I've been thinking about this for a long time.
When I bought my house 21 years ago (moved in 21 years ago this first weekend in May), I had plenty of room. However, after all these years, I've acquired a bunch more stuff. Granted, I could get rid of some of it, but most of it I want to keep.
That said, I've decided to buy a bigger house. No, not a McMansion. If you buy a big house, you also have to clean all that extra space. Instead of 2 bedrooms/1 bath, which is what I've got now, I want 3 bedrooms/2 baths and about half again as much space.
I want to be like Goldilocks. It can't be too big or too small. It needs to be just right.
This morning I went by the credit union and was pre-approved. This afternoon I met with my real estate agent. (She's the same one I used 21 years ago.) We spent a bunch of time getting caught up on what's happened since then. We've got an appointment set to look at houses on my next Friday off.
I'm feeling happy - a new house! I'm feeling scared - I'm getting a new mortgage!
Papillon
Showing posts with label mortgage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mortgage. Show all posts
Friday, May 3, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Bank of America - grrr!
My mortgage used to be with Countrywide. At some point in time it was bought out/taken over by Bank of America. Not a lot changed. I sent my money to them each month.
In late November 2012 I decided pay off my mortgage and end the year with a clean slate. I called BofA and asked what amount would it take to pay off my mortgage. Michael told me an amount and said I'd need to send in a certified check. I followed his instructions and sent in the money.
Imagine my surprise when I got another statement two weeks later saying - you still owe us approximately $240. I called in again and spoke with someone named Cigi (spelling?).
She informed me that almost everything Michael had told me was WRONG. She gave me a new amount to pay. I pointed out that I had trusted Michael to give me the correct amount. How did I know HER amount was correct? Oh, she'd send me some paperwork.
Let me get this straight. You've given me 5 business days to pay off my mortgage. You're going to send me paperwork to take to the bank and it will take 7-10 business days to get to me. What's wrong with this picture. She glossed over this as though it was not important.
The next day I went to the closest branch. I told the customer service person my story and told her I wanted to know if Cigi's amount is correct. She called their internal mortgage phone line and promptly got a run-around similar to what I'd gotten. She finally got an amount. I handed over the money and another certified check was sent.
I called the 800 number in late December. The auto-answer said my mortgage was paid off on December 18th.
I waited for paperwork to arrive to prove I'd paid off my mortgage. In mid-February I got tired of waiting and called again. I spoke with a young woman who was a veritable fountain of incorrect information. Among other things, she said paperwork had been sent to the local county clerk BEFORE my payment had been posted. Say what?!
I called back later that same day and spoke with someone else who said my paperwork hadn't been mailed to the county clerk's office until February 1st. Sigh. I got her to agree to send me a letter saying I'd satisfied the loan.
The next day I called the county clerk's office. They said they had received paperwork to 'release' the loan. Yippee! I've also received the letter of satisfaction.
My question is - if Bank of America is such a large financial organization, why do they seem to be so incompetent when it comes to closing out a mortgage. Isn't this something so routine they should be able to do it in their sleep? Why does it always seem to take two phone calls - the first one in which I speak to an incompetent followed by another phone call to someone who has more than two working brain cells?
I was complaining to a coworker about all this. She spoke to a friend. It turns out the friend has had a VERY similar experience. Why? Why can't Bank of America get their mortgage act together?
Why do I keep expecting a tiny Bank of America car to pull up and about two dozen clowns to pop out?
Papillon
In late November 2012 I decided pay off my mortgage and end the year with a clean slate. I called BofA and asked what amount would it take to pay off my mortgage. Michael told me an amount and said I'd need to send in a certified check. I followed his instructions and sent in the money.
Imagine my surprise when I got another statement two weeks later saying - you still owe us approximately $240. I called in again and spoke with someone named Cigi (spelling?).
She informed me that almost everything Michael had told me was WRONG. She gave me a new amount to pay. I pointed out that I had trusted Michael to give me the correct amount. How did I know HER amount was correct? Oh, she'd send me some paperwork.
Let me get this straight. You've given me 5 business days to pay off my mortgage. You're going to send me paperwork to take to the bank and it will take 7-10 business days to get to me. What's wrong with this picture. She glossed over this as though it was not important.
The next day I went to the closest branch. I told the customer service person my story and told her I wanted to know if Cigi's amount is correct. She called their internal mortgage phone line and promptly got a run-around similar to what I'd gotten. She finally got an amount. I handed over the money and another certified check was sent.
I called the 800 number in late December. The auto-answer said my mortgage was paid off on December 18th.
I waited for paperwork to arrive to prove I'd paid off my mortgage. In mid-February I got tired of waiting and called again. I spoke with a young woman who was a veritable fountain of incorrect information. Among other things, she said paperwork had been sent to the local county clerk BEFORE my payment had been posted. Say what?!
I called back later that same day and spoke with someone else who said my paperwork hadn't been mailed to the county clerk's office until February 1st. Sigh. I got her to agree to send me a letter saying I'd satisfied the loan.
The next day I called the county clerk's office. They said they had received paperwork to 'release' the loan. Yippee! I've also received the letter of satisfaction.
My question is - if Bank of America is such a large financial organization, why do they seem to be so incompetent when it comes to closing out a mortgage. Isn't this something so routine they should be able to do it in their sleep? Why does it always seem to take two phone calls - the first one in which I speak to an incompetent followed by another phone call to someone who has more than two working brain cells?
I was complaining to a coworker about all this. She spoke to a friend. It turns out the friend has had a VERY similar experience. Why? Why can't Bank of America get their mortgage act together?
Why do I keep expecting a tiny Bank of America car to pull up and about two dozen clowns to pop out?
Papillon
Friday, December 14, 2012
What a day!
Today I've been through the oft-mentioned roller coaster of emotions.
The day started out well. When I got up, it had been raining and continued to do so for most of the morning. Nothing very much, but all of it was welcome.
I went out in the rain to do battle with Bank of America. They are the holders of the mortgage on my house. Over the years, I've been paying extra on my monthly payments. Some months got more, others got less depending upon my financial circumstances. In November I noticed that the balance was low enough for me to contemplate paying it off.
I called the 800 hundred number and spoke with a young man named Michael. I told him what I wanted to do and he gave me a total that he said would pay off the mortgage. Per his instructions, I got a certified check and mailed it off. I've been watching the mail for paperwork showing that the mortgage was history.
Yesterday I got some paperwork for BofA. Guess what, Michael's total hadn't paid off the mortgage. So I called again and got a young woman named Ciji (pronounced SEE-gee). She pooh-poohed most of what Michael had told me. She gave me another balance. All I had to do was get a certified check to one of the local BofA branches by 12/17. I pointed out that wasn't a whole lot of time. After all, Michael had given me 30 days. She 'graciously' allowed me another couple of days by extending her deadline until 12/20. Gee, thanks!
I also pointed out that Michael had said his balance would pay things off and it hadn't. So what faith should I have in her balance? (Note: I was polite throughout this phone call.) She said she would send me some paperwork that I could take into the bank branch. I pointed out her extended deadline was only 5 business days away and that I doubted that the mail service would get it to me by then. She pooh-poohed that saying it would not be a problem since all they had to do is read her notes. (Ummm, if that's true, why did I need her paperwork.) She's talking as she's typing away and finally says the paperwork should arrive in 7 to 10 business days. Say what?!
Needless to say, I had VERY LITTLE faith in what she had to say, especially in light of the fact that she kept having to put me on hold to go ask questions.
I decided to take the bull by the horns. I went to the nearest branch and met with a woman named Rosa. I told her my tale of woe and asked for her help. She got to experience some of my frustration when she called the Mortgage Payoff Hotline and got a run-around similar to mine. At one point the woman at the other end of the line said I could pay with cash if I wanted to and then seconds later said no, I couldn't pay with cash.
Rosa was finally able to get a final total. I went to my credit union and got the payment in hand. I trotted back and was able to give it to Rosa. Now I just have to wait to see if this brings the process to an end. If it doesn't, the gloves come off.
I did have to laugh to myself. At the end of the process, Rosa asked if I wanted her to tell her all about the products available at BofA. I just smiled and said I was happy with my credit union.
I went home and turned on the TV. That was when I found out about the horrible shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut. Oh, how very sad! It's a small enough town that you know this affects everyone. My heart goes out to everyone there.
Papillon
The day started out well. When I got up, it had been raining and continued to do so for most of the morning. Nothing very much, but all of it was welcome.
I went out in the rain to do battle with Bank of America. They are the holders of the mortgage on my house. Over the years, I've been paying extra on my monthly payments. Some months got more, others got less depending upon my financial circumstances. In November I noticed that the balance was low enough for me to contemplate paying it off.
I called the 800 hundred number and spoke with a young man named Michael. I told him what I wanted to do and he gave me a total that he said would pay off the mortgage. Per his instructions, I got a certified check and mailed it off. I've been watching the mail for paperwork showing that the mortgage was history.
Yesterday I got some paperwork for BofA. Guess what, Michael's total hadn't paid off the mortgage. So I called again and got a young woman named Ciji (pronounced SEE-gee). She pooh-poohed most of what Michael had told me. She gave me another balance. All I had to do was get a certified check to one of the local BofA branches by 12/17. I pointed out that wasn't a whole lot of time. After all, Michael had given me 30 days. She 'graciously' allowed me another couple of days by extending her deadline until 12/20. Gee, thanks!
I also pointed out that Michael had said his balance would pay things off and it hadn't. So what faith should I have in her balance? (Note: I was polite throughout this phone call.) She said she would send me some paperwork that I could take into the bank branch. I pointed out her extended deadline was only 5 business days away and that I doubted that the mail service would get it to me by then. She pooh-poohed that saying it would not be a problem since all they had to do is read her notes. (Ummm, if that's true, why did I need her paperwork.) She's talking as she's typing away and finally says the paperwork should arrive in 7 to 10 business days. Say what?!
Needless to say, I had VERY LITTLE faith in what she had to say, especially in light of the fact that she kept having to put me on hold to go ask questions.
I decided to take the bull by the horns. I went to the nearest branch and met with a woman named Rosa. I told her my tale of woe and asked for her help. She got to experience some of my frustration when she called the Mortgage Payoff Hotline and got a run-around similar to mine. At one point the woman at the other end of the line said I could pay with cash if I wanted to and then seconds later said no, I couldn't pay with cash.
Rosa was finally able to get a final total. I went to my credit union and got the payment in hand. I trotted back and was able to give it to Rosa. Now I just have to wait to see if this brings the process to an end. If it doesn't, the gloves come off.
I did have to laugh to myself. At the end of the process, Rosa asked if I wanted her to tell her all about the products available at BofA. I just smiled and said I was happy with my credit union.
I went home and turned on the TV. That was when I found out about the horrible shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut. Oh, how very sad! It's a small enough town that you know this affects everyone. My heart goes out to everyone there.
Papillon
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