Taking Control of the Home Loan Modification Saga

I finally got involved in my mother’s home mortgage saga after ignoring it for months.  She pretended like she had everything under control by filing and refiling papers and hiring a scamming law firm (eModify). I don’t know why I fell for that one again, considering she used to constantly lie to me that my immigration status was also “nothing to worry about” well into my 20s.

We know how that turned out and how I took control of that situation. I can’t blame her given her lack of education but I do have a problem with how she handled the situation in the most cowardly manner. And if I fix this mess, my parents better put me through law school without whining about how much it costs.

Looking over the house documents, it looks like the foreclosure sale date is on January 19.  Within 1-2 days, I have been able to talk to the corporate office, get in touch with the CEO of OneWest, figure out the great IndyMac-FDIC scam, and get her an escalation specialist. We dumped the home files at HUD, I called the Housing and Economic Rights Advocates and arranged for her to attend a NACA workshop on Feb 5. I don’t know if that is enough time to do anything but I am trying to read up on foreclosures and loan modification laws now. Did I mention that my useless father lives like a retired Governor who is worth more dead than alive? And my useless older U.S. citizen sibling is just that, useless. If those two people could get their act together, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Mom cannot file for a Chapter 7 because it would ruin her excellent credit for as long as I need student loans to get through law school. I am sick of people putting my future on the line for their short-term fulfillment (come to the USA, buy a home) and feel so betrayed by the entire situation. I am seriously not responsible for anything that happens as a consequence of my parents moving to this country. I didn’t ask them to give up their privileged lives and well-paying jobs to come be indentured servants in America all over again; I was forcefully extracted from my home and placed in this hell. Sometimes I feel like a human trafficking victim that has to run around trying to make sense of a life I didn’t chose. Correction, I feel that way all the time.

When do I stop fixing the mess and failures in the lives of people around me and start having a life of my own? I would NEVER allow myself or my kids to be in a situation like this. Don’t say it — I know I sound like a ‘personal responsibility’ nativist hack but I really don’t see myself doing stupid things like my parents. I’ll make my share of mistakes but not in these departments.

I am also pretty ill in this New Year. Mom says that is because I am not wearing my ‘pearl ring’ for good luck. Did I mention that I caught the flu from her? Never mind.