Four Cent Foreclosure

I have a friend. Well several but one in particular that I'd like to tell you about. Their story is so fantastic that it's truly pulp fiction. We're going to call this tale of madness, " The Four Cent Foreclosure".

This family, our friends and our lives have almost always paralleled only almost always in opposites. We both have five children. But where we have four daughters and one son, they have four sons and a daughter. We are both multi-ethnic couples. Her husband I are are Americans of predominately African descent. She and my husband are more Nordic/Scot/Viking-esque.

So let me get to the reason for the title of this entry...

A few years ago we both bought houses within months of each other. Both of our families were really tired of paying for other people's children to go to college and helping other people build equity into their homes. Besides, our husbands made enough money that we could certainly afford a house. It was about time!

Found a realtor, mortgage broker, got credit ratings (both hubbies were in the mid 700s) and started looking for houses. Everything was stellar. We live 4 houses away from each other. How's that for prudent planning with your best friends??

The first year of our mortgages were confusing as all get out. Our loans were past around from loan company to loan company. We were passed around like a joint at a Snoopp Dogg party. Seriously. It was just ridiculous. Finally in year 3 we both ended up with CountryWide. Oh H- to the NIZZLE. My hubby immediately found another lender and we were okay. Dirk and Angela decided to togh it out. That decision turn out to be the worse thing that could have happened.

Angela, like me, normally handles the finances. Our hubbies just kind of leave all the details up to us because they have other things to worry about. Cavemen I tell ya! Angela was sick and so Dirk (and really for really honestly that really is his name!) said he would take care of the bills for her. He went to the bank, got a cashier's check for the amount of the mortgage payment or should I say what he thought was the mortgage payment and dropped it in the envelope that Angela had printed out MONTHS before with the statement that Angela had printed out MONTHS before. Here we go.

He miscalculated. He was four cents short.

[For those of you not familiar with the process of computer logic and math and logarithms and how things are interpreted by these drones, this is a quick lesson and those who know, can just skip past this.

When you send in a payment and it is not the exact or greater amount that is listed on the bill, it is counted as a non-payment. When a nonpaymnet is received, and it not rectified, the company in charge can assess late fees, penalties etc etc etc. These things are attached and due with the next payment.]

Neither Angela or Dirk realized that September's payment wasn't credited as a payment. So in October, Angela sent off the mortgage payment - $652.17 What Angela didn't know was that payment was also a nonpayment because there was the $0.04 plus the $35.80 for a payment made after the 16th, plus a late payment fee ( $25.00), a late payment processing fee ($12.31) and additional interest of $64.87 . All of that in addition to the 652.17.So in addition to the base mortgage payment, $137.22 should have been sent. And for the second month in a row, the Ashford family was reported to the Credit Bureau as being no pay or late pay, 30 days past due.

November rolls around and guess what? You got it. 137.22X2 plus the two payments are due. Just keep compiling the 137.22's because that's going to count as the late fees every month.

In December, (4 months after the September four cent faux pas) , the Ashfords receive a call from someone claiming to be "Sam" but having a distinctly East Indian accent. Sam my hinnie parts!! Wecan discuss outsources and NAFTA later on. So the conversation with Sam goes something like this:

Sam: May I speak to Dirk Ashford?

Angie: Dirk isn't here, can I help you?

Sam: Who are you?

Angie:Mrs. Ashford

Sam: Okay, I'm authorized to talk to you because Mr. Ashfored sent a letter. Mrs. Ashford, I am calling from CountryWide Home Loans to find out when you will be able to make a payment because you haven't made a payment since August.

Angie: Excuse me?

Sam: According to our records, we have not received a payment from you since August.

Angie: You people are tripping. We have never missed a payment.You'd better check again.

After that she hung up convinced that there HAD to be a glitch in the syetem.

January, they made another payment. In the middle of January, those ambulance chaser lawyer letters started pouring in. Angela opened one of the letters and decided to call. Sure enough, paperwork had been filed in the District Court and the Ashford family was in the beginning of the foreclosure process.

It seems that Countrywide had taken their underpayments and placed them in an escrow account and didn't credit any of them because they were not full payments. No one bothered to call. No one sent a note, an urgent letter, an email. NOTHING. Unbelieveable. All over FOUR CENTS.

Now my friends could lose their home over a four cent faux pas. Totally insane.

If you are a praying person, remember them as you hunker down for the night. After all, it could as easily been one of us.