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Moving On – Part III: Know Your Rights!!!

August 17, 1012 – I have been so hyped about moving but it seems like I am in “hurry up and wait” mode. Time just seems to drag on and on and I feel like I am living in limbo.

With less than two weeks before my move, the A/C has stopped working! Its the middle of August in Georgia!!! Are you kidding me? Seriously?!!!

A close friend of the family came out to the house to diagnose the issue. Guess what? It’s the compressor and the recommendation is to replace the entire unit. I scoffed at the idea. Why would I shell out close to $3,000 on an A/C unit for this house?

You’re right, I wouldn’t. Instead, I took my happy hind parts right to Wal-Mart and purchased a fan to place in the bedroom window. Between it and the oscillating fan I already have, I should be able to survive a couple of weeks. I will just live in my bedroom.

Only a few days into living with no A/C, I come home to find a locksmith in my driveway. As I am pulling into the garage, I stop to ask him what the hell was he doing. In broken English, he asked if this was 5721 Blank-Blank Drive to which I replied, “Yes, it is.” Long story short – The house sold during the foreclosure sale on the courthouse steps on 8/7 and this guy was here to change the locks. He proceeded to ask if I wanted to speak with his boss on the phone and I told him hell no with a rather indignant tone. (This would haunt me hours later.)

Can you say PANIC?!! Freaked the f**k out?!! Especially after receiving misinformation from a friend, who previously worked in the mortgage industry, that the sheriff might show up at the front door the next morning to put me out. Even knowing in my heart of heart that this couldn’t be legal, I panicked.

My plans were in place to move but that was not scheduled for another two weeks. How in the world would I, could I, get my things out by morning? I spent the next several hours on the phone with family lining up contingency plans. I paced the floors in the hot ass hallway of that house for hours – worried. When I finally got in bed, I sat there rocking and literally wringing my hands – panic stricken. Why didn’t I talk to the guy’s boss on the phone? This is the price of indignant pride Chocl8t!!!!

As I sat there I had a lucid moment when I decided to turn on my laptop and go to Google. Having been a landlord before, I was vaguely familiar with Georgia eviction laws as they related to landlord/tenants but how that applied to mortgage foreclosures was foreign to me.

After some digging and researching the internet in the wee house of the morning, I found out that when a home is foreclosed, the individual owner becomes a tenant and the mortgage company, or property buyer, becomes the landlord. The landlord must abide by and follow Georgia laws and follow the eviction process. Considering the fact that I had not been served with an eviction notice, the sheriff would not be knocking on my door in the next few hours. That at least allowed me to sleep for about three hours.

I was on the phone by 9:00 am making calls to the attorney’s office that handled the foreclosure. As it turned out, a property management company purchased the house. It took several calls but I was able to reach the point of contact, Mr. Goldstein, located here in the Atlanta area. After explaining to him what happened the night before, he apologized profusely stating he had information the property was vacant. Oh yeah, the locksmith had already drilled out the lock on the back door!

I informed Mr. Goldstein of my plans to move but not before he asked if I wanted to stay and rent the place. Apparently, this is the new trend in the metro Atlanta area. Investment companies and property management companies are buying foreclosed properties and renting the homes, in many instances, to the previous owner. Experts point to this as one reason for the recent up-tick in home prices here in Atlanta. It has its pros and cons. You can read about it HERE.

Although the crisis was averted I changed my moved date to 7 days earlier. Lucky for me the tenants at the new place moved sooner than expected and had it clean and ready to move in!

Yeah…time to get the hell out of Dodge!!

Moving On – Part II: You’re Fired!!

The decision to walk away proved easier than finding another place to live where this foreclosure would not be an issue.

It all started with me firing my real estate agent, Mona B, of 2 1/2 years. I should have cut ties with her last winter when she pushed me off on her “assistant” so she could cater to one of her investment clients. To call the assistant inept is a compliment. We will call her “Kay” simply because I can’t remember her real name.

Kay was tasked with removing the lockbox from my front door because the heat between the glass storm door and the metal front door caused it to malfunction. We agreed on a day and time that she was to come to the house. I made it perfectly clear that I would not be available until after noon so we settled on 12:30 pm. So why did she call me at 10:00 am to inform me she was on her way to my house?

Kay: This is Kay. I’m on my way to your house to remove the lockbox.
Me: Uhm, No. You’re not on you way to my house. I’m not at home. Didn’t we agree on 12:30?
Kay: Well I got out of church early. How long do you thin you’ll be because I’m just 20 minutes away.
Me: I won’t be back until 12:30.
Kay: Oh.
*Long pause. Deafening silence*
Me: Okay. See you then.
*I hang up*

There were several other “incidents” with Kay that left my blood boiling. I could never reach her boss, Mona B, on the phone. I would leave messages and she would have Kay call me back. Frustrating and infuriating to say the least.

When I finally spoke to Mona B she admitted putting, not only me but other clients also, on the back burner to attend to her investment client who was spending a crap load of money. Even though she apologized, I should have fired her then, but I didn’t.

It took for this to happen again that I cut all ties with her. The second incident is just as bizarre and left me feeling like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

I met an agent on one of my previous visits to see a rental property. Kristy gave me her card and said if there was anything I needed to call and she would help. Well, I called and explained my situation. (House in foreclosure, employed, need a rental.) She basically called me a “disgruntled” homeowner, let it be known that agents make little to no money on rentals, and she could send me a few listings but that was about it.

Well, alrighty then. Her honesty hit me between the eyes like a brick. Ol’ bitch.

But as fate, or luck, would have it, I met another R/E agent who was more than happy to help me find a new place to call home. We met when I called to inquire about a property listed by the broker who employed him. It took me and Jimmy B about 2 1/2 weeks to find the perfect spot in Midtown. But not before I was turned down and turned away by two other prospective landlords.

I was upfront abut my situation, the impending foreclosure, because I thought it better they knew going in and before pulling my credit. After providing all of my personal and financial information, which included pay stubs, one landlord wanted to know why I take “married” deductions but stated I was “single” on the rental application. How did he think that was any of his business or how it related to me paying rent was beyond my understanding. My application was denied.

The other property management company for another property would not even take my rental application after I disclosed the foreclosure. As common as foreclosures are these days and the staggering number of people in similar situation to mine, this left me stupefied…not to mention discouraged.

However, all was not lost. The listing agent of my new place welcomed my application knowing the situation. Her words to me, “Their loss is my gain.”

Midtown, here I come!! My commute will be cut in half! HALF EDDIE!! From 50 miles and 1 hour 15 minutes (on a good day, which is rare in Atlanta traffic) to 26 miles and 40 minutes!!!

I am beyond excited nor can I wait to move!!!

Moving On – Part I: No Easy Decision

August 6, 2012 – In less than a month, I will move out of the house I’ve called home for the last 11 years and 2 months. It has been he longest I’ve lived in one place my entire life.

When I purchased my home in June 2001, cable lines had not yet been buried, the subdivision was very diverse, and seeing deer in the yard wasn’t a rare occasion. With the fast paced development between 2001 and 2008, all of that changed. My home sits on nearly a half acre with three bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, dining room, and family room with an unfinished basement and a HUGE garage. It was more house than I needed out in B.F.E., East Bumblefuck, but it was what I could afford at the time.

I took my time and decorated it with warm colors and comfortable furniture. I installed every blind, window treatment and painted the walls. Truthfully, every painting project, with one exception, was done after a painful break-up – there were only two but I managed to cover a lot of walls while working through the sadness.

The first five years I had the best looking yard in the subdivision. I spent a lot of time caring for and nurturing my lawn and garden. I loved every minute of it!

I have hosted a few memorable parties with close friends and family as well as providing a few of them with a place to live during their periods of life transitions.

Several years ago I realized my commute had greatly diminished my quality of life. Driving 100+ miles roundtrip every day meant I spent approximately 15-18 hours a week in my car – that’s a part-time job!! I was tired and frustrated. So I put the house on the market in 2010 – the timing could not have been worse.

The real estate agent I enlisted to sell my home assured me she ad the experience and skills needed to get it sold, even in a soft market. Foolishly, I believed her and here I sit 2 1/2 years later.

Like millions of other homeowners in the US, my home’s value was hit hard when the economy tanked in 2008. My small subdivision of 24 homes has seen its fair share of foreclosures subsequently causing a 45-50% loss in home values. After having my home on the market for 2+ years, in March I made the business decision to walk away – to let it go into foreclosure.

This was not an easy decision and one I came to after the bank refused to agree to a short sale since I wasn’t faced with a financial hardship (i.e. job loss). A loan modification wasn’t a viable option because most come with clauses that you have to remain in the house for at least 5 years.

Now I begin the next chapter of my life. At a time when most my age would be content, I am downsizing and purging. Purging more than just material possessions, but that is another topic for a different day.

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Hey!!! I Remember You…

Hey!!! I remember you little chocolate girl with the long fingers, spindly legs and knobby knees. It seems like your appendages were outgrowing the rest of you by leaps and bounds!

You begged your mother for piano lessons although she tried, unsuccessfully, to get you to take dance lessons. You were too shy for that though. A shy bookworm who didn’t need to be entertained and loved being alone.

So naive. You thought the neighborhood boy, Bryon W., asked you to be his girlfriend when what he really asked for was some “booty“. Remember how insulted you felt? You went home and told your mom with that “how dare he” indignation in your voice. You were only 8 years old and he was too mannish for his own good!

You were a perfect mix of girly girl and tomboy. Sunday mornings would find you decked out in your frilly dress, ankle socks with the lace trimming, and patent leather Mary Janes headed to church with “Mudda”. But later that day you were playing touch football in the middle of the street with Edwin, Edward, Kevin, and Emmanuel.

You could run, throw, and catch the ball with the best of them…up until that very last pass. It came spiraling through the air and positioning yourself perfectly, you caught the ball…your newly developing boobies absorbing the impact. O.U.C.H!!!! Dropping the ball, you declared, “I QUIT!” and ran home leaving the boys standing there in the middle of the street dumbfounded. However, there were still lizards to dissect, tadpoles to catch, and trying, unsuccessfully, to coach a turtle out of it’s shell. Little league softball at the neighborhood park was short lived though…you couldn’t bat the ball worth a dime!

To call you a Daddy’s girl was an understatement. You would take off running for home after hearing his signature whistle signaling it was time to come inside from playing, as if the street lights weren’t warning enough.

Let me tell you a few things sugah…don’t ever lose your passion for reading and when you discover writing – keep doing that too. That attraction you have for the odd ball eccentric loner kids in class…keep that too because you will find that they are the most interesting people. Oh yeah, and that affinity you have to empathize and relate to those emotionally fragile souls…you’ll keep that too.

Eventually you will grow to hate your holiday birthday but enjoy it now with your friends eating cake and ice cream because soon they will prefer the company of boys/men on Valentine’s Day. But don worry, you will experience some awesome friendships along the way with some equally awesome girls/women.

That feeling of “not quite belonging” and that persistent pull that “there’s something else out there” will prompt you to move out of state, traveling to different destinations culminating with a burning desire to live abroad.

And guess what? You will do that too!!

We will do it! I’ll take you with me.

You’re always with me…that little chocl8t girl with the long fingers, spindly legs and knobby knees.

BOOM!!! Just Like That…

Before Tuesday, August 7th, had you heard the names of Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper or Kellie Wells? What about Lolo Jones?

If you are a casual follower of Track & Field competitors, and by casual I mean rarely until Olympic season, the answer to the first question is probably ‘No’. But we’ve all heard and seen Lolo Jones.

This post was prompted by a Twitter exchange with @HumanityCritic that began with the following tweet.

That was his reaction to an interview Harper and Wells did with NBC’s Michelle Beadle. (Click HERE to watch the video.)

Initially, I totally disagreed with @HumanityCritic about his assertion this amounted to nothing more than a catfight. I blame the media for hyping their chosen favorite, Lolo Jones, although statistically she trailed both Harper and Wells. Although I understand Harper’s & Well’s frustration, the situation could have been handled more…diplomatically. But, I get it and I think I would have responded in similar fashion.

Jones, Harper, & Wells

So ask yourself why did MSM (mainstream media) give all the praise and coverage to Jones leading up to the Olympics?

Yes, she has an “interesting” story…raised by a single mom with five children, lived in a church basement, father in prison, attended 8 schools in 8 years, and she’s still a virgin. A great boot strap story right? Agreed.

Compare it to Kellie Wells’ story…raped by her mother’s boyfriend/fiancé as a teen, moved out of the home to escape and a month later both her mother and the boyfriend die in a tragic car accident.

Dawn Harper’s story…no real personal tragedies but she did manage to compete mere months after having knee surgery.

Equally compelling stories.

So again, ask yourself why all the Lolo hype? Is it because her story “played” better and she is more “relatable“? And by relatable I mean not as black. Is it because Lolo is considered to be more “marketable“? And by more marketable I mean not as black.

Well, I don’t have to ask because I think I already know…after all this is MSM we’re talking about. But I would be remissed not to call a spade a spade.

Boom!! Just like that…

@HumanityCritic thinks both Wells and Harper have “tarnished the possibility to get the kind of shine they deserve” and sadly enough, I agree. However, that might have its advantages for their respective families who can possibly avoid the media attention and scrutiny into their personal and private affairs as is the case with Gabby Douglas’ & Ryan Lochte‘s families.

Let Lolo Jones bask in the glare of the spotlight which will eventually grow dim and fade away because Dawn Harper’s and Kellie Wells’ name will forever be etched in Olympic history as silver and bronze medal winners.

BOOM!! Just like that…

***UPDATE***

It would appear that Danielle C. Belton over at Clutch Magazine has echoed my sentiments more in depth hits the nail on the head! BRAVO!!

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/08/team-usa-versus-the-machine-how-madison-avenue-turned-world-class-olympians-in-lolo-jones-co-stars/#comment-306426