Saturday, March 23, 2013

Who Owns Your Home, For Real? I Think YOU Do And Here's Why...

Before someone from Chase Bank reads this and decides to screw me on my refi-, let me say that within the current system of mortgage lending, Chase has been a good lender to me and done a number of things to help me through these trying economic times.  That said, here's the truth...

I signed a stack of documents so I could provide my children a stable place to call home - as my parents did for me.  It could have been a suicide note and I would have signed.  $130,000 (now worth $80k): 4 tiny bedrooms, two mold filled bathrooms, a pool with much more mold than the bathrooms, and a "birthday-cake pink" front door.  It was and is my dream home.  I love it.

On three occasions last year, my home was 24 hours away from being auctioned off on the steps of some building downtown.  Apparently, if I fail to pay Chase $1k per month for the next 30 years, they'll kick me out of my home and let someone else have it.  Apparently, THEY own my home.

Yes, I understand the economics and legalities of the situation.  For a change of pace, how about we take a look at the REALITY of the situation? ...And henceforth, I rant:

If Chase owns my home, where were they when the shoddy aluminum wiring caught fire in the living room? Or a month later in my bedroom?
If Chase owns my home, where were they when it was raining in the entryway and kitchen due to sagging spots in the roof?
If Chase owns my home, where were they when raw sewage was filling up my shower and bathtub?  Or when the heat went out in December?  Or when the pool pump burned up? Or when the backyard flooded? 
Why didn't they help paint that god-awful front door? Or assist me with remodeling an entire bathroom on a $60 budget?  Do they even know what color my bathroom is?  Or what color the HOUSE is?  Has a single person associated with Chase ever even SET FOOT on this property?  Does one Chase associate have a single, honest care about this home?

Maybe I'm crazy, but to me, Chase does not appear to be the owner of this particular home.  How about yours?

This system is dysfunctional at its very core.   We don't need change.  We need a whole new system; or perhaps, no system at all.

2 comments:

  1. The "no system at all" is how would be the BEST, but it will never happen realkstically. Even if there isn't a SET IN Order legal system when it comes to these situations, there would be an unwritten and maybe LAWFULLY unpunishable (notice I said lawfully with such emphasis) system.

    A completely new system would be the only way things would be right, but then we have to think seriously about a few things, too. Such as how is this new system going to differentiate between a family who has TRULY fallen on hard times and some one who is just out to try for an easy ride in life like 90%,at the least, of everyone out there. Another thing is say the system was one in which the banks didn't "own the homes" because (a.) you either built your own, or (b.) you found a way to buy it outright (if homes were much more affordable that is) then how the hell would that work? Banks would be broke if not for the things they do to people when it comes to loans for their homes and businesses, just as they are doing great to you so they make they're money back plus a healthy profit. Then (as the ripple effect goes) our economy would plummet even MORE than it already has. As improbable as it may seem when u think of the world today, times would become harder for everyone. The people whose jobs it is to build, rewire, repair, etc. All the things people will pay out of pocket for after buying a home, that the bank has loaned a family the $ they need to buy the house, which will eventualy go into foreclosure, after the family (exactly like your blog states) has to pay these expenses and has to choose between food and electricity or the mortgage payment.

    I know you do most, if not all, of your own home repairs, but not everyone is either willing or they're totally unable;whether they work two jobs and have no choice but to call someone to do it for them, or they are completely un knowledgeable or probably too lazy to try.

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    1. It appears that what you are imagining to be a new system is actually still bound by many of the basic premises of the current system. Consider that money is not a necessity for and in fact may combat a truly civilized society. Furthermore, a trade or barter system is not a necessary assumption. What if within a healthy society, humans were of "good" nature? and can function cooperatively and without any use for coercion? It's difficult to imagine a "new" system from within a system because so many fundamental conventions (e.g. money, trade, advantage, etc.) are not necessarily essential and if removed would paint a picture VERY different from the one we currently live in.

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