Monday, January 19, 2009

Back To Normal- Mortgage Repayment Update

I almost forgot what it was like to come home after work and leisurely watch TV and write on my blog. Last week was exciting, to say the least, and I'm glad it's over. I wrote the required letter to let the last tenants know that I am storing there things and that they have 10 days to claim them. I wish I had sent it immediately but things were so hectic last week I couldn't even think about it. Of course the post office was closed for the holiday today so I'll have to send it certified mail tomorrow. They didn't leave anything of real value so I will donate as much as I can for the tax write off after the 10 days have passed.

I also filled out the online paperwork for small claims court but I think I will wait 30 days before filing just in case the old tenants try to do any retaliatory action against my house. I don't want my current tenants to have to deal with any unpleasantness. I should never have told the old tenants about the short term tenants. Sometimes I give out too much info.

I adjusted my mortgage repayment plan and it looks like I will only have to add one extra month on to it. I have been saving the rent that was over the mortgage amount. The mortgage is $800, rent was $1500 for 4 months, then I dropped it to $950 when they put the utilities in their name. The extra money came to $1,422 and was set aside for maintenance. I also estimated that the house would need a few small repairs (gee, I under-estimated) and put aside $600 from January's budget. That gave me $2,022 for maintenance and the total bill came to $3,000(after $300 for returns yesterday!). I am negative $978. Then I have to pay the utilities for the house which will be $400 or so. That comes to $1378 that wasn't in my budget. One extra month added to the end of my mortgage repayment plan should take care of it.

Now, the unpaid rent is $2,400. I am borrowing from my donation fund to cover this. I should have evicted them as soon as they didn't pay in November but I let it slide because of the holidays and because they had children and because of her supposed medical problems. I consider that to be charity even if they didn't appreciate it. My donation fund is 10% of my income so if I take $300 a month for 8 months I will have replaced the lost rent. This keeps me on track and also helps alleviate any resentment that I feel. I really feel more sorry for them than anger. They wasted an opportunity to make their lives better for themselves and their children. I could tell from going through their things that they wanted to improve their lives but they couldn't get away from their old bad friends and old bad habits. It is too bad that the children are learning the same destructive behaviors.

So, I'm back on track and the mortgage pay-off is set for September of 2010. That's only one year and 8 months away!

7 comments:

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

Way to put it behind you and focus on the long term big picture! Looks like you did a great job last week!

Anonymous said...

You're right - I feel sorry for their children too. Those poor kids, what did they ever do to deserve that kind of a life?

Glad that this is nearing the end for you. I think you have a good attitude about it. A lot of people would be consumed by anger. But you're focused on moving forward, and that's a good thing. Sometimes things just happen in life that we can't plan for. I guess it's just a part of life that we will all get taken advantage of from time to time, or come up against unfortunately circumstances. All we can do is handle it the best we can, and I think you did a great job.

Living Creekside said...

You did great getting the place all back together in such a short amount of time ... and only having a month added to your pay off plan is not bad considering all that happened...
I think how those kids are living is far to common these days very sad..

Sharon S said...

Hi there-a great way of solving the problem, well done, you've been positive and proactive in this whole situation.

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

If you are getting back to normal, check out this http://badhuman.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/how-to-live-small-happily-ever-after/ for some lovely 'little house' ideas for your plot.
Well done Daizy - you did good!

Anonymous said...

It's nice to see that you get to chill for a bit and breathe easy. ;)

I feel so sorry for those kids, too. I hope Social Services does find them and fixes the situation.

You sound like you have a real solid plan and know exactly where you are going in terms of financial goals. Great job! (even with all the adversities!)

Daizy said...

Thanks all, it does help a lot to know that my mortgage plan won't be disrupted too much. Just a hiccup in the over-all scheme of things.