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Oct 15, 2009    |       25 comments

Dealing with Making Home Affordable…

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I am throwing the white flag…

and applying for the Making Home Affordable program.

Yesterday, I left work early and made THE call. My call started at 5:07 p.m. and ended at 5:57 p.m.

I called the Making Home Affordable number on my Bank of America mortgage website and waited 17 minutes on hold. Someone answered and transferred my call since my mortgage used to be a Countrywide mortgage and they had a separate division.

I’m fairly certain they routed my call around the world because really, what else can explain the 24 minute hold time and the gentleman who sounded like had lunch in Bangladesh. He asked for my name, account number, checked my account, thanked me for paying on time, and told me I would be transferred yet again to a representative. 9 minutes later, a message said, ‘Our office is now closed. Please call back another time.’

I would give you advice on dealing with the Making Home Affordable program but since I didn’t talk to anyone, I will tell you this… you need more than an hour.

Dear Bank of America… I had far better things to do than spend 50 minutes of my life listening to Kenny G. and the recorded reminder that someone will be with me shortly. Obviously you and I have VERY different definitions of ‘shortly’ AND, I had to drink three glasses of Chianti just to keep my ears from bleeding.
Ugh. Kenny G.

I’ll let you know how it goes… if I ever get through.

Oct 13, 2009    |       8 comments

TERMITES!!!

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When my husband and I started looking for houses back in 2006, we stumbled across a BEAUTIFUL townhouse. It had hardwood floors, granite countertops, mirrors everywhere that made it seem huge, and it was located in a perfect area.

Our realtor praised the beauty of the townhouse until he spotted… termite dust in the corner.

A LOT of termite dust. And the more we walked around, the more we found. Those hardwood floors showcased the busy work of those nasty bugs.

The place was loaded – so our realtor recommended we move on. I had wanted the townhome badly and was heartbroken at the sight of that nasty termite residue.

Fast forward three years to two mornings ago. I had flipped my head upside down while blow drying my curly mess and was staring at my bathroom floor thinking a nice mop job would go a long way when suddenly I spotted IT. IT was a pile of termite dust.

I dropped my blow-dryer – and screamed.

I looked heavenward and said, ‘Gee thanks Lord. As if I don’t have enough to worry about – job loss, money, etc. You send me pestilence?!?!’

I ranted and raved for three days. I cried. I told Chris that if we didn’t lose our house to job loss, we’d lose it to the dang termites that we can’t even afford to eradicate.

Then this morning, I dropped my sweater on our driveway. I bent to pick it up and noticed termite residue on the asphalt. As I start to scream in anger, the wind blew and ‘termite dust’ tickled across my face and into my hands.

Turns out, our tree is shedding tiny bits thanks to the sudden turn in the weather. The ‘termite dust’ is actually our tree sneezing into our bathroom window located directly under it and across our yard.

So. Um. Sorry for the yelling Lord. And, um, if it’s not too much of a bother, could you keep the real termites away?

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