Bare with me here...

I recently was declared disabled. It does not affect me doing my job at work, but life has been difficult and a whole new set of challenges have come my way due to my disability. I have a spouse and a 9 year old daughter.

My wife and I were recently victims of bank fraud, something that happened while we were looking into insurance & HMO's. We were duped by a company claiming to be a lot of things they were not. We gave them an electronic check, they emptied out our bank account. Should have been our first lesson in being desperate to solve a problem. I didn't know any better... and this is my first time being disabled. Lol. Oh well. Anyway...

We bought a repo home back about a year and a half ago, and got a home improvement loan, intending to flip the house and make a profit for a down payment on a bigger house in the future. Needless to say, with my recent disablity, the house is only half finished, the home improvement loan money was not enough and we still have the up stairs to do before we can even think of selling. To make matters worse, our vehicle gave up the ghost, and repair costs were outlandish.. making it necessary to purchase a new vehicle. We needed a Van because of my wheelchair. Another expense we didn't need. What could we do? Snow season was less than a month away, and our vehicle takes the both of us to work. We got a good deal on a reliable van... but now we have another $300 a month expense we didn't have any chance to plan for.

I remind you, we make too much money for state assistance, and not enough to pay our bills. So all medical expenses have been out of pocket, and I STILL have no insurance... and the bank fraud thing is still in the invesigation stage with the California Attorney General. BTW... I live in Colorado, Denver to be exact... home foreclosure capitol of the USA.

Ok... to the point. We are up to our butts in alligators when our home improvement finace company comes to the rescue... or so we thought. They were supposed to take our mortgage, our home improvement loan, and our car payment and roll them all into one nice tight little packcage, saving me about $400 a month, and giving me a FIXED rate, and not the ARM loan we had with our old mortgage company. We asked for NO pre-payment penalty. The loan was approved, and we got a payoff amount from our old mortgage company, and awaited appraisal, which we knew was going to be high.

First bad move... we used the money that we did not have to pay in mortgage payments to finish up home improvements that might affect the outcome of the appraisal. When the loan came to the table we were both stiff with fear. Not only did the loan only save us about $3.00 a month (not the $400 I was originally told), it did not include the car loan, and it came with a 3% pre-payment penalty (unless I re-finance with THEM). What it DID come with, was about $5,800 in pocket cash after signing.

At that point we had no choice. If we turned town the offer, we would automatically be in arrears of our old mortgage agreement, and no one was going to give us a better offer if we were already in the toilet in the credit department. We were forced to sign the loan out of desperation, and I let my displeasure be known as I did it. We took the loan, and the $5,800 and banked it. We figured it would buy us some time to work things out. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. It didn't take long to chip away at that $5,800.

My wife was laid off work just before Christmas. She had recently found a new job, but she will not get full time status until the end of Jan. If we can hold on, her new position could be a lifesaver... she'd be making more than we make combined now. But we have to stay afloat. What else could possibly go wrong? My job decides to cut my hours! From 39 to 29 hrs a week! Needless to say, finding a job, when you are disabled is not easy. Going on disability means you have to live on less than 1/3 of what you are used to making. Is that worth it just to get the medical expenses paid? At this point, No. When they cart me out of work or the home in an ambulance, maybe. But now I'm too much in debt to even think about giving up just yet. I'd hate to get committed to a new job, because I don't quite know what changes I need to make yet. That all depends on what happens with my wife's job... hers could come with something we need desperately... MEDICAL INSURANCE! Her job, though it's not great in the pay department right now, comes first because in less than 30 days it could be worth more than both of our current positions combined. I'm stuck.

I think citi financial knew we were in a bind, and that we had no choice but to take whatever was offered. The $5,800 was just extra sweetener on the bait, which we were forced to swallow. Knowing that our original home improvement loan was only $300 a month for 5 years, it makes me sick. Why? Because, now we've got that extra $300 a month for the next 30 years! Is that legal? OMG. I feel sick. Stupid!Stupid! Stupid!

Bankruptcy? Re-finace again? (Yeah, but with what to bring to the table?) Debt consolidation and arbitration? What exists out there to keep me from losing my house? How can I get my life back? If I buy gas or groceries this month I'm sunk! I'd have to not pay something, and I'm already shutting down all unnecessary expenses. HELP!! What can I do? What avenues are open to me? Is there anything I can do to get my payments down to something resonable and manageable? Do I have any legal recourse here? Or have a permanently screwed myself? Help! Please.

Thank You.

My husband and I did credit counseling years ago. It isn't much better than bankruptcy when it comes to your credit - your credit rating takes a beating, but once you are out of it, it recovers more quickly than bankruptcy.

Talk to a credit counselor. Pay your mortgage and at least one car payment first. You have to be able to get her to work. If you are a member of a church, ask them for help for grocery money. Many have food banks.

Prioritize, make a plan then work your plan. You can get through this - you sound smart and strong.

First and foremost please take a deep breath...
I know things seem out of control and bleak, and frankly anybody in your shoes would feel the same. First know that I see this on a daily basis, or hear it through others. There are options that can help you, given more detail.

It's hard for you to go after a company once you have taken the cash they offered, knowing it was not a good fit right then and there for your family. With that being said I can appreciate your frustration and anger with them. You trusted a company to help and at the end it didn't work as you understood it would. I think you should try to put the anger aside and move on from as a lesson learned. I say that because I don't think it will help ease your burden or stress on you or your family. Let's focus on what can be done.

I am familiar with CO law in regards to mortgages to seome degree. The first thing I would advice you do is to look into their next tax excemptions or tax free, in some cases, for people who have become disabled and so on. They have a list of people who qualify and right now, with your hours cut back, your wife in transition, now is the best time to not get hit making too much money. It allows homeowners in situations like yours to either avoid home taxes or have them greatly reduced. So look into by going on your state website.

Second in order for any of us to help we need to know certain details. Like how much was your home appraised for? Are your payments current? Is the house completed now? How much is yhe current loan you have on the home? Things like that.

There are some solutions out there you have to do your best to remain positive, for your family, and I know how hard that is. You can send me a private message if you'd like and I can look up some lenders in your area, plus some state agencies that have other programs that will help if you still have renovations that need to be done.

You've come to the right place where people want to help and will if they can. You have made it through a lot more bumps in the road then most people can get through and your still holding on. So you are on the right track, now let's just try to get you on to a smoother surface.

Hang in there, and no I would not think of Bankruptcy, or credit counseling at this point because you still have options. Don't throw in the towel yet, in regards to your home.

How much was your home appraised for?

$106,000. Our first appraisal at purchase was $86,000. That's how much equity we gained by just doing the downstairs. Remember... we totally re-modeled, not refurbished. Our remod loan was for $11,000. We did all the work ourselves... Actually, my wife did it. She's the tool belt diva. LOL. But with me disabled, and her working full time, any more work is going to be slow coming. Especially without finances to buy more materials.

Are your payments current?

For now... yes.

Is the house completed now?

No. We still have some minor stuff downstairs, but the upstairs needs re-modeling badly. Especially the bathroom.

How much is the current loan you have on the home?

$110,196.00. Our monthy mortgage was originally $690 a month. The old mortgage company hiked that to $787 a month because they said (get this) they anticipated a $39 increase in our yearly taxes... A $39 tax increase for the whole year, so they jack my rates by almost $100 a month. So that's why we went for the refinance and loan consolidation. Now my mortgage bill is $1079.00 a month.


On Government assistance:
I'm not good at red tape. I'm lost when it comes to state assistance. They don't exactly volunteer a whole lot of information and when you do apply for things, they give you a stack of paperwork waist high. It's all very intimidating to me. But if you believe there's something I'm intitled to in the help department as far as government assistance, I'll listen to any advice I can get.