Money matters

Homes are a zen concept; that which feeds you should be cherished but for the last two years I’ve lived in a house that isn’t finished or cherished.

This house, despite all its repairs and investment isn’t done and that drives me nuts. I’ve wrangled to get help with projects and nearly every contractor I’ve worked with is either a no-call/no-show or thinks that I’m a financial easy mark.

Here’s a bid I received to build an open-sided woodshed:

“I, (name deleted) propose to build a 12 by 12 wood shed with a sloped shingled roof and open on one side at 7 foot height. Material Cost:$900.00 plus tax Labor Cost:6-7 days 56hrs at 35.00 hr.”

Add it up. $2850.

Oh, please.

I’ve been more than fair with other projects. I’ve seen projects that were way underbid and I’ve re-negotiated a modest increase. I’m fair, not stupid.

I’ve also endured an marathon of paperwork and phone calls when it comes to securing a small second mortgage so I can complete my house that will either be ready to live in or ready to be sold. The lender I’m working with (and would have been fired today should they have thrown one more rock in my road) has a huge problem with the fact that in 2010 and 2011 I didn’t make squat working as a reporter (Beware of “opportunities” – they come with a tremendous price) and now my current job is considered “part-time” because I work 36 hours a week instead of 40. Really?

When I worked as an escrow officer, it was a tough experience but what I’ve learned has served me well in buying and selling homes. I’m not intimidated by the mountain of paperwork that has to be processed in order to secure a mortgage or second mortgage. I closed many loans and could tell by the paperwork (If someone had chosen a loan, say, from a website or they closed a loan with a first AND second mortgage that tickled the top of the home’s value) if someone would soon be facing foreclosure in the near future. Turns out, I was right – I’ll wager most loans that Stewart Title closed in 2002-2003 refinance boom ended up in the tank.

Perhaps it’s the size of my mortgage (Very small) or the amount I need to borrow (Again, very small) but banks and lending institutions treat people badly these days. When I closed loans, I found the nicest people were the ones whose mortgages were under $100,000 and over $900,000. Everyone in between was wide-eyed, greedy and indignant that for their $400,000 mortgage, they didn’t get preferential treatment. The nicest person I met was when I closed was a lady who was closing on a second home in Denver. The loan amount was $1.2 million, which back then made the payment $18,000 a month. I was nervous about closing that loan until my then boss pointed out an obvious concept with mortgages: “It’s only zeroes.”

Today, suspicion abounds! I’ve been read statements telling me that I’d better not use my loan to fund terrorism and since I work 36 hours rather than 40, it’ll cost me an additional quarter point interest. I remember banking and bankers as being people you could trust and go to when you needed help. My old credit union was that way and when I was going through my divorce, they helped me secure additional credit and resources to help me take care of my family. No more. Banks are greedy, hungry entities that react as if their bottom line is flush rather than fat.

I’ve come up with a new theory about change, any kind of change whether its a job change, home improvement or ordering green chili with that rellenos: “Chaos is what flows in change’s wake.”