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by Yoly Tumangan Tubalinal.
March 20, 2011
Unlike any of our previous trips to Houston those past seven years, this one weighs heavily on our hearts and minds. For unlike in the past when Bart and I spent 3 or 4 weeks of pure rest, relaxation and leisure during each of our visits with something to look forward to returning in a few months, this visit will be short, hectic and stressful. There’s too much to do in so very little time. Worst of all, there’s no one else but ourselves and our dear friend Karen to rely on for help. This is when we’ll need a powerful miracle from above. Indeed, now is when we can use a lot of prayers from real friends.
I debated for many weeks whether or not to write about our current challenge because of the risk of being subjected to rush and unfair judgments by narrow minds. I asked myself what good it would serve anyone outside of our family and close friends to know about our situation now to make it worth putting our reputation in jeopardy and possibly reaping an undeserved backlash. But the more I think about how I’ve always fought for justice and fairness and how I’ve advocated for people to speak their minds and learn to stand up for themselves and for others who are too weak to do so themselves, the more I realize how important it is to make public our impending battle with another corporate giant, the Bank of America.
The last time I took on a corporate giant, Mutual of Omaha, I won the fight and got my life insurance re-instated. But unlike that battle, where I only had to use the power of my pen and the resources of the Internet, plus some wise legal advice and tips from my daughter, our looming fight with Bank of America will entail a lawsuit and no small expenses in legal fees, court costs and travel expenses etc. Just the thought of it already gives me a huge headache.
A Second Home
When we thought of buying a home in 2004 for our future retirement, Bart and I searched the Internet for the ideal place. We wanted to go where it doesn’t snow and the weather is almost like the Philippines but not as hot. It should be a place where the cost of living is lower and there’s big enough Filipino population in case we decided to expand our publication.
We search ended in Houston, Texas. It has the 3rd largest Filipino population and very affordable and great looking homes. It was perfect for us, or so we thought. Back then, virtual tours of real estate properties were a tool that helped us explore out-of-town real estate to the max without having to step out of the comforts of our home.
We picked 13 homes to see and sought out a Filipino realtor in the area, again, through the Internet. We booked a flight and a hotel and arranged to meet with our realtors, Mary and Nilo Sangalang. Mary picked us up at the airport and toured us to the houses. In two and a half days we saw 15 homes and decided to purchase the last house we saw that had much of what we wanted, except a hardwood floor and a more updated master suite. It was a lovely 2-strorey brick house with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
Together with our 3 kids and Bart’s niece’s family, we spent our first Christmas in Houston in 2004. Except for a few personal things we shipped from our old house in Illinois, everything else in the house was brand new. Unlike in Illinois, refrigerators, washers and dryers don’t necessarily come with the house in Houston. The sellers take the appliances with them when they move out. Now we’ll be forced to sell these less than slightly used possessions at half or a fraction of the cost we had bought them
Taking on a Goliath
Bart’s idea of preparing for our retirement included paying off our Houston home early, so he enrolled in an accelerated payment program where his weekly payments (instead of the regular monthly payments) were being automatically deducted from our bank account. He keeps a record of his payments in his computer and religiously monitors his bank transactions online. Then came the temptation to apply for a home modification loan to bring our interest rates down to 2% for 5 years and then to a ceiling of 5% after a few more years.
Bart inquired about how to apply for the loan in September of 2009. BOC told him an application form would be mailed to him after 45 days. In March 2010 (6 months after his call) he followed up on the forms with a phone call. In May an application was mailed to our Houston address. The papers had been forwarded to us by Bart’s nephew who happened to be staying at our place then for a brief respite from his pastoral work. We didn’t get to open and send in the application till June 2010. It was also in that month when the first draft for our trial payment was made.
The draft continued till November 2010 when Bart refused BOC’s loan servicing agent’s terms of home modification loan. While the interest rates were great, the loan amount was much higher than our actual loan, plus the fact payment would last 30 years. After Bart declined the offer, a demand for payment of the full amount of mortgage covering the trial payment period of 6 months including finance charges came in the mail with threats that failure to do so would cause foreclosure of our home.
Bart argued that they couldn’t foreclose on a home when it is not at default, citing that our mortgage amortizations are paid until August 2013. Despite Bart’s letters to the bank, its loan servicing agent and to the US Attorney General, Texas Attorney General and the OCC (a regulatory body for national banks), the foreclosure sale of our house was set on April 5, 2011.
You would think that doing the responsible thing would keep you out of trouble but with our recent bad experience with Bank of America, we couldn’t help thinking how the avarice of capitalism and the apathy and connivance of our elected officials in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of our government have jeopardized our life and livelihood.
You’d ask, as did our close friends, how it was possible to foreclose on a home that is paid two years in advance. We don’t have any answer either. Today, we’re in Houston, trying to do what we thought was our best option, selling our stuff and shipping the rest to Illinois. We are seriously considering suing Bank of America and its congenerics. The rest is up to our Lord, who is now looking down on us as we pray that justice be done soon, if not now.