I was at the courthouse steps Monday morning, watching as one of the first homes I ever sold was foreclosed. This was the only one we have sold that has "gone bad," and I didn't really like it. But I guess I had better toughen-up, because I have a feeling a lot more will be coming.
The family who bought this home had lost another home to foreclosure years ago. They spent some time working on credit and were approved fora decent loan and were referrred to me. The first house I showed them, they fell in-love with, and made an offer. It was a HUD-owned home, so it took a little back-and-forth, but they bought it at a very good price, and for about $20,000 less than they were approved by their lender. It was a good deal for them and their 5 kids. 9 months to the day after closing, baby 6 arrived.
About a year later, I get a call, asking me to sell their home, because they were going to lose it. They had refinanced to add-on so each child could have their own room, and made some improvements, and were now falling behind. I was at the foreclosure sale that time, which appeared to go through, but they had filed bankruptcy the day before to get it stopped. Apparently they refinanced twice more in the past two years, to the point of being at nearly 12% interest and owing more than the property is worth. Now, they have lost another home, and I feel terrible about it. This will be the third time this house has been foreclosed on, as well...
I don't feel guilty. I helped them get a good property at a price that they could manage, and should have been able to raise their children in. But they made some really poor decisions and just semed to keep digging the hole deeper, until there was no way to climb out. Don't get me wrong- I would love to be able to afford a home with a separate room for each kid, and we do plan on adding on, but it won't happen if it will put us in danger of losing our home. I guess I just don't see how someone can lose one home, struggle to be able to buy another, then turn around and make the same mistakes again and again until they lose the new home, too.
Yeah, this hurts. What hurts the most is knowing that their children will, once again, have to pack their things and move into another home. I am willing to bet the next one won't have 7 bedrooms....
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