No Reprieve for the Diligent

With life’s challenges it sometimes becomes necessary to be proactive and take matters into your own hands in an attempt to reduce the chances of negative effects which can no doubt cripple you financially, if not worst. However, sometimes your well intentions can land you in a situation which can be both frustrating and overwhelming especially when you are dealing with seemingly ignorant people. Recently I found myself in just such a predicament. I've owned my home for roughly 15 years. Well I’m making mortgage payments with the hope of owning it someday. Sidebar: I don’t know why they say you “own” your home when truth is the bank/mortgage company owns it. Don’t believe me? Miss a payment and see how long it takes for them to start foreclosure proceedings to have you removed out of the house if you don’t rectify the delinquency.   

Now back to your regularly schedule programming – lol. Okay, as I was saying, recently I found myself in just such a predicament. I've owned my home for roughly 15 years. I've never been late with a payment nor have I ever missed a payment. With the challenges of losing my job, the car accident which rendered me unable to work, and subsequent health issues, I found myself at the verge of missing a payment.  So being the proactive person that I am I decided to contact my mortgage company to see if there was anything they could do to help a sister out. Well, actually my first letter to them was just pretty much me asking them to take into consideration all the stuff I had gone through and to consider offering me mortgage forgiveness. I know you're thinking, “what big balls you have Yáminah” lol. 

The way I figure it, I've been paying on this house for 15 years. Taking into consideration the purchase price, the interest rate, the amount of the monthly payments, and the length of time I have been paying on it, surely by now I have more than paid for it. The only thing/drawback is it all went to interest, well the bulk of it anyway. Shoot, if banks could get a bailout from the federal government, the least they could/can do is pay it forward. Can I get an Amen? Think about it. In life you have to give to get, right? So why can’t the banks and mortgage companies give something back for a change?

Open your local newspaper on any given day and you will find it is filled with countless foreclosures. Walk through your neighborhood – how many empty/vacant houses do you see? There are 95 houses in my neighborhood. Fifteen (15) of them are vacant. Most of them have been vandalized or the local teens have set up shop in them. Banks/mortgage companies really don’t gain/benefit from foreclosures, especially in this economy but nobody of influence has figured that out yet or if they have, they don’t care because it really ain't their money.

Anyway, as I was saying before I ran off on that “chain of thought”, I sent a couple of letters to my mortgage company requesting assistance or at best, for mortgage forgiveness. Up until recently, my interactions with them had been minimal at best.  Being a proactive person, rather than wait until my situation became grave, I opted to reach out to see what alternatives or options were available to me. At the end of April I wrote them a second letter detailing the hardship I was experiencing as a result of health and economical issues, and my desire to stay current with my mortgage payments if in fact mortgage forgiveness was not an option. What I got in response was a brief voice message from one of their staff members the week of May 20^th. Upon returning her call we discussed in details my situation, i.e., that I was unemployed, did not have any income since 2/5/13, was disabled due to a car accident on 6/6/12, was waiting for a ruling on my disability application, and my desire to keep my home. She then indicated that she had sent me a package in the mail and that I should complete and return it as soon as possible. A few days later I received the envelope containing an application for the Making Home Affordable Program. On May 27^th, after completing the application I hand delivered it to the agent along with the supporting documents. 

During that meeting with the agent, I again shared my situation and my desire to save my home.  She shared that she would give my application to the underwriter and hopefully have a decision for me by that Thursday or Friday. That did not happen. Giving her the benefit, I waited until the following week (June 3^rd) before visiting the office. At that time she apologized for not getting back to me citing preoccupation with foreclosures as her reason for not getting back to me.  She then indicated that she would have a response for me by that Friday (June 7^th). Again, she did not follow through. It is important to note that not once during our conversations did she indicate that my application was contingent on me being delinquent (a fact that she already knew was not the case as I am and have always been up to date with my payments since the onset off my loan). In fact I was led to believe that based on my situation, assistance was almost guaranteed. My options were either: 1) a suspension of payments for a period of 12 months; or 2) partial/reduced payments with the latter being my preference as the first option would affect my credit rating.  I had no idea that any of this was considered a formal loan modification as I am aware that you have to have income in order to be considered for that, or that this process was a part of “loss mitigation”. Nothing in those terms was ever mentioned. Truth is I thought this "Hope" program was a similar program to the "Home Safe Georgia" program – a program for which I was a participant the year before.

What happened next is what really frustrated me. On Saturday June 15^th I received a notice of certified mail from my local post office in my mailbox. When I picked up the certified mail on Monday June, 17^th it was only to discover that it was a duplicate copy of a letter the agent had sent me, which was delivered to my home without incident on that Saturday (June 15^th). That the agent felt the need to also send the rejection letter via certified mail knowing full well that I had difficulty getting around and would have to make a special trip to the post office to retrieve it, to me was inconsiderate and showed no regard for my physical condition.  That she knowingly offered me false hope that the Making Home Affordable Program was an option for me giving the details of my situation was also very inconsiderate. Not only did I waste my time and energy completing and compiling supporting documents for an application that was mute, I also wasted time and gas traveling to their office twice. 

Even if I was to give her the benefit of the doubt that she was not aware of the eligibility requirements for the program; that she neglected to research the program’s requirements prior to mailing out the application shows a deficit in her attention to detail and speaks volume to her lack of dedication for what she does. 

To add insult to injury, her letter dated 6/13/13, which I have determined is a form letter generated by their system, insinuated that there was still hope for me when it  included the following sentence: “Although we cannot process your request at this time, this does not mean your situation is hopeless.” As such, I wasted no time calling her to inquire about what other alternatives were available, only to be told, interestingly enough, that there was nothing else available because all other programs requires that my account be delinquent or that I had some form of income.

Then to add to my frustration, attempts to pay my mortgage through their phone option proved to be futile as was attempts to reach an actual live person on the phone. I then turned to the Internet thinking I could pay it online, however that option was not available to me once I logged into my account. I had to resort to calling the main number for their parent company to get assistance in finding a live person to help me.  I was first transferred to the “supervisor” but he did not answer and his voice message indicated that “this is the week of June 17^th. Bear in mind this was Monday June 25^th. All I could do at that point was shake my head before calling back the parent company’s main number and requesting someone else.  I was then transferred to another agent who did her best to help me after I relayed to her my challenges in making a payment.  Not sure if my telling her I was in the process of getting dressed to come down there had any bearing on her willingness to help. Anyway, it was during that call that I learned for the first time that my account had some sort of “stop” mode assigned to it which prevented any payments to the account. She indicated that she would remove the hold and process my payment.  She also indicated that she would waive the $5 processing fee associated with making a phone payment through her - a gesture for which I was grateful even though I knew fully well that there was no fees for over the phone payments. I figure I would just choose my battles since I wanted to win the war.

My main frustration with this whole ordeal is that there appears to be no consideration/relief for people like myself who pay their bills on time but find themselves in a similar predicament due to no fault of their own. It appears that in this country we promote/reward people for “abandoning” their responsibilities and punish the ones who  don't but instead does the right thing. It seems like the people who are delinquent in paying their bills or who run up huge debts and then file for bankruptcy as an umbrella to keep the stuff without having to pay for them, get more assistance and are catered to more so than the ones who try to do the right thing. Personally I think the system is strategically designed by the bureaucrats who run these agencies to keep the “poor” poor in an attempt to ensure job security. 

Think about it, the less people there are who aspire to get off or stay off welfare by working to support themselves and/or get a college education, the less people they (the bureaucrats) have competing for their jobs. I remember hearing my mother say when I was a little girl that welfare was designed to keep the “poor” poor. As a result my mother did not participate in their programs but rather chose to work hard to support her family even though accepting welfare would have made our lives so much easier.  I too grew up to denounce welfare and follow in my mother’s footstep to work and support my family.

All my life I strive to uphold the principle/concept that was instilled in me by my mother at a young age, which is that my reputation and my credit were the two single most important things that I possess and that I should protect them at all cost. A principle/concept which I have embraced and I am very good at. Even now, faced with no income and no job prospect in the foreseeable future due to my disability I continue to make great strives to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. An effort that is in no way an easy feat by any account. However I remain vigilant that the God I serve is leaning towards me and that He will continue to make a way where there is no way.

I am not sure how this will end but it is my hope that it will end in my favor. I am not at all opposed to receiving my deed in the mail as a gesture of good faith.

In the meantime, it is my hope that the mortgage company will take steps to train their staff in the areas of providing good customer service which includes among other things, providing all pertinent information to clients prior to subjecting them to submitting applications for programs that they are otherwise not eligible for. I’m just saying – I got issues. What about you?)i(

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 The views and opinions shared here are by the Author and are the property of Todos Escribe. 

A Tribute to Mrs. Janet V. Prince-Soto: Giving You Your Flowers Now!

I recently became aware that Fashion Link VI, in conjunction with Kisura's Fashion will present their first annual Fashion Exposé on St. Croix,  U.S. Virgin Islands August 16^th - 18^th, 2013. From what I can tell, it promises to be a grand event.  As listed on their website, “Kisura's Fashion [is] an on-line Boutique with fashionable clothing for all occasion[s].” They feature an array of sizes for both women and men.  They also carry souvenir t-shirts featuring prints of historical and scenic “sites of the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Kisura's Fashion Logo T-Shirt.” You can learn more about the upcoming exposé by visiting http://myvideowebshow.com/show/kisuras-fashion.

As part of the event they will honor various local entrepreneurs for their years of service to the community in their souvenir booklet. One of the honorees being highlighted for her long years of service to the territory in the field of Cosmetology is Mrs. Janet V. Prince-Soto. I was honored when asked to submit a small tribute on her behalf for the booklet. Due to space constraints, I was limited as to what I could submit for print. As such I decided to write an expanded version here.

I first met Mrs. Soto back in 1981 when I was a sophomore at St. Croix Central High School.  Actually, I really had no interest in cosmetology at the time, but the general classes I needed were all filled so I had to choose something else. Glancing over my choices on the vocational track, Cosmetology stood out for me because it didn't look that hard and I figured it would be an easy pass - yeah, right! Little did I know at the time that it was all divinely orchestrated for me to be exposed to Mrs. Soto.   At first she struck me as a “no-nonsense” type of teacher and time would prove that my first instinct of her was correct. She challenged her students to do their very best and “good” was not good enough. She required excellence. Her expectations of us were more than anyone had ever expected of me and my plan of sitting in the back of the classroom in an effort to avoid being called upon proved to be ineffective as she called on everyone randomly regardless of where you were sitting. 
As a student in Mrs. Soto’s class it was not a question of “if” she will call on you, but rather “when” she will call on you. Her teaching style was “hands-on” and everyone was expected to demonstrate what they learned without exceptions. She would walk around the classroom looking at your work, pointing out mistakes and offering accolades when you got it right. I had never met anyone like her before or since. While she exhibited a tough exterior and ran her classroom like a drill sergeant – so much for skipping over ROTC, lol –  the individual attention she showed each of her students was unmatched by any I had seen before. Truth is when I encountered Mrs. Soto I was a frail, attention-deprived, pregnant teen who didn't know how much I didn't know about a lot of things; including the child I was carrying. However, under her guidance I learned so much and not just about the practical and theory of cosmetology (including the skills and mechanisms needed to run a successful business), but also about etiquette and the fundamentals of life. Many of which was not taught anywhere else, not even during four years of college, but all of which would impact my life inside and outside of the classroom.  She made me push myself harder and further than I ever did before and even today I still expect more of myself than anyone else and I also hold myself at a higher standard than anyone else. I strive for perfection.

During the first few weeks of class I did my best to conceal my pregnancy, but I remember when I became aware that she knew that I was pregnant. One day after class she kept me behind after she had dismissed the other students and we had a serious one-on-one conversation which was very thought provoking. Her concerns were for my safety and her fear that I could slip and fall in her class. She forced me to ask myself some tough questions which would eventually shape my decision to remain in school. Not sure if it was her intent or not, but her suggestion that I should consider going to night classes backfired even though it sent me straight to the counselor’s office seeking a transfer after our meeting. Mr. Mack, my counselor at the time, raised even more questions which caused me to further question my motives for wanting a transfer. The answers ultimately ended with my decision to stay enrolled in day classes. A decision I have never regretted. Not only did I keep my grades up and graduated on time, but it would be 11 years before I would have another child. 

During the three years I was enrolled in Mrs. Soto’s class, I sought her out for advice and guidance about a lot of things not related to her class.   Amazingly, she never sent me away because she was too busy to listen. Yes, Mrs. Soto believed in teaching the “whole” student and her methods were not confined to traditional ways. As such, much of our lessons went far beyond the typical classroom setting. She challenged us to do better and she taught us life lessons that stayed with us long after we graduated from high school. I say “we” because many of her students share my view of her and still stay in close contact with her. That is in and of itself a testament of the high regard we hold for her and the things she has instilled in us.

I have lots of fond memories of Mrs. Soto from over the years. Some go as far back as my early encounters with her at school when the other girls and I would all run to help her unload the contents of her car and carry them into the classroom. Mostly because we knew she had goodies she would share with us, i.e., homemade bread, maubi, etc. And then there was our senior class trip to Puerto Rico - it was my second time traveling in a group (the first time was our trip to St. Thomas for the cosmetology competition).  Oh the fun we had visiting stores, swimming at the beach, and exploring El Yunque (local rain forest). We had a great time but Mrs. Soto never missed an opportunity for a “teachable” moment.  She taught us how to budget our money, how not to make needless purchases, and more importantly why it was imperative that we stick together as we ventured out in unfamiliar territory. But by far my favorite memories by are of her visiting me in Atlanta. I have memories of us attending Bronner Brothers hair show, attending Sunday service, walking the mall, and having countless conversations just catching up on each other’s lives. My ex-husband commented to me after meeting her for the first time that he could see where I got a lot of things I did from. She is who I call when life gets overwhelming or when my own mom gives me grief. 

I tell people all the time that I am the woman I am today in part because of my exposure to Mrs. Soto. I see so much of her in me, i.e., completing and submitting registration cards for products purchased (TVs, printers, computers, cameras, blender, etc); documenting date of purchase, place of purchase, serial number, and model number on the product instruction booklet; creating a paper trail when calling companies regarding a dispute (name of who I spoke to, date I called, and final outcome of the conversation); making notations of important things on post-it notes (appointments, task reminders); paper clipping notes to things (travel itinerary, bills); organizing things for easy access; composing “to do“ lists; recycling things to get maximum usage; locating typos and grammar mistakes in written materials, etc.

I sometimes shudder to think what my life would have been like had I not been exposed to her. Sure I may have still grown up to be a decent person who made some good choices along the way but I can only attribute my impeccable ability for making “good decisions” in part to the lessons I learned from her. There are very little decisions I have made over the years that I regret. That is because Mrs. Soto taught me about consequences, accountability, and taking responsibility for the choices I make. At a time when most teachers were only interested in passing on “book sense”, Mrs. Soto went far beyond that to provoke our God-given “common sense”.  

This busy mother of two beautiful daughters (Valencia and Olympia), who gave her four handsome grandsons (Germaine, Curt, Kevin, & Darin), who in turn made her a great-grandmother, lets no moss grow beneath her feet. Choose any given day of the year and you will find her busy doing something, i.e., traveling to some exotic or not so exotic location, chairing or attending a meeting, engaged in some small or major project, attending some charity event for her local church, visiting one of her daughters, visiting one of her grandsons,  visiting some other family member, picking fruits in her garden, fiddling with her toys (laptop, notebook, printer, tablet, Iphone, etc), playing games on Facebook, or dictating to the workmen what she needs done on her property. Despite her seemingly busy schedule she always make time to have fun. Oh, and she is no stranger to the kitchen either. By all accounts she is considered an excellent cook. In fact one of her jokes to me is how her grandsons fusses over whose house she will stay at first when she visits the mainland because they know she will no doubt whip something up in the kitchen during her stay, i.e., red peas soup, salt fish and johnny cakes, peas and rice, etc. Personally I prefer when she stays with her grandson Germaine in Atlanta as he is the closest to me so I can always run over and grab a plate. Come to think of it, before Germaine moved to Atlanta from Savannah, my place was her hot spot – lol.

Janet V. Prince-Soto is a God-fearing, family oriented woman who prays everyday for the welfare of those she loves. She is by far an awesome, phenomenal woman whom I love and revere. Even at her age she is still vibrant and mentally sharp. Her memory is very impressive as she seems to remember the names of every student who ever came through her classroom door.  She not only remembers their name but can tell you something specific about each one of them. I get dizzy trying to keep up with her. She never ceases to amaze me with her wealth of knowledge. She is always on a quest to learn new things and is not afraid to venture into uncharted waters. I can always expect the unexpected where she is concern.  I am so very proud and honored to call her my teacher, my friend, and at times, my mother. Congratulations Ma for your many years of dedicated service to the cosmetology world and for the many, many, young women – myself included – whose lives are forever changed because of our exposure to you. Our friendship spans over 30 years, but you are and will forever be an intricate part of my family. May God continue to bless you with good health and long life.

Love always, Yáminah (Class of ’84)

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 The views and opinions shared here are by the Author and are the property of Todos Escribe.