My CA-Domestic Partner bought our Oakland, CA home in April 2003. Over the last four years his mental and as of late, his physical health has taken a severe decline. Two years ago in April 2005, we refinanced and was completely pushed to the wire to sign the loan forms of which we were totally run over with service charges and the like, a hideous ordeal with Countrywide Lending. Last year in 2006, we converted our garage into an In-Law Apt. to help suppliment our mortgage payment which is an adjustible mortgage. We increased the value of our home by some $40,000. A home that was bought in 2003 for $335,000. is now appraised at $555,000. We owe approx. $460,000 in mortgage, which leaves approx. $80-90,000. in Equity that we haven't been able to tap into to.
We ended up filing for Ch. 13 Bankruptcy in December of 2006. We made our first six months of payments to the First and Second Mortgages and to our court ordered payment to the Bankrupcy Trustee. All of a sudden all of those payments together went up almost a $1,000. That made our new mortgage payments, now 1st Mortgage=$2300., the 2nd Mortgage=$650. and the trustee went from $100. to a whoping $749.00 a month, which totals around $3699. a month just for a house of 900 square feet. That's without paying any other bills.
We were wrongfully arrested this last April and while retaining lawyers after getting out of jail our home was robbed. We lost all of our lifetimes work. The business computers were taken and all of our hardrives and the home owners insurance with Liberty Mutual turns out to stipule that we had a cap of $1500. on anything business related, and that to recoup any payout of our claim we would need to out of our own pocket purchase new computers, cameras, hard drives, etc. and then submit the receipts and we would be reinburst. What couple thousand we did receive in pre-settlement went to pay for an attorney for our case to soon be thrown out of court.
In mid-2006, we filled with the Social Security Administration for Disability benefits for my partner only to have our application fall through the cracks, it just was lost. We only this last week have been able to secure a staple of $861. from SSI until his full benefits can be issued or put into place over the next six months. Our business of Internet Marketing came to a crashing halt. My partners mental health took a complete downward spin from spending two years of his retirement funds which are now insolvent, to keep up the house, when Social Security Disability Benefits of some $1500. a month should have kicked in. a year ago. The bankruptcy, our wrongful arrest and subsequaint robbery of our home and lifetimes works. We've strived to maintain our home by hook and by crook, buying, selling, trading, anything to make sure we paid our home mortgages and I'm his CA-Domestic Partner who is disabled and only bringing in $1400. a month.
We tried over the last 6 months with numerous Mortgage Companies and Lenders only to be truned down upon talking to the Bancruptcy Trustee and had no follow through to even taking an Equity Line of Credit due to each of our over the last two years credit rating taking a decline.
So here we are having defaulted on our last two months payments and the Backruptcy Trustee has now ordered dismissal of our Bancruptcy which means the whole process of bankruptcy is null and void as of the letter we received yesterday, August 23rd of 2007, which was dated August 15th of 2007 and we did contact our Bankruptcy Attorney two weeks ago, just at the deadline to make ammends and possibly Re-Ammend our terms of the Ch. 13 and since she was heading out of town that any of her Dismissals would be put on hold and no action taken, well, yesterday we received the letter requesting an Order of Dismissal and after even visiting our Attorneies Office this week to have her get in touch with us, she has not bothered to return any of our calls or messages. We've been told that nothing can be done now, the process in motion.
So what happens now, My life partner whom at one time in his career was an IT Technician with IBM, is not mentally or physically able to maintain much existance in the workforce, to care for himself, thus the S.S.D.I. application and its funds have not been forthcoming. Myself who has lived for 23 years on this earth with full blown AIDS and I 've had Cancer twice, and I'm still here, are to be put out of our home in the near future. Where are we to go, Section 8 housing could be a year or more down the line. What is to become of us.
Signed,
Terrified, Depressed, Unsure of our future.
