Mr. Four Walls is working steadily, the kids are thriving, I'm home everyday doing what I love most, and we're all safe, healthy, and loved. This foreclosure, if it does indeed end up there, cannot and will not take all that away.
My motto this week has been "God is in control." Everytime I feel like I'm going to lose it, or I get sad, or angry, or frustrated at all that has gone on, I say it to myself. I post it on Facebook. I yell it out.
Because at this point, it's all I can do. Really, it's all we can ever do, regardless of the situation.
So, God is in control, and we will know the ending to this not-so-fairy-tale very shortly.
The short-sale still has not closed. Once everything on our end was handled, we expected to be able to close early last week. However, there were some roadblocks on the buyers end and now we're coming down to the wire. The foreclosure auction is tomorrow morning, September 9th. Yesterday the bank rejected our request for a one-day extension.
Today is the THE day. At this point, if we can close in the next 3-4 hours, the sale can get recorded at the county and be taken off the auction list for tomorrow. At last update, they buyers should be called to schedule their signing "soon." Escrow has not contacted us, however, and time is ticking. It takes us about an hour to drive to the escrow office. I've made arrangements for a friends to get the older girls after school if I I am still battling my way home, but if it is the case that I'm signing that late, there will only be a slim chance that the sale will actually record today.
So, we're back to Purgatory (link to a previous post), but just like then I'm doing my best to remember that my life is good - wonderful in fact. Mr. Four Walls is working steadily, the kids are thriving, I'm home everyday doing what I love most, and we're all safe, healthy, and loved. This foreclosure, if it does indeed end up there, cannot and will not take all that away.
My motto this week has been "God is in control." Everytime I feel like I'm going to lose it, or I get sad, or angry, or frustrated at all that has gone on, I say it to myself. I post it on Facebook. I yell it out.
Because at this point, it's all I can do. Really, it's all we can ever do, regardless of the situation.
So, God is in control, and we will know the ending to this not-so-fairy-tale very shortly.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The End is Near, Part 1
The past 10 days have been a roller-coaster with the house. Over the next several posts, that I'm naming The End is Near, I'll give a run-down of the events leading up today, and continue beyond until the end-date of September 9th.
Friday, August 5th:
I received an e-mail from the loss mitigator that an attorney in the firm thinks we should request mediation through the state's new mediation program
The mediation program went into effect the week previously. In a nutshell it means that homeowners in our state facing foreclosure have the right to mediation through the Department of Commerce to ensure that all parties are acting in good faith and treated fairly. This will hopefully reduce the number of homes that are seized in foreclosure by giving distressed homeowners a fair opportunity to negotiate alternatives such as loan modifications, short-sales, etc.
It's not free, but fairly inexpensive at $200 for each the homeowner and the bank, plus any attorney's costs if a homeowner chooses to be represented. Homeowners cannot request mediation directly; they must be referred to the program by an attorney or housing counselor based on specific criteria, but once referred, the foreclosure process has to stop until the mediation process is completed.
The bank is required to have a decision-maker at the mediation meeting in person or on the phone, so the biggest positive is that it will greatly reduce the run-around for homeowners that enter the process. If no agreement is reached, once the mediator has entered their report, the foreclosure can again be scheduled for 90 days.
If either party is found not to be negotiating in good faith, then the mediator will compile a report on that fact, but they cannot stop the foreclosure. It would be grounds for the other party to sue, however, and in some instances the bad-faith efforts could be reported to the state Attorney General to aid them in cracking down on fraudulent/illegal foreclosure-practices.
We contemplated long and hard (well, as long as we could, given the time-crunch) on if we should request mediation. The positive of forcing the bank to have a decision-maker readily available on the spot was very appealing, since they seem to take the cake on giving people the run-around. However, there were no guarantees that we would come to an agreement, and I strongly doubted that they would negotiate in good faith given the events of the last year.
We also felt that we would need to hire an attorney to represent us, taking it from a $200 deal to a couple grand, or more if the outcome warranted further legal action. At best we'd come away with an agreement allowing us to sell the house, but the buyers had been getting really anxious and were not giving us the impression they'd stick around through the process. More than likely, we'd commit the time, money, and energy just to be right back on the foreclosure track, only dragging it out by another four months or more.
Thursday, August 11th:
We declined the referral to the mediation program.
That same morning, we found out it was all moot, since we didn't qualify for the process anyway. Only homeowners living in the property in question are eligible, and since we moved out in January of this year we would have been rejected by the program.
About 10 minutes later, we received an e-mail from the loss mitigator that for the first time ever, the bank had called her! She has spent so many hours each week over the past year calling them, sitting in Muzak Hell, and getting the run-around on our behalf. Never had they called her. She knew right away something was up since they initiated contact by more than a general e-mail asking her to call customer service.
So, what brought the bank out of their shelter to initiate contact?
The wanted to let her, and us, know that they had approved the short sale! They needed to confirm her e-mail address so that they could send over the approval letter. We waited with baited breath, since an approval didn't mean no-strings-attached.
Mid-day, the loss mitigator called me to let me know she'd sent me the letter for review. As we read it over together on the phone, she indicated that it was unlike any approval letter she'd ever seen and she needed an attorney to go over it before talking with me anymore. It was clear that they were not requiring us to sign a promissory note for the deficiency, as we were told to expect based on the bank's previous approvals her firm had received for other clients. What was not clear was if they were forgiving the balance.
Late that afternoon, she contacted me again and let me know that in the end, she had every single attorney in the firm look at the letter, and they were split 50-50 on whether or not the approval released us from liability on the deficiency balance.
She attempted to discuss the ambiguous wording with the bank, but of course there was no one she could speak with that could help with giving more information or re-writing the letter. She also attempted to call Fannie Mae directly, but it was after hours there and would have to wait until the morning. She requested that I also try to contact them (Fannie) and see what information I could gather.
Friday, August 12th:
I spoke with a Fannie Mae representative directly early in the morning. He wouldn't speak to the specifics of our approval letter, only saying that it is always Fannie Mae's intention to leave the door open to seeking the deficiency within the laws of the state in which the property sits. He wouldn't or couldn't say what their plans are in our case.
I communicated this information to the loss mitigator and our realtor, and let them know we did not feel comfortable signing the letter as written. The state laws here mean that if the bank takes the house in a non-judicial foreclosure - which is the process they are using - they cannot seek a deficiency judgement except in cases of fraud. We've been nothing but open and honest, so we had nothing to worry about there.
Even so, we were deflated. We'd fought so long and hard to avoid a foreclosure, but here we were, having to decide between foreclosure or taking a deal the "might" open the doors to them suing us for the deficiency, an amount that they are saying is currently topping $160,000. That total is so inflated by their delays and stalling tactics it isn't funny, but even a more reasonable estimate of $140,000 (did I just call that reasonable????) would mean bankruptcy for us, dragging the turmoil of the past few years out well beyond another decade.
I let everyone know that was not an option for us.
Then....the loss mitigator, our realtor, and some of the attorneys at the loss mitigation firm came to us with some facts about the likelihood of Fannie Mae seeking the deficiency. First, in all the years this firm has practiced in our state- doing much more than loss mitigation, and very reputably - they have never seen Fannie Mae seek a deficiency judgement in our state. The laws here would make it an uphill battle for them, and they have chosen not to fight it, historically.
Additionally, the exact wording in the approval letter has legal precedence to indicate forgiveness of a debt. The term they used was "Discharge" - they even put it in bold type-face in the letter - and it is most commonly used in bankruptcy proceedings to indicate a debt has been resolved and nothing further is owing. Again, with the wording as it was, we were advised that it would be an uphill battle for them to get a judgement. If they chose to seek the judgement, state law gives them six years from the date of the short-sale to do so.
This left us with a really difficult decision: wave the white flag of surrender and take the foreclosure hit, or plow ahead with the short-sale, taking the risk that we might have to fight in the future against a judgement.
We asked for the weekend to decide.
Friday, August 5th:
I received an e-mail from the loss mitigator that an attorney in the firm thinks we should request mediation through the state's new mediation program
The mediation program went into effect the week previously. In a nutshell it means that homeowners in our state facing foreclosure have the right to mediation through the Department of Commerce to ensure that all parties are acting in good faith and treated fairly. This will hopefully reduce the number of homes that are seized in foreclosure by giving distressed homeowners a fair opportunity to negotiate alternatives such as loan modifications, short-sales, etc.
It's not free, but fairly inexpensive at $200 for each the homeowner and the bank, plus any attorney's costs if a homeowner chooses to be represented. Homeowners cannot request mediation directly; they must be referred to the program by an attorney or housing counselor based on specific criteria, but once referred, the foreclosure process has to stop until the mediation process is completed.
The bank is required to have a decision-maker at the mediation meeting in person or on the phone, so the biggest positive is that it will greatly reduce the run-around for homeowners that enter the process. If no agreement is reached, once the mediator has entered their report, the foreclosure can again be scheduled for 90 days.
If either party is found not to be negotiating in good faith, then the mediator will compile a report on that fact, but they cannot stop the foreclosure. It would be grounds for the other party to sue, however, and in some instances the bad-faith efforts could be reported to the state Attorney General to aid them in cracking down on fraudulent/illegal foreclosure-practices.
We contemplated long and hard (well, as long as we could, given the time-crunch) on if we should request mediation. The positive of forcing the bank to have a decision-maker readily available on the spot was very appealing, since they seem to take the cake on giving people the run-around. However, there were no guarantees that we would come to an agreement, and I strongly doubted that they would negotiate in good faith given the events of the last year.
We also felt that we would need to hire an attorney to represent us, taking it from a $200 deal to a couple grand, or more if the outcome warranted further legal action. At best we'd come away with an agreement allowing us to sell the house, but the buyers had been getting really anxious and were not giving us the impression they'd stick around through the process. More than likely, we'd commit the time, money, and energy just to be right back on the foreclosure track, only dragging it out by another four months or more.
Thursday, August 11th:
We declined the referral to the mediation program.
That same morning, we found out it was all moot, since we didn't qualify for the process anyway. Only homeowners living in the property in question are eligible, and since we moved out in January of this year we would have been rejected by the program.
About 10 minutes later, we received an e-mail from the loss mitigator that for the first time ever, the bank had called her! She has spent so many hours each week over the past year calling them, sitting in Muzak Hell, and getting the run-around on our behalf. Never had they called her. She knew right away something was up since they initiated contact by more than a general e-mail asking her to call customer service.
So, what brought the bank out of their shelter to initiate contact?
The wanted to let her, and us, know that they had approved the short sale! They needed to confirm her e-mail address so that they could send over the approval letter. We waited with baited breath, since an approval didn't mean no-strings-attached.
Mid-day, the loss mitigator called me to let me know she'd sent me the letter for review. As we read it over together on the phone, she indicated that it was unlike any approval letter she'd ever seen and she needed an attorney to go over it before talking with me anymore. It was clear that they were not requiring us to sign a promissory note for the deficiency, as we were told to expect based on the bank's previous approvals her firm had received for other clients. What was not clear was if they were forgiving the balance.
Late that afternoon, she contacted me again and let me know that in the end, she had every single attorney in the firm look at the letter, and they were split 50-50 on whether or not the approval released us from liability on the deficiency balance.
She attempted to discuss the ambiguous wording with the bank, but of course there was no one she could speak with that could help with giving more information or re-writing the letter. She also attempted to call Fannie Mae directly, but it was after hours there and would have to wait until the morning. She requested that I also try to contact them (Fannie) and see what information I could gather.
Friday, August 12th:
I spoke with a Fannie Mae representative directly early in the morning. He wouldn't speak to the specifics of our approval letter, only saying that it is always Fannie Mae's intention to leave the door open to seeking the deficiency within the laws of the state in which the property sits. He wouldn't or couldn't say what their plans are in our case.
I communicated this information to the loss mitigator and our realtor, and let them know we did not feel comfortable signing the letter as written. The state laws here mean that if the bank takes the house in a non-judicial foreclosure - which is the process they are using - they cannot seek a deficiency judgement except in cases of fraud. We've been nothing but open and honest, so we had nothing to worry about there.
Even so, we were deflated. We'd fought so long and hard to avoid a foreclosure, but here we were, having to decide between foreclosure or taking a deal the "might" open the doors to them suing us for the deficiency, an amount that they are saying is currently topping $160,000. That total is so inflated by their delays and stalling tactics it isn't funny, but even a more reasonable estimate of $140,000 (did I just call that reasonable????) would mean bankruptcy for us, dragging the turmoil of the past few years out well beyond another decade.
I let everyone know that was not an option for us.
Then....the loss mitigator, our realtor, and some of the attorneys at the loss mitigation firm came to us with some facts about the likelihood of Fannie Mae seeking the deficiency. First, in all the years this firm has practiced in our state- doing much more than loss mitigation, and very reputably - they have never seen Fannie Mae seek a deficiency judgement in our state. The laws here would make it an uphill battle for them, and they have chosen not to fight it, historically.
Additionally, the exact wording in the approval letter has legal precedence to indicate forgiveness of a debt. The term they used was "Discharge" - they even put it in bold type-face in the letter - and it is most commonly used in bankruptcy proceedings to indicate a debt has been resolved and nothing further is owing. Again, with the wording as it was, we were advised that it would be an uphill battle for them to get a judgement. If they chose to seek the judgement, state law gives them six years from the date of the short-sale to do so.
This left us with a really difficult decision: wave the white flag of surrender and take the foreclosure hit, or plow ahead with the short-sale, taking the risk that we might have to fight in the future against a judgement.
We asked for the weekend to decide.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Shock of Shocks
Instead of walking today, the buyers sent us an extension through August 30th. It's still a LOOOOONG shot to get this through before the foreclosure date, but they really want this house I guess. Hoping it works out for them, but I'm not holding my breath.
The news yesterday that the bank generally will not release liability on a short sale makes it unlikely we'll be able to accept their terms (if we even get that far). A foreclosure on our record is better than a bankruptcy, which is where we'd be if they force the issue. Since we're in a non-recourse state, foreclosure is the end of the road. They cannot get anymore out of us after that point.
A few months ago I might have been willing to discuss signing a note for some of the difference, but not now. We can't take on anymore expenses (the reason we're selling in the first place). Plus, based on their horrid and unethical behavior, I won't pay them any more on principle. They've lied to us for months, and I'm more convinced after sleeping on it that it was a tactic to drive up the fees and interest so that the difference was as high as it could be.
I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
The news yesterday that the bank generally will not release liability on a short sale makes it unlikely we'll be able to accept their terms (if we even get that far). A foreclosure on our record is better than a bankruptcy, which is where we'd be if they force the issue. Since we're in a non-recourse state, foreclosure is the end of the road. They cannot get anymore out of us after that point.
A few months ago I might have been willing to discuss signing a note for some of the difference, but not now. We can't take on anymore expenses (the reason we're selling in the first place). Plus, based on their horrid and unethical behavior, I won't pay them any more on principle. They've lied to us for months, and I'm more convinced after sleeping on it that it was a tactic to drive up the fees and interest so that the difference was as high as it could be.
I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Lies, Lies, Lies
(Can you hear the Thompson Twins singing in the background? Cue it up on your MP3 player of choice - c'mon, admit it. It's on there.)
This morning Iwasted spent a little over an hour in a conference call with the bank and the loss mitigator, during which two very disturbing lies told by the bank in the past year were uncovered.
Lie: Fannie Mae approved the short-sale back in May.
Truth: Fannie Mae has not approved the short sale, and is unlikely to due to the large amount by which we're underwater on the loan.
Lie: The file was sent to Fannie Mae for review back in March.
Truth: To date, the file has never been sent to Fannie Mae for review.
So where does this leave us? With several sobering truths:
Truth: The buyer's extension on their offer expires today.
Truth: When asked earlier this week, prior to the information above coming to light, they said they'd sign a two-week extension to wait a bit longer for the supposedly forthcoming approval letter.
Truth: The bank is now demanding a minimum of a 30-day extension from them to show that they're a serious buyer (as if the past seven months of putting up with this s*!@ hasn't proven that...).
Truth: Even if the buyers agree to the 30 days, Fannie Mae will still have to review and decide if they'll take the offer or move ahead on the foreclosure.
Truth: The bank will not submit the file to Fannie Mae without the 30 day extension from the buyers.
Truth: Once (if) received, it will take Fannie Mae several weeks to review and notify the bank of their decision. We would then have wait any more additional time for the bank to notify us, in writing of the denial or acceptance, and any terms of the acceptance.
Truth: The current BPO (Broker's Price Opinion, which helps the bank and Fannie Mae determine fair market value) expires August 8th. If the approval is not received and the deal isn't closed by then, a new BPO would have to be ordered, taking another two weeks or so to work through the inept system.
Truth: The bank says they will not request a new BPO unless the buyers sign a 30-day extension AND they believe that Fannie Mae is close to issuing an approval AND they believe we will successfully close but after the August 8th expiration.
Truth: Today is July 21st.
Truth: The foreclosure date is set for September 9th.
Truth: It generally takes 30-45 days to close a sale on all the approvals, etc are settled; faster closings are possible but hard to pull off in this market of scrutiny (ironic, huh?).
Truth: The buyers are unlikely to sign a 30-day extension because they can count the dwindling days still available to make this happen, and they can read the writing on the wall.
Truth: This deal, and our attempt at avoiding a foreclosure, is all but dead and we're SOL.
Truth: I am angry, frustrated, and harboring some other serious negative emotions towards the bank right now.
Truth: GOD HAS COMPLETE CONTROL, and this - as I say in the About Me section to the right - is just a blip in the radar screen of my life. It's not life or death. My family is healthy and together with a roof over our heads, and food in our bellies. I'm blessed to be listening as I type to one child making a sandwich down the hall, another tapping her feet on the bed as she devours another book, and the third - the game changer that took us over the ledge onto this course once and for all - babbling away over the baby-monitor, fighting her afternoon nap.
The sky is not falling, the world is still turning, and in the grand scheme of things this whole ordeal has been a blessing. It's not officially over, of course, but for me it pretty much is. We're on a collision course with foreclosure, but it doesn't really matter. We'll walk away from the impact with some battle scars and a longer period of financial rehabilitation than we hoped, but we'll be okay.
(Especially after you tubing Lies here. I challenge you not to smile and dance a bit while watching the video. If only the bank's lies were so entertaining to experience.)
This morning I
Lie: Fannie Mae approved the short-sale back in May.
Truth: Fannie Mae has not approved the short sale, and is unlikely to due to the large amount by which we're underwater on the loan.
Lie: The file was sent to Fannie Mae for review back in March.
Truth: To date, the file has never been sent to Fannie Mae for review.
So where does this leave us? With several sobering truths:
Truth: The buyer's extension on their offer expires today.
Truth: When asked earlier this week, prior to the information above coming to light, they said they'd sign a two-week extension to wait a bit longer for the supposedly forthcoming approval letter.
Truth: The bank is now demanding a minimum of a 30-day extension from them to show that they're a serious buyer (as if the past seven months of putting up with this s*!@ hasn't proven that...).
Truth: Even if the buyers agree to the 30 days, Fannie Mae will still have to review and decide if they'll take the offer or move ahead on the foreclosure.
Truth: The bank will not submit the file to Fannie Mae without the 30 day extension from the buyers.
Truth: Once (if) received, it will take Fannie Mae several weeks to review and notify the bank of their decision. We would then have wait any more additional time for the bank to notify us, in writing of the denial or acceptance, and any terms of the acceptance.
Truth: The current BPO (Broker's Price Opinion, which helps the bank and Fannie Mae determine fair market value) expires August 8th. If the approval is not received and the deal isn't closed by then, a new BPO would have to be ordered, taking another two weeks or so to work through the inept system.
Truth: The bank says they will not request a new BPO unless the buyers sign a 30-day extension AND they believe that Fannie Mae is close to issuing an approval AND they believe we will successfully close but after the August 8th expiration.
Truth: Today is July 21st.
Truth: The foreclosure date is set for September 9th.
Truth: It generally takes 30-45 days to close a sale on all the approvals, etc are settled; faster closings are possible but hard to pull off in this market of scrutiny (ironic, huh?).
Truth: The buyers are unlikely to sign a 30-day extension because they can count the dwindling days still available to make this happen, and they can read the writing on the wall.
Truth: This deal, and our attempt at avoiding a foreclosure, is all but dead and we're SOL.
Truth: I am angry, frustrated, and harboring some other serious negative emotions towards the bank right now.
Truth: GOD HAS COMPLETE CONTROL, and this - as I say in the About Me section to the right - is just a blip in the radar screen of my life. It's not life or death. My family is healthy and together with a roof over our heads, and food in our bellies. I'm blessed to be listening as I type to one child making a sandwich down the hall, another tapping her feet on the bed as she devours another book, and the third - the game changer that took us over the ledge onto this course once and for all - babbling away over the baby-monitor, fighting her afternoon nap.
The sky is not falling, the world is still turning, and in the grand scheme of things this whole ordeal has been a blessing. It's not officially over, of course, but for me it pretty much is. We're on a collision course with foreclosure, but it doesn't really matter. We'll walk away from the impact with some battle scars and a longer period of financial rehabilitation than we hoped, but we'll be okay.
(Especially after you tubing Lies here. I challenge you not to smile and dance a bit while watching the video. If only the bank's lies were so entertaining to experience.)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
More (Non) Information
I received a follow-up e-mail today regarding the cluster-*%* that has become our short-sale (see previous blog entry).
Long story short there is no new information except that the file is back with management because of the mismanagement of the negotiator, said negotiatior has been reassigned to another department because of her failure on the file, and they cannot give us a timeline for getting the approval letter. They indicate that they need to go over it with a figurative fine-tooth comb to make sure she hasn't screwed up anything else, AKA covering their baboonish behinds.
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Or as they put it, "to make certain everything is up to the quality standards the company demands." I shot soda out of my nose reading that one.
So the saga continues.
Long story short there is no new information except that the file is back with management because of the mismanagement of the negotiator, said negotiatior has been reassigned to another department because of her failure on the file, and they cannot give us a timeline for getting the approval letter. They indicate that they need to go over it with a figurative fine-tooth comb to make sure she hasn't screwed up anything else, AKA covering their baboonish behinds.
Or as they put it, "to make certain everything is up to the quality standards the company demands." I shot soda out of my nose reading that one.
So the saga continues.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Approved...Maybe
You know, I wish just once we could get a straight answer outta these people!
The week before last as the kiddos and I took a walk around the neighborhood to burn off some of the schools-out-I'm-bored-there's-nothing-fun-to-do energy, I chatted with our real estate agent on my cell. I found out there was a late-June e-mail from our loss mitigator, a rather important e-mail, that somehow had lost its way on its journey to my inbox. According to this e-mail, Fannie Mae had approved our file for short-sale!
The kicker here is that it had actually happened back in MAY and the bank failed to notify us. Our mitigator only found out in her weekly phone call to find out status, and probably only because she spoke to someone different who (gasp) actually seemed competent to provide information.
Remember, though, that this information was only provided verbally - which means nothing in this situation - and was communicated in LATE JUNE when the acceptance had supposedly been issued in mid-May.
Furthermore, Fannie Mae's acceptance of the short-sale was contingent upon closing the deal within 45 days of their acceptance. Which we have now passed, so we're again not sure if it really is still accepted. On top of that, the fact that it was a verbal notification means that until we receive the hard-copy letter, we can do nothing. According to the person with the bank that informed our mitigator, the letter still hadn't been issued to us.
Fast forward to this week. We still have not received said letter. Again, our mitigator calls in to check on its status and is told that the file is NOT approved, and is still in review by a specialist (i.e. the step BEFORE sending the file to Fannie Mae for investor review and approval).
AHHHHHHH!
Our mitigator does have in her possession an e-mail dated sometime last month from the main negotiator at the bank indicating that our file has indeed been approved and we can close pending receipt of the approval letter. The person to whom the mitigator spoke with this week, however, said that information is incorrect but to fax her a copy of the e-mail, she'll investigate and the mitigator should follow-up next week.
So, still in limbo. I don't know about everyone else, but my back really hurts from going under this stupid stick.
The week before last as the kiddos and I took a walk around the neighborhood to burn off some of the schools-out-I'm-bored-there's-nothing-fun-to-do energy, I chatted with our real estate agent on my cell. I found out there was a late-June e-mail from our loss mitigator, a rather important e-mail, that somehow had lost its way on its journey to my inbox. According to this e-mail, Fannie Mae had approved our file for short-sale!
The kicker here is that it had actually happened back in MAY and the bank failed to notify us. Our mitigator only found out in her weekly phone call to find out status, and probably only because she spoke to someone different who (gasp) actually seemed competent to provide information.
Remember, though, that this information was only provided verbally - which means nothing in this situation - and was communicated in LATE JUNE when the acceptance had supposedly been issued in mid-May.
Furthermore, Fannie Mae's acceptance of the short-sale was contingent upon closing the deal within 45 days of their acceptance. Which we have now passed, so we're again not sure if it really is still accepted. On top of that, the fact that it was a verbal notification means that until we receive the hard-copy letter, we can do nothing. According to the person with the bank that informed our mitigator, the letter still hadn't been issued to us.
Fast forward to this week. We still have not received said letter. Again, our mitigator calls in to check on its status and is told that the file is NOT approved, and is still in review by a specialist (i.e. the step BEFORE sending the file to Fannie Mae for investor review and approval).
AHHHHHHH!
Our mitigator does have in her possession an e-mail dated sometime last month from the main negotiator at the bank indicating that our file has indeed been approved and we can close pending receipt of the approval letter. The person to whom the mitigator spoke with this week, however, said that information is incorrect but to fax her a copy of the e-mail, she'll investigate and the mitigator should follow-up next week.
So, still in limbo. I don't know about everyone else, but my back really hurts from going under this stupid stick.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
As usual, my blogging frequency - well, sucks. The past two months have been a whirlwind, and I can hardly remember most days. Nothing spectacular, just the life of a working mom of three kiddos.
Except that I'm no longer a working mom! I took the leap and QUIT my job, giving notice in early May. My last day was last week, just in time for the kiddos to get done with school for the year (and to start arguing non-stop, but that's another post, probably for another blog). What changed to allow us to make this drastic decision?
Nothing. Nothing has changed, and that in itself was the catalyst for me staying home (for now, but more on that later). The sitter was still only committed through the end of the year, childcare was still getting more expensive by the minute (I'd be paying $2200/month right now if I were still working, and that's not even for the best places), and the most pressing of all - I truly feel called to be home with my kids. We spent the last year cutting back and digging out of debt to prepare for this choice, not knowing if we would actually make it happen, but here we are.
It's not going to be easy. The numbers don't work, but they weren't going to work paying $2200 per month, either, so we chose the lesser of two evils (broke and (relatively) quiet vs. broke and crazed). I'm investigating the process to become a licensed home-daycare provider so that I can bring in an income and still be home, but the more in depth on that I dig, the less appealing it is. However, seeing as I need an income, it's likely the best choice for us. I've also been casting a wide net for part-time evening/weekend jobs, but so far nothing has come of that.
For now, we're hunkering down. We have funds to sustain us a few months, and if push comes to shove we can live off Mr. Four Wall's income without touching the savings, but it won't be pretty. It's a giant leap of faith, and we're now in mid-air.
"But what about the house?" you're probably wondering.
Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero movement. Well, that's not true. We have received the Notice of Trustee's Sale, and the auction date is set for September 9th. That doesn't mean they've denied the short-sale; it just means that the foreclosure people have finally woken up and are starting that process, and it's now a race between the two departments to complete their job first. My money's on the foreclosure department, if the past year is any indication.
For the last 2 months (at least) we've been told we'll have an answer on the short-sale "this week" but we never get anything other than "it's still in review." Now they're asking yet again for all of our financial documents to be updated, which shows me they're dragging their feet and extending this as long as they can.
Not that I care anymore. We've done all that we can to work this out. Extra work, in-laws living with us, being beggars to our friends for childcare, and finally making a concerted effort to sell the house for the bank so they didn't have to go through the time and energy to foreclose.
However, in their non-answer I'm hearing their answer, and I'm moving on. I'll update the docs one more time, but if they have not come back with an acceptance by July 15th, we're told that it's unlikely our sale would close before the auction date.
So we're home and in the home-stretch, either way. While I have strong faith that God will bring us through this in all ways, I have very little faith that the house will transfer over to a happy new buyer anytime soon. I really hope Fannie Mae enjoys our great neighborhood. It's a great place to raise a family, and I'm sure it'll make her very happy.....
Except that I'm no longer a working mom! I took the leap and QUIT my job, giving notice in early May. My last day was last week, just in time for the kiddos to get done with school for the year (and to start arguing non-stop, but that's another post, probably for another blog). What changed to allow us to make this drastic decision?
Nothing. Nothing has changed, and that in itself was the catalyst for me staying home (for now, but more on that later). The sitter was still only committed through the end of the year, childcare was still getting more expensive by the minute (I'd be paying $2200/month right now if I were still working, and that's not even for the best places), and the most pressing of all - I truly feel called to be home with my kids. We spent the last year cutting back and digging out of debt to prepare for this choice, not knowing if we would actually make it happen, but here we are.
It's not going to be easy. The numbers don't work, but they weren't going to work paying $2200 per month, either, so we chose the lesser of two evils (broke and (relatively) quiet vs. broke and crazed). I'm investigating the process to become a licensed home-daycare provider so that I can bring in an income and still be home, but the more in depth on that I dig, the less appealing it is. However, seeing as I need an income, it's likely the best choice for us. I've also been casting a wide net for part-time evening/weekend jobs, but so far nothing has come of that.
For now, we're hunkering down. We have funds to sustain us a few months, and if push comes to shove we can live off Mr. Four Wall's income without touching the savings, but it won't be pretty. It's a giant leap of faith, and we're now in mid-air.
"But what about the house?" you're probably wondering.
Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero movement. Well, that's not true. We have received the Notice of Trustee's Sale, and the auction date is set for September 9th. That doesn't mean they've denied the short-sale; it just means that the foreclosure people have finally woken up and are starting that process, and it's now a race between the two departments to complete their job first. My money's on the foreclosure department, if the past year is any indication.
For the last 2 months (at least) we've been told we'll have an answer on the short-sale "this week" but we never get anything other than "it's still in review." Now they're asking yet again for all of our financial documents to be updated, which shows me they're dragging their feet and extending this as long as they can.
Not that I care anymore. We've done all that we can to work this out. Extra work, in-laws living with us, being beggars to our friends for childcare, and finally making a concerted effort to sell the house for the bank so they didn't have to go through the time and energy to foreclose.
However, in their non-answer I'm hearing their answer, and I'm moving on. I'll update the docs one more time, but if they have not come back with an acceptance by July 15th, we're told that it's unlikely our sale would close before the auction date.
So we're home and in the home-stretch, either way. While I have strong faith that God will bring us through this in all ways, I have very little faith that the house will transfer over to a happy new buyer anytime soon. I really hope Fannie Mae enjoys our great neighborhood. It's a great place to raise a family, and I'm sure it'll make her very happy.....
Monday, April 18, 2011
In my day, it was up hill BOTH ways!
I am so tired. Every time I get a few spare minutes and I think "I should write. I want to write," all I end up doing is going to bed or vegging on the couch. Since these moments are so rare - the ones where I can actually think a full thought without being interrupted by "Mom. Mom. Maaa-om!" - I don't really feel any guilt over not utilizing them to their fullest (or maybe am I using them to their fullest.....). But parking my butt on the couch or crawling under the covers is not very conducive to keeping this blog up to date. Sorry!
I might be more inclined to update if there was, well, an update. Not much has changed on the house. We had another BPO about a week ago. Today we were told the file is back with the specialist, and that this is a good sign that "we might just be nearing the decisioning process," according to the mitigator doing the back and forth for us. We've heard it before, so I promise you I'm not sitting here turning blue as I anxiously await their response with bated breath.
Otherwise, we are continuing to settle into the new place. Spring is refusing to make an appearance here (it snowed again this morning in the surrounding areas!!!!), but I'm forging ahead without it, planting a few small plants I picked up on a sale a couple of weeks ago. They'll probably die, but it made me feel good to get out and plant them, so if they survive it's all gravy. Yesterday, Mr. Four Walls transplanted the Hydrangeas -my absolute favorite shrub- from the old house to the new, redoing a bit of one of the front flower beds. I'm not sure how they'll fare having been unceremoniously yanked from the ground, but they're replaceable.
The girls, especially Jellybean, are having a harder time at their new school. She's being bullied. Not to the point we need to step in as parents, but just to the point that she's unsure of how to react and is not enthused about dealing with this girl. I try so hard not to helicopter-parent. Kids have to learn how to deal, you know? So often nowadays parents swoop in at the first sign of distress, and what does that really accomplish? A generation of soon-to-be-adults with zero problem-solving abilities, that's what!
(Oh goodness, I'm sounding old. Cue the granny on a rocker, telling all the young-uns how it was done in her day......)
But it's easier said than done, to let them work it out on their own, when it's your little girl crying on your lap. So I did what I do best. I found a book. It's all about bullies and how tween girls can approach the situation. She's read that thing at least twice since Saturday, and she and Miss Florida sat outside in the rare sun breaks over the weekend, reading it aloud to each other. That reminds me, I snapped a few black-mail pictures of their impromptu picnic in the driveway that I need to get uploaded to my computer, but I digress.
Then that evening, I sat down (in my rocker) and told her all about my own experiences being bullied and picked on as a kid. How we dealt with it on our own, but always knew that we had grown-ups that had our backs if we needed help or to talk. And how sometimes the bullies chased us home after school. Through the snow. Uphill. Both ways. With no shoes.
Yep, I'm becoming a geezer, and proud of it.
I might be more inclined to update if there was, well, an update. Not much has changed on the house. We had another BPO about a week ago. Today we were told the file is back with the specialist, and that this is a good sign that "we might just be nearing the decisioning process," according to the mitigator doing the back and forth for us. We've heard it before, so I promise you I'm not sitting here turning blue as I anxiously await their response with bated breath.
Otherwise, we are continuing to settle into the new place. Spring is refusing to make an appearance here (it snowed again this morning in the surrounding areas!!!!), but I'm forging ahead without it, planting a few small plants I picked up on a sale a couple of weeks ago. They'll probably die, but it made me feel good to get out and plant them, so if they survive it's all gravy. Yesterday, Mr. Four Walls transplanted the Hydrangeas -my absolute favorite shrub- from the old house to the new, redoing a bit of one of the front flower beds. I'm not sure how they'll fare having been unceremoniously yanked from the ground, but they're replaceable.
The girls, especially Jellybean, are having a harder time at their new school. She's being bullied. Not to the point we need to step in as parents, but just to the point that she's unsure of how to react and is not enthused about dealing with this girl. I try so hard not to helicopter-parent. Kids have to learn how to deal, you know? So often nowadays parents swoop in at the first sign of distress, and what does that really accomplish? A generation of soon-to-be-adults with zero problem-solving abilities, that's what!
(Oh goodness, I'm sounding old. Cue the granny on a rocker, telling all the young-uns how it was done in her day......)
But it's easier said than done, to let them work it out on their own, when it's your little girl crying on your lap. So I did what I do best. I found a book. It's all about bullies and how tween girls can approach the situation. She's read that thing at least twice since Saturday, and she and Miss Florida sat outside in the rare sun breaks over the weekend, reading it aloud to each other. That reminds me, I snapped a few black-mail pictures of their impromptu picnic in the driveway that I need to get uploaded to my computer, but I digress.
Then that evening, I sat down (in my rocker) and told her all about my own experiences being bullied and picked on as a kid. How we dealt with it on our own, but always knew that we had grown-ups that had our backs if we needed help or to talk. And how sometimes the bullies chased us home after school. Through the snow. Uphill. Both ways. With no shoes.
Yep, I'm becoming a geezer, and proud of it.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Two Steps Forward. One Step Back.
Last week we were expecting to finally have something resembling an answer from the bank. Alas, as in so many other areas of life, expectations in this process are a set-up for disappointments....
Instead of a yes, no, or even a maybe, we were told that instead of evaluating us for a short-sale they are now "required" to evaluate us for a loan modification. The same loan modification that we have been told previously that would not work in our situation. The same loan modification that the bank themselves told us they wouldn't consider us for previously.
It will take them another 30 or so days to work through that process. Once they determine that a modification will not work - and if they can do math at all they will see that it can't - then the file will go back to the decisioning process for the short-sale.
One step back.
Technically, our contract with the buyers expired this week. If they walked, as the previous buyers did, that could have been a giant step back. However, they and their agent requested to extend the closing date to on or before July 23rd! So obviously they are still hanging on. It's not a guarantee that they won't change their minds at some point, of course, but it is a positive move for now.
Two steps forward. Hopefully.
As for the rest of life in general, we're settling in to the rental fairly well. It's pretty cramped, but since it's very similar in square footage and lay-out to the first house Mr. Four Walls and I purchased - the home to which we brought newborns Jellybean and Miss Florida - it's not been too much of a challenge to cram in all five of us. There have been a few trips to Ikea, the storage Mecca, since in small spaces the only way to go is up! Wall shelving, bins, and some do-it-yourself honey-do items for Mr. Four Walls should get us out of the last few remaining boxes soon. We scored on some Ikea shelving in the as-is section for the corner of our bedroom - now referred to as The Office - and Mr. Four Walls is going to build in a customized desk top. Once it's all done I need to post some photos.
The other BIG item on the horizon is that we're coming up on the end of our arrangement with our current sitter. Childcare issues....again. The bane of my existence lately, especially since my heart isn't in it. I don't want to find childcare. I want to be home. Peanut is 18 months old today, if you can believe it. The time has gone so fast, and as I look back on the past year and a half, I remember so little of her teeny days. I can remember so much of Jellybean's and Miss Florida's, almost like it they were yesterday, but the fact of the matter is that I wasn't with Peanut much to make those kind of memories, and that breaks my heart. We're doing some serious soul-searching, budget-crunching, and God-seeking as we try to move towards a decision: find new care for the kids, or quit my job?????
If I do leave my great job - and it is a great job - I will still need to bring in an income. One big option on the table is for me to open a small in-home daycare, and I'm thoroughly researching this option. I can also flip burgers or wait tables every evening and weekend, basically putting me and Mr. Four Walls on opposite schedules. There are pros to cons to both options, so more decisions.
Big Decisions. That seems to be all that our lives are about lately, and as we make them we pray that they're the two-steps forward kind, not the one (or two, or five) step back sort.
Instead of a yes, no, or even a maybe, we were told that instead of evaluating us for a short-sale they are now "required" to evaluate us for a loan modification. The same loan modification that we have been told previously that would not work in our situation. The same loan modification that the bank themselves told us they wouldn't consider us for previously.
It will take them another 30 or so days to work through that process. Once they determine that a modification will not work - and if they can do math at all they will see that it can't - then the file will go back to the decisioning process for the short-sale.
One step back.
Technically, our contract with the buyers expired this week. If they walked, as the previous buyers did, that could have been a giant step back. However, they and their agent requested to extend the closing date to on or before July 23rd! So obviously they are still hanging on. It's not a guarantee that they won't change their minds at some point, of course, but it is a positive move for now.
Two steps forward. Hopefully.
As for the rest of life in general, we're settling in to the rental fairly well. It's pretty cramped, but since it's very similar in square footage and lay-out to the first house Mr. Four Walls and I purchased - the home to which we brought newborns Jellybean and Miss Florida - it's not been too much of a challenge to cram in all five of us. There have been a few trips to Ikea, the storage Mecca, since in small spaces the only way to go is up! Wall shelving, bins, and some do-it-yourself honey-do items for Mr. Four Walls should get us out of the last few remaining boxes soon. We scored on some Ikea shelving in the as-is section for the corner of our bedroom - now referred to as The Office - and Mr. Four Walls is going to build in a customized desk top. Once it's all done I need to post some photos.
The other BIG item on the horizon is that we're coming up on the end of our arrangement with our current sitter. Childcare issues....again. The bane of my existence lately, especially since my heart isn't in it. I don't want to find childcare. I want to be home. Peanut is 18 months old today, if you can believe it. The time has gone so fast, and as I look back on the past year and a half, I remember so little of her teeny days. I can remember so much of Jellybean's and Miss Florida's, almost like it they were yesterday, but the fact of the matter is that I wasn't with Peanut much to make those kind of memories, and that breaks my heart. We're doing some serious soul-searching, budget-crunching, and God-seeking as we try to move towards a decision: find new care for the kids, or quit my job?????
If I do leave my great job - and it is a great job - I will still need to bring in an income. One big option on the table is for me to open a small in-home daycare, and I'm thoroughly researching this option. I can also flip burgers or wait tables every evening and weekend, basically putting me and Mr. Four Walls on opposite schedules. There are pros to cons to both options, so more decisions.
Big Decisions. That seems to be all that our lives are about lately, and as we make them we pray that they're the two-steps forward kind, not the one (or two, or five) step back sort.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Completely Unrelated, But Oh So Important!
As most of you know, I am the mom to a preemie. A beautiful, strong, and very blessed preemie that now, as she nears her seventh birthday, shows no signs of the chaos and anxiety that surrounded her unexpected early birth.
You also probably know that I went on to have a full-term, perfect little girl in late 2009. What you might not know is that to do so, I received weekly hormone injections to help my body regulate and defen...d against the preterm labor that afflicted me with my second daughter (and likely with my first, although we were lucky with her and hindsight is 20-20). I certainly still dealt with the preterm labor, but thanks to these injections, my body was able to sustain the pregnancy all the way to my due date.
Now, this injection - through unneeded government regulation and corporate greed - will become unavailable to a vast majority of women who truly need it. While I know I will not need this drug again (done with babies!) my heart aches for all the other women out there with histories like mine that now have to choose between taking a gamble, paying $30,000 for a course of the drug that currently costs most women $200, or not grow their families at all.
Below are excerpts from a letter written by the doctor of a dear friend of mine on this issue. Please read it and take action on behalf of all of the preemies you know, here on earth or in heaven. If this current course is not altered, the positive outcome I and so many other moms of preemies were able to experience with our subsequent births will become all the more rare.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support through the journey that has brought Mike and me into this "club" of preemie-parents. I hope we can count on your continued support now.
Sincerely,
Nancy
"As many of you have become aware, KV Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval
to be the exclusive distributor for P17. They are planning to charge $1500 per
injection for a total cost, per pregnancy, of $30,000!!!!
The current cost is $10 per injection, or $200 per pregnancy.
There are several points that I would like to emphasize.
The rationale for a commercial manufacturer is to ensure a standard
concentration. In theory, this can be a problem with compounding pharmacies
although the vast majority of the compounding pharmacies producing this product
that present have extremely exacting standard. The March of Dimes has,
unfortunately, bought into this rationale with absolutely no proof that a
variation in strength is of any clinical significance. By law, once a drug is
commercially available, compounding pharmacies must stop production of that
drug.
We have been using P17 for the past ten years from these compounding pharmacies
with obvious beneficial effect. So where is the rationale for this change?
March of Dimes receives several million dollars a year in support from KV
Pharmaceuticals - I wonder why! This suggests to me that March of Dimes can be
bought. I, personally, have informed the March of Dimes that I am ceasing all
support of their organization, financial and otherwise, until they divorce
themselves from KV Pharmaceuticals and support for Makena. They do not realize
that they are going to cause an increase in the preterm birth rate, not a
decrease. At best, there will be no change other that a massive over-expenditure
of health-care dollars.
You have seen the propaganda stating that no-one will be denied the medication
because of ability to pay. However, what they don't tell you is that they are
going to use very strict criteria. In essence, the only women who will qualify
is those who have had a prior preterm birth before 32 weeks secondary to preterm
labor. To illustrate this more fully, Aetna/US Health care (one of the largest
insurers in the country) covers this therapy when patients meet their strict
criteria. Currently, they are paying for P17 for only 1,000 women nationwide per
year! There are 4.2 million births in the US annually. 10 - 15%, or 420,000 to
610,000 are premature. And Aetna is only going to cover 1,000 of these women.
30% of all prenatal care is covered by Medicaid. An additional 10% is covered by
charity care. KV is going to insist that since this care is not coming out of
the patient's pocket, the cost should be borne by Medicaid and charity care.
Currently, we can provide good prenatal care for about $2,000 per pregnancy. So
for every patient placed on P17, we have to somehow find away to cover an
additional 15 pregnant patients. And who pays the medicaid and charity care bill?
We all do through higher taxes and higher healthcare premiums!
Studies show that approximately 30 women need to be treated with P17 to prevent
one preterm birth. At $200 per patient, this is very cost effective. That is an
expenditure of $6,000 to save the average of $51,000 per preterm delivery. With
current pricing, we will have to spend $9 million dollars in P17 therapy to save
$51,000. Does this make sense? And people want to know why health care costs so
much.
Most of you (greater than 90%) who will be on P17 now will be faced with doing
without or paying $1500 per injection out-of-pocket. If you are currently on
this medication, make sure that your doctors order enough for you right away to
cover the entire pregnancy. You could have as little as one week. If you are
early in pregnancy or planning a pregnancy soon, talk to your doctors about
getting this now to have on hand. Most suppliers warrant the drug to be
effective for one year.
So, what can you do?
Firstly, contact KV Pharmaceutical and voice your displeasure:
Second, notify your local media outlets about this issue.
Third, write or email your congressman and senator.
Fourth, contact the FDA and find out why they elected to give KV exclusivity for
this product. Competition will bring down the price dramatically.
Fifth, write to the president.
Sixth, contact your state Medicaid offices and your insurance carriers. Get them
involved.
Seventh, get as many of your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. as
possible to do the above.
Eighth, feel free to cut/paste/email the above to as many contacts as you can.
Let's make this issue go viral!
If we can get enough of a protest mounted, we stand a chance of averting this
"rape" of the healthcare system that is motivated almost entirely by a profit
motive. Even if KV decides to not manufacture the drug for fear of losing money,
we will be better off than with what they are currently planning.
Thank you."
You also probably know that I went on to have a full-term, perfect little girl in late 2009. What you might not know is that to do so, I received weekly hormone injections to help my body regulate and defen...d against the preterm labor that afflicted me with my second daughter (and likely with my first, although we were lucky with her and hindsight is 20-20). I certainly still dealt with the preterm labor, but thanks to these injections, my body was able to sustain the pregnancy all the way to my due date.
Now, this injection - through unneeded government regulation and corporate greed - will become unavailable to a vast majority of women who truly need it. While I know I will not need this drug again (done with babies!) my heart aches for all the other women out there with histories like mine that now have to choose between taking a gamble, paying $30,000 for a course of the drug that currently costs most women $200, or not grow their families at all.
Below are excerpts from a letter written by the doctor of a dear friend of mine on this issue. Please read it and take action on behalf of all of the preemies you know, here on earth or in heaven. If this current course is not altered, the positive outcome I and so many other moms of preemies were able to experience with our subsequent births will become all the more rare.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support through the journey that has brought Mike and me into this "club" of preemie-parents. I hope we can count on your continued support now.
Sincerely,
Nancy
"As many of you have become aware, KV Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval
to be the exclusive distributor for P17. They are planning to charge $1500 per
injection for a total cost, per pregnancy, of $30,000!!!!
The current cost is $10 per injection, or $200 per pregnancy.
There are several points that I would like to emphasize.
The rationale for a commercial manufacturer is to ensure a standard
concentration. In theory, this can be a problem with compounding pharmacies
although the vast majority of the compounding pharmacies producing this product
that present have extremely exacting standard. The March of Dimes has,
unfortunately, bought into this rationale with absolutely no proof that a
variation in strength is of any clinical significance. By law, once a drug is
commercially available, compounding pharmacies must stop production of that
drug.
We have been using P17 for the past ten years from these compounding pharmacies
with obvious beneficial effect. So where is the rationale for this change?
March of Dimes receives several million dollars a year in support from KV
Pharmaceuticals - I wonder why! This suggests to me that March of Dimes can be
bought. I, personally, have informed the March of Dimes that I am ceasing all
support of their organization, financial and otherwise, until they divorce
themselves from KV Pharmaceuticals and support for Makena. They do not realize
that they are going to cause an increase in the preterm birth rate, not a
decrease. At best, there will be no change other that a massive over-expenditure
of health-care dollars.
You have seen the propaganda stating that no-one will be denied the medication
because of ability to pay. However, what they don't tell you is that they are
going to use very strict criteria. In essence, the only women who will qualify
is those who have had a prior preterm birth before 32 weeks secondary to preterm
labor. To illustrate this more fully, Aetna/US Health care (one of the largest
insurers in the country) covers this therapy when patients meet their strict
criteria. Currently, they are paying for P17 for only 1,000 women nationwide per
year! There are 4.2 million births in the US annually. 10 - 15%, or 420,000 to
610,000 are premature. And Aetna is only going to cover 1,000 of these women.
30% of all prenatal care is covered by Medicaid. An additional 10% is covered by
charity care. KV is going to insist that since this care is not coming out of
the patient's pocket, the cost should be borne by Medicaid and charity care.
Currently, we can provide good prenatal care for about $2,000 per pregnancy. So
for every patient placed on P17, we have to somehow find away to cover an
additional 15 pregnant patients. And who pays the medicaid and charity care bill?
We all do through higher taxes and higher healthcare premiums!
Studies show that approximately 30 women need to be treated with P17 to prevent
one preterm birth. At $200 per patient, this is very cost effective. That is an
expenditure of $6,000 to save the average of $51,000 per preterm delivery. With
current pricing, we will have to spend $9 million dollars in P17 therapy to save
$51,000. Does this make sense? And people want to know why health care costs so
much.
Most of you (greater than 90%) who will be on P17 now will be faced with doing
without or paying $1500 per injection out-of-pocket. If you are currently on
this medication, make sure that your doctors order enough for you right away to
cover the entire pregnancy. You could have as little as one week. If you are
early in pregnancy or planning a pregnancy soon, talk to your doctors about
getting this now to have on hand. Most suppliers warrant the drug to be
effective for one year.
So, what can you do?
Firstly, contact KV Pharmaceutical and voice your displeasure:
Second, notify your local media outlets about this issue.
Third, write or email your congressman and senator.
Fourth, contact the FDA and find out why they elected to give KV exclusivity for
this product. Competition will bring down the price dramatically.
Fifth, write to the president.
Sixth, contact your state Medicaid offices and your insurance carriers. Get them
involved.
Seventh, get as many of your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. as
possible to do the above.
Eighth, feel free to cut/paste/email the above to as many contacts as you can.
Let's make this issue go viral!
If we can get enough of a protest mounted, we stand a chance of averting this
"rape" of the healthcare system that is motivated almost entirely by a profit
motive. Even if KV decides to not manufacture the drug for fear of losing money,
we will be better off than with what they are currently planning.
Thank you."
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I'm the Decider.
It has been two weeks since my financial interview during which I was told we would know something in two to three weeks. Last week the file was passed on to the investor (Fannie Mae, in our case) for them to review as the bank is simply the loan servicer, and the update today is that it will be another week. It's being called The Decisioning Process and the file is reviewed by The Decisioner. This makes me giggle and envision someone wearing medieval executioner garb, sitting in a drab cubicle piled high with paperwork. At least they don't call him/her The Decider. Although, if GW is looking for a retirement gig, Fannie Mae might have an opening for him. They're certainly busy enough.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
More Progess
I received a call a few moments ago from a real estate agent hired by the bank to perform the BPO (Broker's Price Opinion). That's where an agent that so far has been uninvolved with the transaction is hired to do a comparative market valuation on the property as part of the bank's research and decision making process. She is at the house as I type. Please pray it comes in where we need it to (the buyer's offer or less) in order to get this ordeal to a positive completion point.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Path to Now, Part 5
I just realized that I never completely finished The Path to Now series. Really, I think most of you can fill in the blanks, but for finishing-sake, here it is.
Sweet Peanut was born September 26, 2009, and I returned to work full-time in early November, bringing her with me daily. That was both a blessing and a curse, as any working mom can probably imagine. The agreement with my boss was that I could bring her through mid-February, but I knew pretty early on that the arrangement wasn't going to work that long. It was so hard juggling her needs and the needs of my job, and I felt like I was never doing either well. However, we were at a loss for how we would pay for childcare, if we could even find one that we deemed acceptable. There are a lot of not-so-great day cares out there, if you weren't already aware!
While arranging to borrow some snow-gear for a trip to the mountains that winter, I mentioned to an acquaintance from church, a teacher taking some time off from work to care for her surprise third child, our difficulty in finding quality childcare for our newbie at a reasonable price. A week or so later, she contacted me to let me know that she really felt called to help us. Plus, she and her husband needed some work done on their house, so maybe we could pay her in services. We met together not too long later and decided to give it a go. Peanut began staying with her full-time while I worked in mid-January 2010, about 4 weeks before my deadline to find other arrangements.
The arrangement worked well for us, and I think it was generally positive for her and her family, too. However, we knew that it was somewhat temporary as we would eventually run out of projects we could do for payment, and she also had plans to return to school, potentially impacting her availability to care for Ellie by the end of the summer. The arrangement with Mr. Four Wall's mom was also nearing the end of its feasible life-span (and probably had already past it, if I'm being honest).
We spent the late winter and early spring of 2010 earnestly talking and praying on what direction to go. We knew God had given us this baby and put us exactly where we were for a reason. We also knew that our prayers for relief - for a return to normalcy - were not being answered, and we took that as Him telling us the solution required action from us beyond that which we'd already taken, that this was possibly our "new normal." For the time being, we were making it, but only on the generosity and blessing of others.
We took another long, hard look at our finances, cutting what little frivolity there was left in the budget. The numbers still didn't add up to begin paying for childcare for even one, let alone all three, of the children. We were both making relatively good money, towards the upper-ends of our positions. However, with ridiculous housing, childcare, commuting and health-insurance expenses, there was simply no way to make it all fit. Something had to give, and the only long-term solution we could see was cutting the housing expense.
We spent several weeks researching the value of our home, conferring with numerous real estate agents and meeting with an attorney to learn all of the ramifications of selling a home worth significantly less than we owed. We readied the house for the market (which also involved moving Mr. Four Wall's mom out, and losing childcare for the older two children, but that's a different story for another day). Then we took the leap. And that is where this blog began in June of 2010.
Sweet Peanut was born September 26, 2009, and I returned to work full-time in early November, bringing her with me daily. That was both a blessing and a curse, as any working mom can probably imagine. The agreement with my boss was that I could bring her through mid-February, but I knew pretty early on that the arrangement wasn't going to work that long. It was so hard juggling her needs and the needs of my job, and I felt like I was never doing either well. However, we were at a loss for how we would pay for childcare, if we could even find one that we deemed acceptable. There are a lot of not-so-great day cares out there, if you weren't already aware!
While arranging to borrow some snow-gear for a trip to the mountains that winter, I mentioned to an acquaintance from church, a teacher taking some time off from work to care for her surprise third child, our difficulty in finding quality childcare for our newbie at a reasonable price. A week or so later, she contacted me to let me know that she really felt called to help us. Plus, she and her husband needed some work done on their house, so maybe we could pay her in services. We met together not too long later and decided to give it a go. Peanut began staying with her full-time while I worked in mid-January 2010, about 4 weeks before my deadline to find other arrangements.
The arrangement worked well for us, and I think it was generally positive for her and her family, too. However, we knew that it was somewhat temporary as we would eventually run out of projects we could do for payment, and she also had plans to return to school, potentially impacting her availability to care for Ellie by the end of the summer. The arrangement with Mr. Four Wall's mom was also nearing the end of its feasible life-span (and probably had already past it, if I'm being honest).
We spent the late winter and early spring of 2010 earnestly talking and praying on what direction to go. We knew God had given us this baby and put us exactly where we were for a reason. We also knew that our prayers for relief - for a return to normalcy - were not being answered, and we took that as Him telling us the solution required action from us beyond that which we'd already taken, that this was possibly our "new normal." For the time being, we were making it, but only on the generosity and blessing of others.
We took another long, hard look at our finances, cutting what little frivolity there was left in the budget. The numbers still didn't add up to begin paying for childcare for even one, let alone all three, of the children. We were both making relatively good money, towards the upper-ends of our positions. However, with ridiculous housing, childcare, commuting and health-insurance expenses, there was simply no way to make it all fit. Something had to give, and the only long-term solution we could see was cutting the housing expense.
We spent several weeks researching the value of our home, conferring with numerous real estate agents and meeting with an attorney to learn all of the ramifications of selling a home worth significantly less than we owed. We readied the house for the market (which also involved moving Mr. Four Wall's mom out, and losing childcare for the older two children, but that's a different story for another day). Then we took the leap. And that is where this blog began in June of 2010.
Finally, Some Movement. Maybe. Hopefully.
Honestly, though, there's not been much to update. Every week we update our bank statements, pay-stubs, etc, and every week we're told the "file is in review." In the past two weeks, however there have been signs, albeit small ones, that there might be an end in sight. The bank has started requesting specific documents, which might not seem like much but it shows that someone with half-a-brain has at least physically looked at our file. Unfortunately, some of the documents they've requested don't exist. Details, details.
Then this week we were asked to contact the bank directly to complete another "financial interview" before the file moves on to the next step. So, instead of spending this beautiful, rare, snowed-in morning frolicking in the flakes with my kids, I got the baby down for a nap, "gently" nudged the older girls out the door to play in the snow, and called the bank. Here's a play-by-play of the psychological warfare that ensued:
10:10 a.m. Entered phone-tree hell, where none of the options even remotely matched the reason for my call.
10:20 a.m. After pressing a string of phone-tree prompts that more closely resembled the picks to next weeks lotto drawing, "Brandy" very nicely and professionally answered the line. She verified my identity, pulled open my file and said she'd transfer me to the correct representative to conduct the interview. "It should only take a few minutes."
10:21 a.m. Placed on hold to await said interview and to enjoy obnoxiously loud jazz-guitar Muzak.
10:33 a.m. Muzak ceased and the phone rang. And rang. And rang. And rang.
10:34 a.m. Ringing ceased and Muzak resumed.
10:38 a.m. "Keith" answered, confirmed my identity again, and asked "Didn't you already talk to someone?" I outlined the above experience. He replied "Well, I've got good news for you! Are you ready for it?" "Sure," was my reply. "I'm going to transfer you over to do the interview now." How is that good news??????
10:39 a.m. Muzak resumed.
10:45 a.m. A friendly rep came on the line, but failed to give me her name. She simply asked what she can do for me. Thinking I've again been bumped back to the beginning of the line I impatiently outlined the above. She informed me that she is indeed the person to whom I need to speak. Then she abruptly placed me on hold. Cue Muzak.
10:48 a.m. Same friendly rep returned to the line. I asked her name. "Ann" then launched into a series of questions to "clarify" the information we've been submitting every month since September. I answered them as thoroughly as possible.
"How much is your cable bill?" "We don't have cable," was my reply. "You don't have cable?" she asked, astonished. "No."
I then had to explain in detail the health of our state's unemployment funds, and the unique program in which Mr. Four Wall's employer is enrolled, allowing him to receive supplemental wages when his regular job falls below a certain threshold in hours. She again was astonished, and launched into the health - or lack thereof - of Michigan's economy.
A few more questions followed where she needed me to verbally state exactly what is on the paper in front of her. Childcare expenses are pure-daycare, no alimony or child support. Garbage is x amount per month. No, there is no sewer bill because the house is on a septic system. And again, no, we don't have cable.
She indicated that's all for now. Oh, wait she noticed that they don't have any bank statements of ours on file from December 2010. OK, we sent those on such-and-such a date, but I will re-submit tomorrow. Anything else?
No, nothing else is need from us for now. The file will now be passed onto a Short Sale Specialist for further review. From this point on, she said that the process should move rather swiftly, and that we should be notified of their decision in two or three weeks.
10:57 a.m. Call finally ended.
So....if you're a praying (or fingers-crossing, or rain-dancing, or voodoo-doll-poking type....) please do your thing. Decisions are going to be made by someone, somewhere, and their opinion will determine if we can come through this process with an undesirable short-sale on our history, or if we have to go towards the not-so-pleasant, much-more-serious foreclosure.
I'll keep you posted. Promise.
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