Dear Mortgage Company (Again),

When I first wrote you last March, I said I was giving up on you because I had found another house. So, we made a bid on this new house and you know what? It turned out that you're the mortgage company on this house too. And now, here we are almost three months later and you have not decided if you would approve this short-sale. Not only that, but even though our bid has been on your desk, you have scheduled the house to be auctioned at the courthouse in Santa Barbara later this month.

If anyone is wondering how we got to this financial mess as a country I have many answers. But take this as a prime example. We are a country full of bureaucracy run amok. It's expensive for a bank to foreclose on a house. Not only are there court costs and administrative fees, but a bank has to recognize that they are taking a loss on the property. But putting it off like this does not change anything. In fact, adding in the costs of a foreclosure and the fact that the market is still declining, will only serve to make the loss greater.

The other side of bureaucracy run amok is that it's more than likely the right hand (the short-sale department) and the left hand (the foreclosure department) are even aware what the other is doing. And that's an expensive way to do business.

All I can say is aren't we glad we are spending a whole lotta money to bail out the banks?

Sincerely,
Gina
Who Still Wants a House and Would Buy One
if They Would Just Let Her