Living in Limbo: From Endings to New Beginnnings

By Gini Graham Scott

This concludes the saga of how the author dealt with the mortgage crisis by working with banks, real estate agents, and a bankruptcy lawyer, while meeting with other middle income homeowners in trouble and with activist groups fighting foreclosures. The final chapter describes what the author learned navigating the system, selling her home, renting in San Francisco and becoming successful again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gini Graham Scott
• Release date: Sep 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301468034

Gini Graham Scott

Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., CEO of Changemakers Publishing and Writing, is an internationally known writer, speaker, and workshop leader. She has published over 50 books with major publishers on various topics and has written over 3 dozen children's books. Her published children's books include Katy's Bow, Scratches, The Crazy Critters First Visit, and Where's the Avocado? published by Black Rose Writing. She has published 8 children's books through her company Changemakers Kids and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She does workshops on self-publishing and creativity. She also helps clients write books as a ghostwriter and self-publish or find publishers and agents. Her websites are www.changemakerspublishgandwriting.com and www.ginigrahamscott.com.

Book preview

Living in Limbo

From Endings to New Beginnings

How I Survived and Thrived

After the Mortgage Meltdown

And What I Learned Along the Way

By Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D.

Changemakers Publishing and Writing

750 La Playa, #952 . San Francisco, CA 94121

www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com

Living in Limbo: From Endings to New Beginnings

Smashwords Editions

Copyright © 2012 by Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENDORSEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

From the Mortgage Meltdown to Starting Again

The Big Turn Around

PART I: RECOVERY AND MOVING ON

CHAPTER 1: BEGINNING THE CRAZY GAME OF FINDING A PLACE TO RENT

Is It Really Sold Or Not?

To Go…But Where?

Decisions, Decisions

The Search Begins

CHAPTER 2: GETTING READY TO GO BANKRUPT

Knowing What You Need to Know

- An Introduction to Bankruptcy 101

- Can You Repay?

- Can You Manage Your Money?

- All About Credit and Credit Card Companies

- Saving Your Money

Now for the Test and Counseling Session

CHAPTER 3: FINDING A NEW PLACE TO LIVE

CHAPTER 4: AND THE SEARCH GOES ON

Just Fill This Out

Searching Some More

CHAPTER 5: A DAY OF GETTING BACK AT WELLS FARGO

The Gathering Storm

The March Begins

The Message of the March

CHAPTER 6: DECISIONS, DECISIONS - DECIDING WHERE TO GO

Still More Possibilities

Back to the Ocean Again – and Discovering a Scam

Is It For Real or a Scam?

Deciding Where to Go

Is This Finally It…Or Not?

The Die Is Cast

And the Winner Is

Sealing the Deal

CHAPTER 7: GETTING READY TO MOVE

So Much to Do, So Little Time

The Last Seven Days

It’ll Cost WHAT?

It’s All in the Title

The Final Count Down

CHAPTER 8: YES, THE BANKS ARE BAD, THEY’RE BAD, BAD, BAD

The Bad Bad Banks Script

Shooting the Bad Bad Banks Video

CHAPTER 9: MOVING ON

The First Day

The Last Day

PART II: EPILOGUE

CHAPTER 10: LOOKING FORWARD: AFTER LIMBO

CHAPTER 11 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER– HOW I LEARNED TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AFTER A NEAR FINANCIAL COLLAPSE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ENDORSEMENTS

I am now beginning to obtain endorsements for the book by sending out the manuscript to those concerned about the foreclosure crisis in some way. Here’s the first six of these:

The personal experiences of Gini Scott span the spectrum of financial hardships, and almost anyone who has credit issues can relate to her story.  Her personal story vignettes through all these credit items and offers her insight and practical wisdom as she navigates through these extremely difficult scenarios.  It is a story of having gone to rock bottom in the world of credit and then being able to stand yet again with new hope and a plan of action.  With America's housing crisis today, this is a Must Read!

- Ton Dang, TD Real Estate, Burlingame, CA 94010, www.tdrealestate.com

Gini Graham Scott’s book, LIVING IN LIMBO, is a very real and accurate representation of how consumers are the victims of the mortgage meltdown created by Wall Street. Gini, like millions of others are asked to provide numerous personal documents, bank statements and the like, only to be lost in the system." Infuriating and frightening.

I highly recommend the LIVING IN LIMBO series: From the Beginning to the End, Stuck in the Middle, and From Endings to New Beginnings. Real, honest, and emotionally engaging."

- Debbi DiMaggio, Author of Contained Beauty, Partner in Highland Partners, Boutique Real Estate - International Presence, www.thehighlandpartners.com

This book is so important. We have an invisible class of people who have been exploited by the banks and corporations, and if these people can get together and organize, it will change the corporations, society, and politics, and prevent this situation from happening again. These people are in limbo and are silent, since they stand apart. They must be brought together and organization, so their voices are heard, and this is why this book is so important.

- William Parks, Bankruptcy Attorney, Sunnyvale, California

Gini Graham Scott is the perfect author to represent the many diverse people who are facing issues of foreclosure, survival through rough bank negotiations, and dealing with the aftermath of foreclosure including homelessness, health issues, and caring for the children of the homeless. Her personal experience combined with the many families she has interviewed for her Middle Class Homeless video project has placed her in the optimum position to give voice to so many who have been struggling through this confusing real estate 'bubble'. She has comprehensive experience to offer and tips for everyone challenged by our harsh economy. I recommend this important and timely book of Gini Graham Scott with full appreciation for the work she does.

- Stephanie Slade, M.A.ED, President, Slade Digital, United Media Productions, www.unitedmediaproductions.com

"Empowerment comes from the People, by the People and for the People.  When Wall Street and other financial institutions fail the People, creating its own financial gain at the expense of the People, change can only occur by People stepping up, educating and empowering themselves.  Gini Graham Scott has authored a book to help those in need by sharing her personal experience, knowledge and what others can do.  Her personal experience enlightens others facing credit crisis, foreclosure and potential homelessness.  A must read for those wanting to make a difference.  A must read for those facing similar situations.

- Sharon Collins, CEO Collins Management Company, Active ACCE Member (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment), Board Member - Strive for Change Foundation

www.striveforchangefoundation.org

INTRODUCTION

From the Mortgage Meltdown to Starting Again

I never thought I would be affected by the mortgage meltdown, since despite a business turndown for 15 months, which halve my earnings in 2011 and began 2012 with a bust, I thought I had plenty of credit to see me through. After all, I figured I had about $40,000 in credit left, and I had been paying my cards, mortgage, and equity line promptly and completely for over 20 years. Though recently I had drawn on my credit to pay the difference between what I made and what I had to pay – a few thousand each month, I estimated at that rate the balance would last a at least a year or two. I also figured that after 30 years as a successful writer of books for myself and others, I could ride out the economic storm and get book sales and clients once again.

Then, disaster hit in January 25, 2012, suddenly and completely, as described in my first two books: LIVING IN LIMBO: THE BEGINNING OF THE END and LIVING IN LIMBO: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE. Wells Fargo triggered the decline by lowering my credit card limit by $5000, and then the Bank of America signed the mortgage death certificate by a customer rep first offering me a low-interest balance transfer of only 13% interest. But when I applied for just a $1000 transfer, a credit specialist not only declined the transfer but cancelled the card. Thus, in two days, I had $30,000 stripped away. I begged and pleaded with reps at both Wells Fargo and the Bank of America, telling them that if I didn’t get back my credit, I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage or equity line anymore on the house I owned in Oakland for nearly 20 years, and might go bankrupt. If so, the bank would lose more in the end. But no go. My loan to value ratio was now too high. So all the offers I had once received of having the credit there when you need it were pulled away. It was like one person pushed me into a river with swirling rapids, and as I neared the falls and struggled to get back on the bank, another person pushed the boat even harder, so I went crashing over the falls.

That day marked the beginning of a journey through the default to foreclosure process, as I discovered the difficulty of getting a loan modification or forbearance after nearly seven weeks of perfecting my paperwork, after the BofA reps repeatedly lost my paperwork or found that I needed to supply them with still more documents, from sending them blank forms to adding my initials to previously sent and resent documents. It was truly a bureaucratic nightmare, and I felt like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill only to fall down to begin again and again.

Meanwhile, as I did the bureaucratic tango – one step forward and two steps back, I discovered many other homeowners experiencing the same plight as me. Additionally, I found help in groups like Causa Justa that offered assistance in modifying mortgages as well as auction actions to stop the banks from selling foreclosed homes.

Then, thinking I was only putting my house on the market to show the BofA reps handling my mortgage modification that I was acting in good faith, I actually sold my home rather than pursuing my original strategy of staying in the house as long as I could as the foreclosure process dragged out. Then, I had planned to drag it out even further by filing for bankruptcy a few days before my house went on the auction block. With this strategy, the process could take one or two or even more years, while I lived in my house rent free and collected enough to move on.

But instead, my house sold within a week on the market, and I had to figure out where to go, assuming the sale went through. At times I hoped it wouldn’t, but at other times, I felt like the sale was a good thing, like a sign from the universe that this was a time to move on. For now with the sale of the house, I would get enough to a nice rental where I could live and move on.

For a time, I debated where to go. Where did I want to be? Where would it be best to go for my business of writing and promoting my books and books for clients and creating short films? After briefly flirting with Lafayette, I finally decided that it made the most sense to be back in San Francisco, which was becoming a new tech boom town, had a growing film community, and was the center of West Coast independent publishing. But where in San Francisco? And would anyone rent to me, given my disastrous year in 2011 and my rapidly declining credit score, as I stopped paying my credit cards and the companies began reporting my late payments to the credit bureaus.

But then I did find a place exactly where I wanted to be by the ocean in San Francisco, and suddenly, a couple of weeks after I moved, my writing business almost miraculously turned around with several new clients. Meanwhile, I found growing success with writing and producing films, in part due to joining a San Francisco-based film collective – Scary Cow and in part due to meeting people in the film funding community. I also became more active with groups helping other homeowners successfully navigate the foreclosure rapids. At the same time, a bankruptcy looms, since despite the turnaround, I still owe my credit card companies far more than I can pay.

The Big Turn Around

LIVING IN LIMBO: FROM ENDINGS TO NEW BEGINNINGS continues the living in limbo saga, describing how I managed to turn everything around after being broke and losing nearly everything during a few scary months. It also offers suggestions on how others in a crisis can similarly turn things around. It continues the story where I left off in LIVING IN LIMBO: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE, beginning with my search for the right place to live and navigating successfully through the rental sharks. It also describes my participation in some protest actions with local groups to get the banks and auctioneers to stop the foreclosures, the chaos I experienced in moving, and the process of preparing to go bankrupt, even as my business turned around, so I could finally feel free of the financial shackles created by the banks due to pulling my credit which forced me to move and start again. The book concludes with an epilogue on what I did to explore new possibilities and help other homeowners deal with the mortgage crisis and start again as I did. The final chapter in this last section provides tips on what I learned in the process which can help others facing a crisis, too.

PART I: RECOVERY AND MOVING ON

CHAPTER 1: BEGINNING THE CRAZY GAME OF FINDING A PLACE TO RENT

Is It Really Sold Or Not?

Once I maybe sold my house on April 6 with a 30 day close, I had to think about finding another place to live. While I wasn’t sure the sale would actually go through, since I imagined all the things that could go wrong – the buyer would decide he didn’t like the house after the inspection reports were in, the buyer’s loan wouldn’t be approved, the buyer couldn’t sell his own house and decide not to move – Debbi tried to reassure me.

- Don’t worry, we have a back-up offer, she said.

- But what if the back-up offer is no longer there? I replied.

- We can always put this on the market again.

In the meantime, Debbi urged me to stay positive and told me the sale was about 99% sure. But there was always that 1% -- and given the way the 1% were now considered to have acquired most of the wealth in our society, I figured it was important to pay attention to that 1%, too. Besides, maybe her percentages were off or maybe they were based on the typical deal under average circumstances. But these weren’t ordinary times. For the economy seemed to be in free-fall with no end in sight, and it might be especially hard for a buyer to get a loan approval now.

Alternatively, if the buyer did remove the contingencies, proceed with seeking to buy the house, and his loan came through, I would need someplace to go, though it was hard knowing whether I could make a commitment to rent a place and pay a deposit until the sale was all but certain. Moreover, complicating matters was the fact that I wouldn’t get the money from the sale until it actually closed and the title was transferred from my name to the new owner by the title company. Sure, I would then have about $60,000 put into my bank. But in the meantime, I had about $500 to my name. Would someone be willing to rent to me under those conditions, when I didn’t even have the money for the usual first month’s rent plus a security deposit – and some rental agents wanted even more: one and a half or two month’s rent plus the deposit? So for now, all I could provide prospective landlords was a promise and my real estate agent’s assurance that the sale would most probably go through, and then I would have the money to pay them. But would that be enough?

Yet, despite these considerations that the sale might not happen or that I wouldn’t have enough to get someone to rent to me, I felt I had to start looking to line up something.

But what if I could stay a few weeks after the close to be sure I really had sold the house and had the money, I asked Debbi.

Debbi said I’ll talk to the buyer, but I know he really wants to take possession of the house right away, since he and his wife are going on vacation for several weeks, and they want to get construction started before they leave.

But what if I agreed they could do that while I’m still there, I asked. Maybe they could let me stay on for two or three weeks after the sale, so I can nail down something else.

I don’t know, Debbi said. Maybe he might be okay with a few days; but a couple of weeks or more, that’s asking a lot. But I’ll talk to him. I’ll see what he says.

In the meantime, she thought it best that I didn’t speak to the buyer myself. Just let me handle it, she said. It’s always best that any negotiations between the buyer and seller occur at arm’s length.

So I agreed, even though I had the buyer’s phone number on the card he left during the real estate sale. But I felt it best to stay back as Debbi advised, and later I learned some reasons why it’s best for a buyer and seller not to get involved in negotiations during this time of heightened stress for both. For example, the seller could say something that makes the house seem less desirable which could kill the sale or lead the buyer to inspect the house for flaws more carefully. Or if the buyer was once willing to let the seller stay in the house after the sale for a few days, the buyer might refuse to do so as a result of not trusting the seller.

To Go…But Where?

And so, still not completely sure if I had sold my house or how long I could stay after the sale, I had to think about where to go and resume getting rid of things, so I would be better able to move to a smaller place.

A few months before when my first real estate agent, Sondra, had planned to put my house on the market but didn’t, I had looked into moving to Lafayette, a bucolic suburb about 15 minutes from my house in Oakland and just a few exits beyond the tunnel through the hills between Oakland and the nearby communities in Contra Costa County. I liked that its downtown was just off the freeway between Oakland and Walnut Creek, which had become a bustling hub city with a mall of department and specialty stores and a downtown with chic restaurants. I also found Lafayette appealing because it was between these two cities, and it allowed for an easy commute into San Francisco, Oakland, and other East Bay cities.

I had even picked out exactly where I wanted to live in Lafayette a block or two from the downtown strip of retail shops and restaurants, which offered the flavor of being in a small city, after looking at homes on the market with a mile or so of downtown. At the time, though considering buying another house was totally unrealistic, I initially had visions of selling my home for top dollar and getting enough for a down payment on a less expensive home than my own. Or maybe a seller might consider a lease option, where I rented for a year and could put together enough to buy the house. Or possibly I might rent a small house or townhouse. Just thinking about the different options, I imagined myself living there, and the quiet, peacefulness of living in the suburbs seemed a welcome relief from my growing concern about living in a city where crime was going up, the budget for essential services was going down, and the burglars and robbers were getting closer and closer in targeting my neighborhood in the hills.

But then, something very weird happened that changed everything about where I wanted to live. The incident wasn’t even directly related to my moving. Yet, in light of my feelings of uncertainty about selling the house or not, it took on a special significance.

Basically, what happened is that an associate with whom I had made a half-dozen short videos asked to borrow my sound equipment for a film project he was doing for his school. He lived in Walnut Creek and when I talked about how I