The basics of My Family's struggle and story

Hello everyone reading this, I promised a few days ago I would try and write up our personal story, but that has proven a much harder task than I had thought.  You see, in addition to not really being able to ask for help (much less like asking for help) I tend to fail at wording things right because I get too caught up in what other people who are reading things might feel or say.  More often than not, I then quit writing all together and just leave things alone.  But now we find ourselves in  the last laps of our lives here in our home and while I honestly think that there is now more of me that has no faith left in anything good happening for us, I realized that in the last three years I have had to write for the lenders and lawyers, a "hardship letter" to detail our why's, hows, and what we were doing to get out of this situation which is in fact our story.  So, before i talk myself out of it again, This is one version of our story, each letter has the same dates and basic info but after one or two times, you just lose some of the passion and emotion and try to get it done so you can send it over so its over.  But you should get the basics of what happened and how we find ourselves here today and knowing that there are so many other families who either have already lost their battle to keep their homes or like us are fighting to try and keep their homes, somehow helps us feel like we aren't the only ones who have fallen through the system holes, but also saddens me.  I wouldn't wish these least three years on anyone, ever.  So without further stalling, here is the letter, minus the signatures, and private info

Hardship Letter

The beginning of our hardship began in December of 2016, when the allowed time of 

being on the “Keep Your Home California” program ran out. We were so lucky to have found the 

program when we did, as my husband had left the security and financial safety of active duty status, for a dream job that allowed us to buy our very first home. The mortgage payment we are under, was based on that income, that was far more money each month than we had ever had since my husband and I first met. After just four short months on the job, my husband was unjustifiably laid off, which we let the mortgage company know right away. It was also at this time that we contacted the mortgage company to see what assistance they could offer us. Hour after hour, and day after day, my husband applied for and went to numerous job interviews. By the grace of god, thanks to us being misinformed on the property taxes we were paying, we had actually been overpaying and that money got us through the following month. 

Debts and overdue notices continued to pile up, and we were still not finding any help or anyone to work with us on the house, despite the emails and phone calls that I made and sent out every day. It wasn't until a few months later and additional phone calls to the mortgage company at that time, that our then mortgage company even informed us of the loan modification program. We quickly did as we were told, signed and forwarded all of the necessary paperwork to the mortgage company and advised the mortgage company at that time, that he had been offered a federal job which my husband took as soon as he received the offer. However, along with the change of presidency came the federal hiring freeze, which put another roadblock in our path. The government contractor advised us that they could not actually let him start his new position until the freeze was over. By now the house was now three months behind in payments, which we had to tell his future employer about in case it affected his getting into that position, who told us that since it wasn't yet in active foreclosure, it shouldn't hurt his starting the job (they were wrong!). 

At this time our mortgage put us on a forbearance plan, that gave us til September 1st to get him into the job and actively receiving his new pay. It was also when we were advised that if we needed to get an extension, because of the hiring freeze being what was stopping him from starting to get paid, that we could apply for an extension. Something we later were told was not possible and had been misinformed, that we would have to reapply BEFORE we at the end of our forbearance. We thought this nightmare would be over, and maybe just maybe, things would 

turn around for us. September 1st came around, all the while staying in touch with our mortgage 

company, and trying to sell whatever we could to try and stay afloat, and were informed that they 

(previous mortgage company) had begun the foreclosure process in July (while we were on the 

forbearance program). We were also told that we had to fill out a new modification packet, which we did. Shortly after submitting the new packet, we were told we were denied due to lack of income, even with the paperwork we had sent them priority mail, showing that his new income with this new job, would be more than enough to pay the payments, we were just waiting on the federal hiring freeze to end, and my husband was jumping through one hoop after another going to appointments and getting fingerprinted for this new position, as well as having the extensive background check done. 

This home is the first real home we have had. Never in a million years did I think we would come off of active duty service, and face the horrors and hardships that we have faced. As we were being tossed into foreclosure, the lack of income had now begun forcing us to not even be able to make partial payments on bills, and the overdue notices piled up. We were told by several representatives with the previous mortgage company, that they were not in the habit of taking homes and destroying lives, but at that point, as misinformation became a regular thing, and all the lies we were told, that's not what we felt was true, or happening. In fact, while they were telling us our packet was in review they actually sold our mortgage to a new company, completely blind siding us. We are and have done everything asked of us throughout this entire process, because we are desperate to keep our home. My husband is employed full time, and in addition to his disability pay, we are working on getting me on disability as well. 

Outside of our home, the only other possession of value that we own, is our car, so we have nothing really to sell. It was never our intention to purchase this home and default on it. While it is not our dream home, it was a dream come true for us and means everything to my family. It was supposed to be a start to a happier life together, and a chance for my as son to finish growing up and know what a real and stable home was like. This is not the life I wanted for my son, or any of us for that matter. The additional stress and worrying about us being homeless and out on the streets, since we literally have no where else to go, is for sure not what I wanted my son to ever endure. None of us are getting much sleep at night, as we all are now worrying about when we will hear if we get to keep our home. I had hoped that in him getting into this new job, that they would have worked with us, so we could get the house out of foreclosure, and so that my husband could begin working on his security clearance. This is something that he is trying to do right now, and the house being in the same position it was in before, is almost a guarantee that he will be denied until we get the house back on track. Having a security clearance, would put us in a far better financial state, and mean far more money each month and year than what he is making even now. 

This house is not just a house, it's a home, our home. One we have been desperately trying to keep for a while now. With all of the misinformation, lies, and stressing that we have endured in the past, I am still holding on to the faith and hope that things are in fact changing for the better, and soon On we will get good news for a change. The holidays are just around the corner, and last year was the first year we didn't celebrate a single one. This was the first time that none of my family felt there was anything to celebrate. We have in the past, and will continue to do everything we have to, to get things back on track and ensure that this never happens again. I hope that you and anyone who reads this, can dig down deep in your hearts to please work with us and help us. 

All that we want is to live the simple, healthy, and happy life that we have dreamed of since the day my husband first went into the military. I truly hope that anyone that reads this can understand that we intend on doing whatever we have to to keep our home and get our debts paid back down as quickly as possible. I look back at when we were in the process of buying this home, and our credit scores and how hard we worked to get them 1 

high enough to even make this home a reality in our lives. Please work with us, so that we can begin to turn things around, keep our home, and end this nightmare that is taking its toll on all of us.