LJ Idol Week 17: The Caged Bird
In 2002, I bought a $75K house for $68K. I thought it was a good deal.
I see people on TV talking about those of us feeling the hurt from the current financial crisis and the failing housing market. They talk about people who bought outside of their means. People who overspent on making their homes "nice." People who put themselves into debt and had no way to pay for the money they borrowed.
I am not one of those people.
Again, I mortgaged $68K. At the time, I made about $30K per year.
It is a two bedroom house. When I bought it, I already had a roommate lined up, Nikki. She and I had talked and she was going to pay me $100 per week for rent and utilities. Nikki's ex-roommate was moving in with her internet boyfriend, and so Nikki was moving in with me.
However, the internet boyfriend already had a real life live in girlfriend. One who didn't know he had internet girlfriends. His so-called "defense" was that he didn't think that Nikki's roommate was serious about moving in with him.
She then had nowhere to stay. She also moved in with me. She and Nikki split the $100 per week to $50 per week. But, then she moved away (to live with another internet boyfriend, although that one worked out for about 5 years) leaving me with $300 in past rent unpaid.
But, there were trying times. Expenses that I hadn't planned on. My car broke down, and I got one that was outside of my means and when that got repossessed it put a huge financial hole in my life.
I recovered. I got a new roommate, one who also paid the rent on time. The three of us lived happily for a time and while there were surprises, we dealt with it. I lived without a car for a while and while it wasn't easy to get around, it worked.
Then I went and got myself a crazy girlfriend. My girlfriend in 2005 drove my roommates away. She ran my utility bills up. I'll never forget her telling me in Jan 05 that the temperature of the house did not have anything to do with the gas and electric bills. My Feb 05 gas bill was over $500 when all previous years it had been under $200.
When I got rid of her that summer, it left me with no roommates. But, again, the house was financed in accordance to my income. I didn't "need" roommates to survive. And, once I got the bills back under control, I started rebuilding my savings.
Then, in 2007, I went into the hospital. A month off work exterminated my meager savings. No sooner did I recover my health, but the decline of the local economy drove my neighborhood from poor to desperate. From August to November I was the target of many break ins.
In 2008, my house insurance company decided that I was too great a risk. Even though I only claimed one of the three break ins on my policy, they no longer wanted me as a customer. They started making demands that I paint the rear deck, rebuild the back porch, etc. I spent hundreds of dollars, and many hours of my own and my friend's getting things done in the time they required.
When a hurricane came through town and dropped a power line in my backyard, shattering my electric meter, I was afraid to report it to insurance. I got a friend who is a journeyman electrician to do the repairs as cheaply as possible because of the money I had already recently spent.
Then, after all that, they dropped my coverage. Because I didn't also perform bullet point items on the second page, which they never sent me, they found me to be in non-compliance and canceled my policy.
In 2009, my replacement insurance company also saw fit to drop me. No reason given. But, this came after requiring that I trim my neighbor's tree (they said it was touching the house, it was not, but from one and only one specific angle it looked like it was,) replace my gutters (which had been repaired the year before and were not in need of replacement,) and something else that I have since forgotten what it was. Even though I did all they asked, they dropped me for non-compliance.
During this time, a squirrel has dug a nest for itself between the ceiling of my living room and the floor of my bedroom. But, because this has never appeared on a "must do or else there will be dire consequences" letter, it has had to be placed on the back burner. Every day when I get home, I hope the squirrel hasn't found a way into the living areas of my house.
Oh, and there is also the fact that my most recent roommate had to be evicted after going 6 months without paying me rent. That is $1,000 that I will never receive.
Now, consider the failing housing market that I mentioned back up at the start. My house is currently worth $40K. After making payments for the last 8 years, I now owe more than it is worth.
The original plan had been to live there for five to seven years before selling it to roll that investment into a better house closer to work. I was going to use the money that my roommates were paying to keep the house up, maybe improve on it here or there. But, that has never happened. In fact, now there is a lot in the house that needs to be repaired before I would feel comfortable trying to sell it. (The biggest of which is getting rid of the squirrel in the ceiling.)
But, as it is, I'm trapped. I am stuck living from paycheck to paycheck because the cost of my life has risen over the last four years while my pay has remained the same. For example, I spend $40 - $50 in gas every week. In 2006, I was spending closer to $20 per week. The same groceries that I bought for myself in 2006 for less than $100 per month now costs over $150 per month. The exact same foods.
My girlfriend is pressuring me to sell my house and move in with her. I believe that she thinks that I'm not willing to plan for the two of us to move in together. But, the simple fact is that if I sell my house for $35K tomorrow, then not only will I suddenly show twice as much income, but that money will never touch my fingers as it goes to pay the mortgage I still owe. A mortgage that I will still owe almost $15K on. Meaning that I will still be paying a mortgage, except on a house I don't own and can't live in.
At least one of my friends thinks that all of this is my own fault. I feel certain that another hears of the people who overextended themselves and believes that I am one of those people. Maybe many of you agree with them. After all, one never wants to think that they screwed themselves over. One never wants to believe that the cage is of their own making.
The sad thing, to me, is that I see two ways out of the cage. One is to get a better paying job. Something that instead of paying me $30K a year gives me $40K or so. The extra income could be put to work fixing up the things that need repaired and paying extra on the principal. That way, when I sell for a loss it isn't as catastrophic. Or, I wait until the housing market rebounds even just a little. I don't need to sell for what I bought it for, although that would be nice. But, at least sell for what I owe on it.
The problem is that both of those require time. The likelihood of me getting a better job in this economy is just as remote as the likelihood of property values increasing.
I just hope that CM is willing to give me the time I need. (And, that she isn't upset by me talking about this in public.)
Theno
I see people on TV talking about those of us feeling the hurt from the current financial crisis and the failing housing market. They talk about people who bought outside of their means. People who overspent on making their homes "nice." People who put themselves into debt and had no way to pay for the money they borrowed.
I am not one of those people.
Again, I mortgaged $68K. At the time, I made about $30K per year.
It is a two bedroom house. When I bought it, I already had a roommate lined up, Nikki. She and I had talked and she was going to pay me $100 per week for rent and utilities. Nikki's ex-roommate was moving in with her internet boyfriend, and so Nikki was moving in with me.
However, the internet boyfriend already had a real life live in girlfriend. One who didn't know he had internet girlfriends. His so-called "defense" was that he didn't think that Nikki's roommate was serious about moving in with him.
She then had nowhere to stay. She also moved in with me. She and Nikki split the $100 per week to $50 per week. But, then she moved away (to live with another internet boyfriend, although that one worked out for about 5 years) leaving me with $300 in past rent unpaid.
But, there were trying times. Expenses that I hadn't planned on. My car broke down, and I got one that was outside of my means and when that got repossessed it put a huge financial hole in my life.
I recovered. I got a new roommate, one who also paid the rent on time. The three of us lived happily for a time and while there were surprises, we dealt with it. I lived without a car for a while and while it wasn't easy to get around, it worked.
Then I went and got myself a crazy girlfriend. My girlfriend in 2005 drove my roommates away. She ran my utility bills up. I'll never forget her telling me in Jan 05 that the temperature of the house did not have anything to do with the gas and electric bills. My Feb 05 gas bill was over $500 when all previous years it had been under $200.
When I got rid of her that summer, it left me with no roommates. But, again, the house was financed in accordance to my income. I didn't "need" roommates to survive. And, once I got the bills back under control, I started rebuilding my savings.
Then, in 2007, I went into the hospital. A month off work exterminated my meager savings. No sooner did I recover my health, but the decline of the local economy drove my neighborhood from poor to desperate. From August to November I was the target of many break ins.
In 2008, my house insurance company decided that I was too great a risk. Even though I only claimed one of the three break ins on my policy, they no longer wanted me as a customer. They started making demands that I paint the rear deck, rebuild the back porch, etc. I spent hundreds of dollars, and many hours of my own and my friend's getting things done in the time they required.
When a hurricane came through town and dropped a power line in my backyard, shattering my electric meter, I was afraid to report it to insurance. I got a friend who is a journeyman electrician to do the repairs as cheaply as possible because of the money I had already recently spent.
Then, after all that, they dropped my coverage. Because I didn't also perform bullet point items on the second page, which they never sent me, they found me to be in non-compliance and canceled my policy.
In 2009, my replacement insurance company also saw fit to drop me. No reason given. But, this came after requiring that I trim my neighbor's tree (they said it was touching the house, it was not, but from one and only one specific angle it looked like it was,) replace my gutters (which had been repaired the year before and were not in need of replacement,) and something else that I have since forgotten what it was. Even though I did all they asked, they dropped me for non-compliance.
During this time, a squirrel has dug a nest for itself between the ceiling of my living room and the floor of my bedroom. But, because this has never appeared on a "must do or else there will be dire consequences" letter, it has had to be placed on the back burner. Every day when I get home, I hope the squirrel hasn't found a way into the living areas of my house.
Oh, and there is also the fact that my most recent roommate had to be evicted after going 6 months without paying me rent. That is $1,000 that I will never receive.
Now, consider the failing housing market that I mentioned back up at the start. My house is currently worth $40K. After making payments for the last 8 years, I now owe more than it is worth.
The original plan had been to live there for five to seven years before selling it to roll that investment into a better house closer to work. I was going to use the money that my roommates were paying to keep the house up, maybe improve on it here or there. But, that has never happened. In fact, now there is a lot in the house that needs to be repaired before I would feel comfortable trying to sell it. (The biggest of which is getting rid of the squirrel in the ceiling.)
But, as it is, I'm trapped. I am stuck living from paycheck to paycheck because the cost of my life has risen over the last four years while my pay has remained the same. For example, I spend $40 - $50 in gas every week. In 2006, I was spending closer to $20 per week. The same groceries that I bought for myself in 2006 for less than $100 per month now costs over $150 per month. The exact same foods.
My girlfriend is pressuring me to sell my house and move in with her. I believe that she thinks that I'm not willing to plan for the two of us to move in together. But, the simple fact is that if I sell my house for $35K tomorrow, then not only will I suddenly show twice as much income, but that money will never touch my fingers as it goes to pay the mortgage I still owe. A mortgage that I will still owe almost $15K on. Meaning that I will still be paying a mortgage, except on a house I don't own and can't live in.
At least one of my friends thinks that all of this is my own fault. I feel certain that another hears of the people who overextended themselves and believes that I am one of those people. Maybe many of you agree with them. After all, one never wants to think that they screwed themselves over. One never wants to believe that the cage is of their own making.
The sad thing, to me, is that I see two ways out of the cage. One is to get a better paying job. Something that instead of paying me $30K a year gives me $40K or so. The extra income could be put to work fixing up the things that need repaired and paying extra on the principal. That way, when I sell for a loss it isn't as catastrophic. Or, I wait until the housing market rebounds even just a little. I don't need to sell for what I bought it for, although that would be nice. But, at least sell for what I owe on it.
The problem is that both of those require time. The likelihood of me getting a better job in this economy is just as remote as the likelihood of property values increasing.
I just hope that CM is willing to give me the time I need. (And, that she isn't upset by me talking about this in public.)
Theno