Anonymous wrote:OP, I work at a food charity in Fairfax County.

Are you in the Alex part of FX Co? City proper?

Apply for food stamps SNAP Program NOW. You can apply on line and there's a lag time of about thirty days (or more if there's a hold up on your application).

You need a social worker to help guide you through affiliated processes and this person can advise of local resources available to help.

Make plans NOW to obtain food via a local food bank and/or pantry. In general, a pantry is small scale and will not have refrigerated items and produce, a bank is akin to a grocery store. Find out where the closest free food resource is and how you obtain food.

Make an appointment, if required, at the food pantry and find out how often you can visit to get food. Keep the appointment!

Food For Others has a free food drop off that does a circuit weekly. This could help you tremendously. You simply wait for the truck as a designated location and are given a bag of groceries, no questions asked.

If you can get away with not buying any groceries for a few months, this will be a huge savings for you. If I can help further, just post and ask.

OP here. Thank you for all this info. We are in the Fairfax County part of Alexandria. I went to a food pantry yesterday morning that i used last year when we needed it for a couple months. They distribute every week, giving out staples along with some extra request items if they have it. They have some produce and will offer to you if/when they have it. They did give out some frozen organic sausage. And I heard they had some deli meat but i had just bought some so passed that by this week. I will continue to go weekly there and look into the others that you suggested.

Checking out the other things you suggested and will come back and let you know if I have any questions. Thank you again!!

Anonymous wrote:OP I feel for you. We are in Alexandria too and have found ourselves in similar positions several times since the recession. It is SO stressful. We are once again headed down this path - thankfully the job market seems stronger this time around but I'm worn down from the continued job losses and DH is older than I - workers older than 50 have it especially tough in certain fields. I continually wonder how we will make it. I do have work but it doesn't come close to covering our expenses but will just cover mortgage. We have come within a month of not being able to pay. We think all the time about when to sell etc. We have 2 teens so it is very difficult but we won't dare lose the equity in our house so we would sell if we needed to but that would mean leaving DC and a whole host of other issues.

Anyway, just wanted you to know there are others of us out there who understand what you are going through. Ignore the people who have no CLUE - Lord knows there are plenty of them.

And that was pretty much the beginning of the end for us. The Recession. My daycare business has changed drastically over the years but held us over as long as DH was employed. Him losing his job was the nail in the coffin so to speak. I am thankful for what little I still have coming in and thankful for my health. i see others around me who are worse off than I am and I remind myself things can definitely be worse. Thank you for your kinds words. much appreciated!

Not OP but good info in case, thanks PP.

OP, I work at a food charity in Fairfax County.

Are you in the Alex part of FX Co? City proper?

Apply for food stamps SNAP Program NOW. You can apply on line and there's a lag time of about thirty days (or more if there's a hold up on your application).

You need a social worker to help guide you through affiliated processes and this person can advise of local resources available to help.

Make plans NOW to obtain food via a local food bank and/or pantry. In general, a pantry is small scale and will not have refrigerated items and produce, a bank is akin to a grocery store. Find out where the closest free food resource is and how you obtain food.

Make an appointment, if required, at the food pantry and find out how often you can visit to get food. Keep the appointment!

Food For Others has a free food drop off that does a circuit weekly. This could help you tremendously. You simply wait for the truck as a designated location and are given a bag of groceries, no questions asked.

If you can get away with not buying any groceries for a few months, this will be a huge savings for you. If I can help further, just post and ask.

OP I feel for you. We are in Alexandria too and have found ourselves in similar positions several times since the recession. It is SO stressful. We are once again headed down this path - thankfully the job market seems stronger this time around but I'm worn down from the continued job losses and DH is older than I - workers older than 50 have it especially tough in certain fields. I continually wonder how we will make it. I do have work but it doesn't come close to covering our expenses but will just cover mortgage. We have come within a month of not being able to pay. We think all the time about when to sell etc. We have 2 teens so it is very difficult but we won't dare lose the equity in our house so we would sell if we needed to but that would mean leaving DC and a whole host of other issues.

Anyway, just wanted you to know there are others of us out there who understand what you are going through. Ignore the people who have no CLUE - Lord knows there are plenty of them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something similar happened to me. Sent bunch of paperwork for months and months and they even filed to send me a letter denying modification. Received that letter months later apologizing that they forgot to tell me that I was denied and should pay up.
I was able to borrow money from relatives to pay up and get out of foreclosure. forget the refinancing/ modification/ hardship unless you have a lawyer do it. It's endless useless phone calls if you do it.
Please check craigslist and get a job as a hostess/ waitress. We are constantly hiring. Can't find people to work for $11 (hostess), $15-$30 an hour (waiters). I'm home with a baby, but go to work at night and on weekends when my DH is at home.
Good luck!

For months all the mortgage company did was continually ask us for the SAME paperwork over and over. I asked them before it they can refi our loan and was told they dont do anymore financing, would have to go to someone else. At this point, I am ready to just tell them have the house but am too smart to know the offers they gave us (deed in lieu or short sale) means no money in our pocket. even if we walk away with minimal is more than if we do it the way they are offering.

What you mention here sounds like what happened to my friend. Eventually she "got the modification" then shortly after that had her loan sold to a company called Selene Finance. Based on the Internet, they seem to buy up loans for half the value or less then foreclose on the homeowner and sell the house at below market rates but still significantly above their cost to make big profits. I'd think long and hard about trying to get a modification, especially if you have equity and can get out with cash in hand.

Loan modification doesn't make any sense unless the original loan terms were predatory. If the loan terms were reasonable, and the borrower can no longer pay, then the borrower needs to sell, or let's say, the property needs to be sold, one way or another. This is best for the lender, to get repayment, and for the borrower, who is released from an unaffordable obligation. It was a policy mistake to raise everyone's hopes about modification, as if home ownership was an inalienable right or something. My hope is that from now on, people applying for mortgages will not be under the impression that there will be any assistance if in future they cannot pay. This may sound like tough love, but it will help ensure that better decisions are made.

And what about those who DO buy a house not expecting any kind of bale out or impressions of assistance who suffer loss of income, the death of a spouse, etc? Not fair to say really. I have worked my ass off to keep my house, havent sat around expecting anyone to help even when in dire straits at some point or another in my life, only asked mortgage company for help twice because of the situation. I honestly dont see anything wrong with people asking for help when faced with this kind of a situation. Now if you are talking of someone who is always looking for another way, asking for help to avoid having to deal with it themselves, then I agree. Those people need a rude awakening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something similar happened to me. Sent bunch of paperwork for months and months and they even filed to send me a letter denying modification. Received that letter months later apologizing that they forgot to tell me that I was denied and should pay up.
I was able to borrow money from relatives to pay up and get out of foreclosure. forget the refinancing/ modification/ hardship unless you have a lawyer do it. It's endless useless phone calls if you do it.
Please check craigslist and get a job as a hostess/ waitress. We are constantly hiring. Can't find people to work for $11 (hostess), $15-$30 an hour (waiters). I'm home with a baby, but go to work at night and on weekends when my DH is at home.
Good luck!

For months all the mortgage company did was continually ask us for the SAME paperwork over and over. I asked them before it they can refi our loan and was told they dont do anymore financing, would have to go to someone else. At this point, I am ready to just tell them have the house but am too smart to know the offers they gave us (deed in lieu or short sale) means no money in our pocket. even if we walk away with minimal is more than if we do it the way they are offering.

What you mention here sounds like what happened to my friend. Eventually she "got the modification" then shortly after that had her loan sold to a company called Selene Finance. Based on the Internet, they seem to buy up loans for half the value or less then foreclose on the homeowner and sell the house at below market rates but still significantly above their cost to make big profits. I'd think long and hard about trying to get a modification, especially if you have equity and can get out with cash in hand.

Loan modification doesn't make any sense unless the original loan terms were predatory. If the loan terms were reasonable, and the borrower can no longer pay, then the borrower needs to sell, or let's say, the property needs to be sold, one way or another. This is best for the lender, to get repayment, and for the borrower, who is released from an unaffordable obligation. It was a policy mistake to raise everyone's hopes about modification, as if home ownership was an inalienable right or something. My hope is that from now on, people applying for mortgages will not be under the impression that there will be any assistance if in future they cannot pay. This may sound like tough love, but it will help ensure that better decisions are made.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something similar happened to me. Sent bunch of paperwork for months and months and they even filed to send me a letter denying modification. Received that letter months later apologizing that they forgot to tell me that I was denied and should pay up.
I was able to borrow money from relatives to pay up and get out of foreclosure. forget the refinancing/ modification/ hardship unless you have a lawyer do it. It's endless useless phone calls if you do it.
Please check craigslist and get a job as a hostess/ waitress. We are constantly hiring. Can't find people to work for $11 (hostess), $15-$30 an hour (waiters). I'm home with a baby, but go to work at night and on weekends when my DH is at home.
Good luck!

For months all the mortgage company did was continually ask us for the SAME paperwork over and over. I asked them before it they can refi our loan and was told they dont do anymore financing, would have to go to someone else. At this point, I am ready to just tell them have the house but am too smart to know the offers they gave us (deed in lieu or short sale) means no money in our pocket. even if we walk away with minimal is more than if we do it the way they are offering.

What you mention here sounds like what happened to my friend. Eventually she "got the modification" then shortly after that had her loan sold to a company called Selene Finance. Based on the Internet, they seem to buy up loans for half the value or less then foreclose on the homeowner and sell the house at below market rates but still significantly above their cost to make big profits. I'd think long and hard about trying to get a modification, especially if you have equity and can get out with cash in hand.

Anonymous wrote:Something similar happened to me. Sent bunch of paperwork for months and months and they even filed to send me a letter denying modification. Received that letter months later apologizing that they forgot to tell me that I was denied and should pay up.
I was able to borrow money from relatives to pay up and get out of foreclosure. forget the refinancing/ modification/ hardship unless you have a lawyer do it. It's endless useless phone calls if you do it.
Please check craigslist and get a job as a hostess/ waitress. We are constantly hiring. Can't find people to work for $11 (hostess), $15-$30 an hour (waiters). I'm home with a baby, but go to work at night and on weekends when my DH is at home.
Good luck!

For months all the mortgage company did was continually ask us for the SAME paperwork over and over. I asked them before it they can refi our loan and was told they dont do anymore financing, would have to go to someone else. At this point, I am ready to just tell them have the house but am too smart to know the offers they gave us (deed in lieu or short sale) means no money in our pocket. even if we walk away with minimal is more than if we do it the way they are offering.

I sat up late last night in between working online and filled out multiple job apps. Getting ready to look at more stuff on Craigslist tonight.

Anonymous wrote:OP, where do you live?

We are in Alexandria.

Anonymous wrote:selling and downgrading/renting seems like the best option for me. sorry to hear about your situation, OP.

Thank you. I am looking into rentals right now and getting ready to talk to someone this week about our house. Even if we get out breaking even would make me happy, although coming out with some money would be helpful.

First of all, for the disbelievers who want to put me down. I have just been through oral surgery and have been down since Tuesday. So i havent been here much since i posted.

Secondly, the "internet job" you diss pays me $14 an hour, more than I am going to make going out of here to work. It IS a legit company located in McLean. FYI I spent last night filling out job apps online. I am not just sitting here the train wreck you speak of waiting for everything to come down. I asked if there was anything anyone else could think of I havent already.

I have been checking out rentals and am waiting for a call from someone in the family to help me with the possibility of selling my house and the first thing she asked is if i had somewhere to go if i had to leave the house overnight. Thankfully I do if need be but it wont be a permanent solution. I am not too proud to rent, I have been there before becoming a home owner and believe me, would be happier if I could rent again and not have to worry about the issues home ownership has. I really dont think i am being "unreasonable" by being house proud, after all, who really WANTS to lose their home. however it wont stop me from doing what i need to do. At least i tried.

As for a loan modification, I actually DID get one a couple years ago. Wasnt much but at the time it helped us. Why they dont see unemployment as a "need" is beyond me. not sure why they wont do it for us now. All these years in my house and the bank just assumes it easier to have me lose the house than to try and save it

To 7:50 pp, believe me my head is far from being in the clouds.

I agree, the OP has her head in the clouds. She will not get a loan modification. The bank will sell the loan before the process is complete. Why even ask for advice is you won't listen to people?

OP, I tried to help you but you kind of sound like a train wreck. You sound stubborn and as if you do not want to take good advice.

That's okay. It's up to you. The last thing I would want to see is your furniture out on the lawn like I did with the family I previously tried to help who did not listen.

They kept hanging on.

I understand you are house proud.

There is no shame in renting.

Think about it.

But don't keep posting here about Internet jobs. Get yourself a REAL job. Wait tables. Bar-tend. Whatever. If your house is that important to you, GET A JOB, ANY JOB AND STOP POSTING HERE. STOP waiting for things to happen - MAKE THEM HAPPEN!

My first idea would be to rent out the house and rent something cheaper/smaller. Then your mortgage is paid and hopefully when the lease is up, your situation will be better. If you don't have kids, you could live in a very small place for a brief time.

But don't rule out selling the house - better to sell it by "choice" than to lose it to foreclosure.