Our American Dream

Dear Mr. Obama,

I was genuinely excited when you were elected to office and saw it as an apportunity for the middle and lower class to enjoy a better life.  You assumed office and therefore assumed a lot of the issues that came along with the job of the President of the United States.  To be clear, I feel as though you have been unfairly judged and in order to make a real difference, you most certainly need and deserve another four years in office. 

Having said that, my husband Brian (he is 46 years old) and I (I am 48 years old) do not have another four years, let alone another four weeks to save our home.  

We met in 1987 and remained friends and eventually moved into an apartment together in 1997. 
To most people, we had nothing, except our jobs, a used car and our love for one and other.  In our eyes, we had everything, except a home to call our own.  a home to grow old in together, a home to use as an investment for our retirement years.  We settled down later in life than most do, mainly because of how difficult is was to come to terms with our sexuality in a small town atmosphere.  We were pleasantly surprised when we decided to live our lives as we wanted to and were accepted by both of our families with open arms.  It was one of the greatest moments of our lives.  Our self confidence grew and we started thinking about things we never imagined were possible.  One of which was purchasing our own home.  We saved money, cashed in my 401K plan, sold some stocks we had received from our employer and bought our first (and possibly our last) home.  We were on top of the world!  We immediately started getting calls from mortgage companies wanting us to refinance our home.  We were shocked at the number of calls we received and eventually, after what I now see as a lot of preasure, we agreed to refiance our home.  Of course we were naive and never should have refinanced, but the reality is that we did.  Before we knew it, the market crashed, our new mortgage went adjustable and we were in a panic.  We were finally able to work with our current mortgage company and were set at a fixed rate.  Unfortunately, our original mortgage payment of $1200.00 a month is now a whopping $2200.00 plus and we have a small second mortgavge we had taken to try and help make ends meet.  We earn pretty decent salaries and have been told multiple times by our current mortgage company that we do not qualify for any "Obama Programs" because we make too much money. 

We consulted a real estate attorney and were told one option would be for one of us to quit our job and then refinance with our current mortgage company.  As much as Brian and I would like to reduce our mortgage payment, one of us quitting ut job in this economy, when we should be grateful to have a job is simply not an option.  We have stuck with this mortgage for ten years.  We may have been behind a few times, but we always managed to keep out of foreclosure.  We are looking at another 20 years of working before we can retire (I will be 68 then and Brian will be 66) and we may even have to work longer than that.  We have to make a tough decision about how we are going to prepare for retirement and that regrettably means we may have to walk away from our home.  The thought of being foreclosed on is gut wrenching for both of us.  We love our home, its a small bungalow, just two bedrooms, one bath and a nice yard.  The rooms are small, we will need a furnace within a couple of years, the house is probably worth $160,000.00 and we owe more than $270,000.00.  My mortgage company keeps pushing us to "short sell" the house.  I don't understand why they are willing to take less than we owe from a prospective buyer, but are unwilling to refinance us at a more reasonable rate and monthly mortgage payment.  I am sure it is because the mortgage company is insured for such things, but it still seems wrong to me.  We have paid our mortgage for a decade and that should count for something. 

I have no doubt that you care.  I know you are working on ways to help people in our position, but Brian and I cannot hold on any longer.  We need help and we need it fast.  We don't want anything that isn't coming to us, we just want our American dream back.  We want to wake up from this American Nightmare.  Please, please help us.  I am at a loss. 

With the greatest respect and admiration,

Mark