...post 1000 !

I'd been planning to save post 1000 for my impending blogoversary...
coming up this Saturday... 3 years since I began this blog...
but as they say, my plans have changed a bit...

because a LOT has happened...

today I met with a very nice lawyer,[no, not an oxymoron...]
and discussed my situation...

the bottom line is that Chapter 13 bankruptcy...
along with a mortgage restructure...
can save my house...

and after 3 years of a structured, lower payment to the court...
I will be free of all the current credit card and home equity debt...

I won't have to sell all I own, including my car...
the kitties, Molly & numerous musical instruments...
and move into a shed at the rear of some country property...

he sent me to a HUD approved, non-profit mortgage/foreclosure counselor...
[everyone I mention them to has heard good things about them...]

their office is in downtown Mudville...
less than 2 blocks east of the church...
so I strolled over, in the 95˚ afternoon sunshine...
and picked up the application packet...

as soon as I can get it all assembled, I'll make an appointment...

the HUD counselors charge only for the credit report, $14.25...
and work as your advocate with the primary lender...
to lower the payment by reducing interest rates & extending loan term...
and because my 1st mortgage principal balance...
is only about $20-30 K above the estimated current value of my house...
it's in their best interest to help me out as much as possible...

they already have enough empty homes in Mudville that no one wants...
better for them to help me keep making payments... better for me too...

when we get an answer on the amount of my new mortgage payment...
since the Federal guidelines advocate using only about one third of income...
for housing, my payment might get as low as around $600...
that is, if we can re-structure the 1st...
if we can't, I'll just have to make due with less for everything else...

but my pension still is enough to cover my 1st...
and since 1st is "current"...
and has never been in default...
that's a plus for me too...

then we file for Chapter 13 and begin the 3 year structured, reduced payoff...

the lawyer told me that even if I find some sort of job...
I should continue to discharge these credit card & HELOC debts...
since they total 5 times the amount of my yearly pension...
and I've probably more than paid them back already...

filing for Chapter 13, however, is NOT cheap...$3500 + court filing fees[$274]...
I gave him a check today for $300, out of which the filing fee will be paid...

as soon as I know what's up with the 1st mortgage situation...
I'll get back to him and start working through the 3 years of Purgatory...

there's a lot of work yet to do...

copies of notes, forms, tax statements, to locate & assemble, etc...

but it is quite a relief to know that I can get rid of this debt...
and still keep my house...

the kitties & Molly will be so glad...

I would have rather gotten a job & paid off all my obligations...
but that hasn't worked-out... so I suppose that this is next best...

God is good... all the time...