HI! I see it has been a while since I have been here. I have been (as usual) dealing with more than one person can … and I am tired, but considering the circumstances, I have been realizing that I am more deserving of maybe a medal? definitely at least, some extra credit!
The house went through foreclosure and wasn’t even on the market the last six months (at least) per the divorce decree. ANd of course, he has quit paying his judgment for the child support money he was ordered to return in 2011.
I tried to respond in the foreclosure and was actually granted a settlement conference; I was planning to go in and ask the Court to oversee the sale of the house and definitely, change of realtor, as he had signed a one year agreement (nobody does that if they mean to sell the property!) But my conference was vacated at the request of the banks’s attorney.
My ex brother-in-law bought it at sheriff sale. He paid $57k on a $91k judgment; the house was appraised at $146k shortly before the hearing in 2012. WHAT A STEAL.
So today I had to go to Court as I am being evicted. It has been harrowing, because there is plenty of information geared toward former owners and tenants, but not “ex-spouses left in the lurch”. However, I did not receive the summons and only knew about it by knowing the people I’ve been forced to deal with and checking on-line. So the matter was postponed, as I am supposed to have sufficient time between service and appearance.
The brother in law (BIL) stated that he and his siblings were determined the house not pass out of the family (actually, the acre of land it sits on). I learned he has a real estate license, though expired. So he knows how things work … and fact is, they could have made a good sales offer anytime while the house was under contract or even after, before the foreclosure judgment came through. It now “makes sense” that ex did not respond AT ALL to the foreclosure, despite filing numerous (at least 7 times) motions and etc indicating he wanted to keep the house, wanted possession, was having “no trouble” making payments … etc. All premeditated and of course, now the access to even MORE MONEY GUARANTEED, as they paid cash for a property worth about $89k more …
On a related note, I was looking over the mortgages, as we bought the house together in 1998. There was an initial mortgage of $95k, for 20 years. When it was refinanced a year before he filed (and yes, he took money out then), the new 30 year mortgage was for $91k.
BUT, after I was forced to quit claim it to him a year after our first divorce (and none of the $6k I received coming out of the house), I went back and made a $10k principal payment on the note …
… if you “back that out”, the house was actually and truly mortgaged for more in 2009 than it was initially, meaning I AM the only person who truly has paid it down (at all) and it has merely been a piggy bank for him. I did a full amortization and the note should be around $17k …
Really surprised attorney didn’t catch this … or a lot else, but I have been learning there is not a lot of knowledge out there, on the matter. I searched the American Bar Association site and did not find much about gambling, at all, much less protecting clients from PG.
I’ve been really frustrated with lawmakers here in my state, but I am getting onto a nearly “first name” basis now. I contacted both the senate and house office for my district today before Court and was explaining how I have no “standing” in the eviction matter, nor did I in the foreclosure, etc. I was told by both assistants, whom I have spoken with before, that they have never heard of/dealt with “such” as the situation I’ve been forced to cope with. Whew! Some validation … and appreciate the encouragement not to give up! 🙂
I have a million things to pack and only a tentative rental approval so am going to go for now but hoping to not stay a stranger as much! My oldest daughter moved out Saturday. Of course that has been bittersweet, but when I think of alternatives, and KNOW, with no room for doubts, that they and I have been no more than extra “piggy banks” I guess the damages I have suffered worth the short term (I hope) problems. And though there is a LONG way to go, apparently, before the state acknowledges that not all gambling related damages can be “fixed” (especially for family members) through bankruptcy and therapy … I’m appalled at the fact that our 21 year old has credit ruined and no real recourse, while all the “more mature adults” who even tried to destroy my bond with her and her sister … left her “as is” while profiting mightily and continuing to enable their father’s acts of destruction. If I didn’t go through this, I highly doubt I would have believed it possible.
S o looking forward to resting my head on a pillow … soon and not waking up to a nightmare and adrenalin coursing through my veins, first thing.