New Tenant

A 2-way street.
I have people coming over here, looking at the room.  They say that they are going to look at other homes before making any decisions.
Great, see all the homes you want, I reply, but I am on a first-come, first-serve basis.  If you decide you want the room but someone else gets it first after you leave, that's the way it goes.

It takes them by surprise.  It shouldn't.  That person is trying to put me on hold.  Just wait while that person is going to make up their mind, meanwhile, I have 10 other people that are interested in the room.  And, while that person is gone, they think they find a better place and baam, you've held the room for nothing.  Not only have you held it for nothing, you lost all those prospective people plus, probably, it gets past the first of the month and your prospects start thinning out substantially.

So, I tell them up-front, such as the individual that came over here today: I don't hold rooms.  I mean, spent a good 40 minutes with this guy, talking, showing him around, etc etc etc.  He finally said he likes the place, but, he wants to go see another house.  Wonderful.  I don't really say that, I'm thinking it.  You go see that house, I'm never going to hear from you again, I'm moving on.  I gave him an hour.  An hour was up, another guy that called yesterday wanted to come see it.  Please do.  He came right over.  We hit it off from the start.  I didn't have near the connection with the first person.

One thing you want when someone is going to move into your house:  a good feeling about it.  A connection, a "yes, this guy or girl can move in and it will be a good fit" type of thought and feeling.   This guy wanted to see EVERYTHING, including the ponds.  I showed him the ponds, he loved the dogs, wanted me to show him that the TV in "his" room works and that the satellite is hooked up and working.  Yup and yes.

At the end of it, he says he has one more house he wants to look at.  I felt my face "fall", he noticed.  What's up?  "I don't hold rooms".  There is nothing else to say about it.  I do NOT hold rooms.  The phone was literally ringing off the hook while I was talking with him.  I said all of those calls were for the room - which they were.  I can't and won't hold rooms.  No thanks.  I have been there, done that, most of the time it does NOT work out, unless you want to put cash down, the room will be rented to whoever says yes first.

He thought about it for a few minutes and said yes.  This is the place for him, he didn't want to miss a good deal, wanted out of his current situation BADLY, done.  The other guy?  He lost.  He and several others were calling the entire time.  That first guy - I have no sympathy. It's a good deal here, it's a VERY good deal.

You see, it isn't quite the stretch for me to say, nope, not holding rooms, since they are going to sit there and tell me that yup, they're going to go check out other places.  I don't hold it against them, I just don't hold the room FOR them.  That's their choice and I might add they are taking a chance.  Whatever.  Not the first person that has regretted not saying yes right away.

Onto other things.

HAMP.  Home Affordable Modification Program.
I called today.  My lender, that is.  THEY sent me the paperwork out of the blue.  I don't have to fill out all of that paperwork, I did it over the phone with them today.   They ask a lot of questions, just like they did the first time.  Got to the end of it, they want paystubs for 2 months; a letter of hardship and proof of tenant payments.  Well, they had the pay stubs and the letter of hardship within 30 minutes of that call. I sat down and wrote up the same type of hardship letter that I gave them the first time.  Pay stubs were easy enough to get on my company's site.  I don't normally carry tenant contracts around with me, so, lol, I have that to send in.  Oh, I faxed that stuff over to them.

After all of this time, my lender is finally participating in the HAMP program.  NO guarantees, of course, but, I will hold out hope.  My lender is not reducing principle on properties. I have asked 20 times at least, today was no hold-out on that question.  Why should they?  I don't know, I just ask.  I ask for everything.  They can reduce the interest, reduce the payment, lengthen the term of the loan, apparently several things.  I do NOT want the loan extended another 10 years, that is useless.  I mean, it would bring the payments down, but it doesn't help.  I want reduced interest rate, THAT helps.  Bring the monthly payment down another $300 or more, that would be great help.

Is there any credence to $5 per gallon gasoline within 2 years?  I don't know.  This is the latest news story, the "experts" saying that $5 is coming within 2 years and that by the end of the decade there will be rationing.  I dunno.  I just don't know.  Last time they came up with this $5 or even more predictions, it tanked and we were back in the $2 plus change range.  Definitely feeling the bite at near $3.00 per gallon fuel now.

Strange stuff going on all over the place, the front of my house no different.  But, that story is going to have to wait until tomorrow, as I'm tired and I have decided to go to bed an hour early.

G'nite.

ben

Monday 12/27/2010

Monday

So, what do you think?
Should the babies that are born here - referred to as anchor babies, on U.S. soil from parents who are illegal aliens be automatically given citizenship? 

It's an incentive for them to slip over here, illegally, get their kids born here, now they have a "grip" on their own citizenship. I have no idea what the pro and con arguments are going to be in this debate concerning that of which they are taking up in Congress, should be some interesting reading. 

I think Mexico - the main supplier of illegal aliens - should take care of their own people and stop expecting them to come over here so that they can funnel money back over there. In fact, it would be good if Mexico could deal with the extreme violence going on on it's own soil. I can only imagine that many potential U.S. tourist shy away from Mexico at this point in time because of the violence and murder. You couldn't pay me to drive across the border right now.

Whatever. It's the week between Christmas and New Year's, traditionally a lot of people take time off during this interval and traditionally work is very slow. I do have a couple of deliveries today, that from Thursday, I haven't checked again today to see if anything new has popped up. Nope, just checked, just the same stuff that was in there. Well, at least there's SOMETHING to do in there. 

2011 will be a different kind of year for me. My son will turn 18, he will graduate high school and start his trek into adulthood by going off to college. Though, I guess he's not really going "off" anywhere, he's talking about going to a community college in the area and then to ASU, which is about 15 minutes from my house. My mom asked him yesterday where he was going to live while he is doing that, I did not hear the answer. I'm guessing he's going to stay with his mom or I, I don't know that for a fact. He doesn't make enough money to be able to live on his own or with other guys his age in an apartment somewhere. I mean, you get to an age where you sorta want to part ways with your parents. I understand that, I also understand it's hard times we are living in and money is tight and scarce.

Whatever, it will be interesting to see what happens and where this is all going. 

Meanwhile, I am going to apply for HAMP this week and see if I can get the federal stuff going towards my mortgage on the house. My lender told me on the phone some time back they aren't participating in that, now they have sent me the paperwork, lol. Letting the mortgage go for 2 months was a strategic thing - they won't bother to do anything for you unless you are behind on your payments. My property is now around 70k underwater. Something has to give here. I do not want to live in a house that may never see the amount I am paying for it. At the VERY least I want a greatly reduced, permanetly, interest rate. Like at least another 2 full points, if not 3. 

Well, work day is here. 

G'day.

ben