Homeowners bamboozled by bank

There comes a time in every young person’s life when they realize just how jaded the world is. The arc of history may bend towards justice but the arcs of today are unbearably steep slopes.

One day, I will be a first-time home buyer. In the state of California, that means I am fresh meat.

Today, I am going to share with you my “a-ha” moment. President Obama, if you’re reading this- please do not be deterred by partisan obstructions and backdoor deals. We need help.

My parents have lived in the same house for 22 years. It’s where I grew up. Our neighborhood has changed over the years and while there aren’t as many kids playing touch football out in the street, neighbors still make an effort to wave and nod courteously.

Like so many other middle-class Americans, my parents have fallen on tough times. My mother works at an elementary school and is therefore in constant fear of losing her job. By the way, thanks for that California State Legislature.

After falling a month behind on their mortgage, my parents worked tirelessly to catch up with their payments, which they successfully did a couple months ago.

They then renegotiated the terms of their loan with their lender who I will not name, though America is in the title.

The process took at least 3 months. My parents made sure the lender had everything they needed including two months of paycheck stubs and a notary. Let me say again that my parents have worked at the same places for over 10 years. We are not a family of jobless nomads here.

Month after month (and again last week, in fact), my mother called the 800-number to verify that she had nothing to worry about. They reassured her and told her to disregard calls and letters threatening to foreclose on our house. This, they said, was caused by information falling through cracks due to a merger.

You are approved. Do not worry, ma’am. Everything is fine. Make your payments of the renegotiated amount. Have a nice day.

Lo and behold, today we received a letter stating that the entire loan case has been closed because of a single piece of information the lender supposedly did not receive. They did not send any correspondence regarding such a claim and no messages were left on our answering machine. According to their records, we now owe thousands of dollars. Thousands.

This American lender has bamboozled us and we are not alone. Homeowners everywhere are suffering from this mistreatment. In fact, it’s amazing to me that my parents can even get someone to talk to them on the phone as I have heard from so many others that their lenders refuses to even take their calls.

Now the question…what do we do? What can we do?

We are lowly tenants at the mercy of a ruthless landlord which in reality is a giant conglomerate eager to find loopholes around the newest attempts at government regulation.

My only hope is that the government does make more efforts to regulate; that more homeowners fight the injustice of adjustable mortgage rates and that my parents are able to stay in their home.

I am 22 years old and the world is a sickeningly shade of grey. One day, I will be a first-time home buyer. Crap.