Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Inching forward




So this past week I had a little bit of good news - I got an offer on the house. One step forward. Now that the offer has gone to the bank, it is up to the people there to determine whether they will accept it, and up to the potential buyers to not back out of it. I am hoping that since they had to sell their former house in a short sale, that they won't back out. They have also been asking about the land next door, which I see as a promising sign. For those of you without the background knowledge...when I bought this house, there was a house on the lot next door, which was a rental. It was sold to a new buyer, who ended up walking away from it, so it sat empty for two years while I bothered the city to take it down. This past July, the house was finally razed. So basically, my house, in St. Paul, sits on a 25-foot lot, and my yard is the 25-foot lot to the east of the house. The house that was torn down was on the 25-foot lot to the west of my house, which is also a corner lot. So my house sits alone now, with space on either side of it. Pretty good deal for a house in the city, where you can usually literally reach out and touch you neighbor.
The buyers asked for a closing date of 11/30, which I doubt will happen, since it is 40 days after their offer AND they are not first-time home buyers to boot, but it is really up to Wells Fargo. Either way, as of sometime around the end of Nov, or if it is moved out, sometime in December, I will be without a home. A kind friend has offered to let me stay with her and her husband until I leave. I would feel bad imposing upon her for so long but I might need to. Speaking of leaving...
I also talked to the Placement and Assessment Assistant at Peace Corps, who was reviewing my file for completeness. I sent her an updated resume, my file is now complete and, I hope, going to the Placement Officer. I hope to hear from her soon.

The bad news is, I have to find a new home for my two wonderful kitties. This is breaking my heart to do, even more so because I have already sent out a number of communications to people about it and NO ONE is interested in taking them - I could cry. I cannot take them to a shelter or to the Humane Society - I just can't. So when I send out the link to this post, I am hoping that someone will read this and fall in love with my kitties, and help me out. A lot of people don't understand how important pets can be to people - they are basically my "children" and I have had them for nine years. They mean the world to me, and it is essential that I find a home where they will be as loved as they are here. Like everything else, I am trying to continue trusting that everything will work out...

Friday, October 9, 2009

Clarification


Okay, I heard back from the placement eligibility specialist. We have a nice chat on the phone. So it seems I CAN get an invite after all, but the house is going to have to sell, or be resolved somehow, before I can actually leave. He told me my file is back with the placement officer for my "region" and now I am just waiting to hear from her, when she starts sending out invites. That is some relief.


The house, the house, the house. Anyone in my area who knows someone who is buying, please tell them about it. Those of you who know me and have seen the house know how nice it is, due to all of my renovations. It's a tough market out there for selling a house. If it does not sell by a certain date, I may end up in foreclosure. This could affect my status, because it is considered a "major life event" for PC and they don't like it to seem like a person is joining PC to run away from obligations or major life events. That being said, he told me that a foreclosure today is not viewed the same as it was five or ten years ago. Nonetheless, I would much rather the house sells than go into foreclosure...if it gets to that point, I will definitely share my experience and hope it does not impact my being able to leave.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Stuck

My PC application, which for a few weeks was going swimmingly, is now "on hold" until my house sells. This may be never, so I am really worried about this situation.

I received a note from the financial/legal "placement eligibility specialist" on Sept 29, stating: "Before I can grant you final legal clearance, I will need documentation that either these obligations have been paid in full (e.g. account balance statements) or that you have left behind sufficient funds to meet this financial obligation in your absence, as well as a mechanism by which monthly payments can be made (again, monthly account statements showing income and automatic deductions). If you have someone else assume this debt, we will need the original copy of a notarized letter from them stating this intent mailed to me at the address below. We have time before this financial issue can hold up your application, and we can move through much of the application process without final legal clearance. Please respond to all requests for information and documentation, particularly from the Office of Medical Services, even though this financial issue is not yet resolved.

Please be aware that you do not want to take any concrete steps regarding your home until you have been offered an invitation to serve in Peace Corps."


So effectively he said I cannot get an invite until I sell the house, but not to sell the house until I get an invite. I asked for clarification, and was told "You can go through the entire application process with a legal (financial) hold on your application. If you are offered an invitation, we would need verification that your financial obligations (credit card, house) have been satisfied prior to your departure. You can still be invited to serve on the condition that we would have the necessary documentation before you could depart.

Continue making payments as planned. I will follow up with you as your file moves through the application process. If anything happens with your house, please contact me. "


This reply still did not really clear things up for me, so I asked for clarification. This morning I got an e-mail that said "Be patient. Your file is going through the normal application process. The hold remains until your house sells."

I've also tried to get in touch with this nice person via telephone, which always goes to voice mail, which is not returned. I'm kind of frustrated at this point - getting conflicting messages. First that I have to sell the house to get an invite, then not to, then that my file is on hold until the house sells. Since my house has been on the market for 41 days with 9 people looking at it, and no offers, a sale does not look imminent. I am worried.

Eventually if the house does not sell, it will go into foreclosure - a realistic-looking scenario, given my circumstances. If I cannot get someone to be my representative through this, starting pretty much immediately, my application will never be cleared.

So I'm frustrated.