Being a homeowner was once referred to as the American dream—one that I believed in and sought so hard to attain. In early 2007, before that collapse of the housing market, I was excitedly fulfilling that dream purchasing my first home. The home was far from perfect, but it was affordable and met my family's needs. For the next two years, everything was fine except for the declining market and significant drop in property values. However I had bought the home with the intention of living there for a while so initially this was not a problem.
By mid 2009 however things were seriously different. The neighborhood, which was one of the main reasons I bought the house that I did, had really changed. A number of homes had been foreclosed on, many homes had been turned into rentals, and an unsettling gang culture began to dominate the area. Graffiti suddenly became commonplace—it seems as if I was painting my front retaining wall every other day. Gangbangers with their shaved heads would stare intently as I drove down the street going home as they stood in large groups with the radio thumping away outside one of the rentals that had gone section 8. Suddenly the place that I once felt the most comfortable in was the place I was starting to dread.
The final straw came when my son who is twelve and looks nothing like a gang member was stopped and harassed by these thugs. I decided to put the welfare of my family above all else—we moved! However that left me with the problem of the house. By 2009 the house was worth $100,000 less than when I had bought it, so I could not sell it. The rental values in the area were low, so I could only rent the house at a loss which is difficult when you live check to check. When the first set of tenants abandoned the house, I was unable to pay the mortgage on the house and from there things just got worse. I tried things like loan modifications, however was denied three times because my income was insufficient. I tried short selling the property but the amount the bank would accept was greater than the appraised amount which no purchaser was willing to meet.
So now, two years into the mess, I sit and wait for the inevitable foreclosure to take its course and finish destroying my credit. I know there are those who would argue that the mess is my fault, and yes I know I do have personal responsibility in the manner; however who could have ever foreseen this mess? Who could have foreseen that in only two years 60% of the value of the home would just disappear? Now like many Americans for trying to dream, I am living the American nightmare!