Fort Worth Feminism

So it’s definitely been awhile since I’ve posted anything and to all five of my readers I am sorry! My excuse is that I’ve been embroiled in a housing situation nightmare–which has zapped my will to live…not to mention my will to blog.  After the sale of our condo in June, the loan process to get our new home was pretty horrible. But what has happened since then has been ten times worse…after applying and receiving a 203K Home Renovation (FHA) loan, part of a government program to enable people to fix up older homes rather than buying or building new ones, chaos ensued.

Basically, the company that originally held the 203K portion of our loan folded and Bank of America bought all the loans they had. Well, this swamped Bank of America and it took 60 days from closing for our contractors to get a check (meanwhile we ended up crashing at my in-laws house for a total of  four months). Every step of the way with the bank has been a huge hassle and we have even been scared at times that they would never give us our money…and of course at one point the contractor stopped working and what was supposed to be a week and a half project has been going on for 2 and 1/2 months and is still not finished.

So, basically, we would not be able to have stayed in a central part of the city in a home as nice as the one we were able to buy as a result of this loan without it. But the loan was SO HARD TO GET and has been SO HARD TO USE that I wonder if everyone who could benefit from these types of loans is able to get access to them?

This may not seem like it goes along with this blog’s feminist theme, but part of feminism is about speaking up so that people have equal access to programs that are beneficial for them and the cities they live in (which the 203K program could be if handled better).  If two people with fairly decent incomes and credit take nearly 60 days to close on a loan (almost not getting qualified) and then can’t navigate the system to pay their contractors in a timely manner, what would happen to someone in a slightly less fortunate situation do? What would have happened if we didn’t have the luxury of having family in town to stay with? I can tell you right now an apartment on top of a mortgage would have been completely out of our financial bounds. If we had made just a tiny bit less each month, we would not have qualified for the loan. If the house had appraised for just a tiny bit less, we woul not have qualified. It makes me wonder how many hard working, honest, bill-paying people get turned down for loans of this type and if that is part of why so many people in our age group (late 20s) end up fleeing to suburbs like Keller to get “more house for the money.” 

I wonder what can be done to make access to home renovation loans better? Any ideas?

If you’d like more details on what a nightmare working with Bank of America has been, read here.