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Monday, August 15, 2011

On the Move

It's been a while since I have written anything. Life seems to be passing by at an alarmingly fast speed! As many of you know, Jim and I went(are going through)some tough financial times. When we opened the cabinet business in 2007 we knew that it would be hard for a while, but we never imagined the economy to tank the way it did. We tried using our "credit" for saving the business, but when we stopped getting work, we had to make some very tough decisions. One of which was to include our house in the bankruptcy.

Shortly after the discharge of our bankruptcy, we tried to work with the bank to obtain a loan modification. After putting us through several months of a "trial period" (where we paid them a "good faith" payment) they came back and told us we didn't qualify. We made another big decision to hire an attorney to help us avoid foreclosure. Unfortunately, the process had already begun and less than a week of retaining an attorney we were served. LONG STORY short (well, not quite so short)... For one year now, we feel like we have not seen any result with regards to keeping the house. We have been able to work through the baby steps in the Total Money Makeover (we are on Baby Step 4- saving for retirement). And by continuing to fight for the house would essentially keep us from moving forward in our process to become financially stable. Sooooooooooo, all that to say, we have decided to let go of the house and we'll be moving.

Our move-in date to our new apartment is September 24. That gives us close to 6 weeks to slim down (our stuff,) pack and move. We are going to attempt garage sales each weekend from now until the weekend before we move. Hopefully we will sell off all our unwanted stuff (that we don't want to put in storage) and make a little moolah too.

We have a 3 year plan in place. By taking a smaller, less expensive apartment, we will be able to stash cash and in 3 years have a hefty sum of money to put towards a down payment (Dave Ramsey advocates paying cash for a house, but if you can't do that, he recommends no more than a 15 year mortgage). We trust that the Lord will bless our efforts in being better stewards of what HE has given to us, and that HE will show us when the time is right to move forward on another home.

Please pray for us as we make this change in our lives. I have no idea what kind of emotional attachment Joshua may have on this house. It's all he's ever known for almost 3 years. I know I may get weepy eyed but I can see the big picture and understand what is trying to be accomplished, Joshua doesn't understand that. I pray that he transitions like a trooper.

We have our new address and phone number and I will send out an email when we get settled in with that info. If I don't have your email and you want an update please email me at kaustin14325@yahoo.com!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mom & Dad are Behind You and Beside you 110%.

Dani said...

Kelly, I'm so sorry to hear about the house. If you need any help with moving or anything else, let us know. We are moving pros by now. :)

Anonymous said...

Prayers!

143

Bekah said...

Oh dear...I'm sorry to hear it. But I'm happy that you have a plan and are moving forward rather than dwelling on the past. Much love to you!