Chef Sheila’s Open Letter To President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

I’m a poster child for today’s economic turn.  Believe me, this is not where I had expected to be and this is not the letter I would have liked to write you.

I was debt free 3 years ago. I was making great money after having a “Nose to the Grindstone” attitude to make something of myself in a second career.  I am a veteran. A single parent and while all of these have impacted my place in society, I thought of myself a blessed and happy woman who was proud to be a good citizen of this country.

I was finally in a place where I could buy a home for myself.  I was feeling that is was finally my turn and So, I found the sweetest little condo that gave me such peace and for a very reasonable price. I made sure that I had a 30 year fixed loan.  I didn’t think that a loan for some renovations was a big deal because at the time I could afford it.  I bought some furniture. My credit cards were not over the top in debt.  

However, the downward spiral began with a medical loan I was forced to take out for a life threatening problem that Blue Cross Blue Shield considered elective. 

Then my dad passed away and I my mother fell ill.  I felt I had no choice but to come home to help my  sisters with her care. But looking at my finances, which were tight, I still thought I could safely relocate as long as I had a renter or got a sale.  I was going for the renter.

Mr. President, I left my home in Royal Oak Michigan in the hands of a realty agent who said that she could probably get it sold through short sale because of the circumstances of my move.    I had a prospective buyer when the market plunged and that toppled.   Hanging by a thread….Foreclosure is going to happen if I can’t find a buyer and the market is preventing that.

President Obama, there is nothing anyone can do for me. I have to weather the storm right along with millions of other people sir.  

However, there is something you can do for all of us.  The majority of us who are enmeshed in this mortgage crisis are upstanding and responsible Americans.

President Obama, I don’t suppose you could remind others that people like me are not losers and are worth more than all the blame that is being laid at our feet.  Please remind the country that not all foreclosures or bankruptcies belong to bad evil irresponsible people.   They belong to people like me who spent a life time making something of myself and could not have known that banks and corporations were playing around at our expense.   

 

Sincerely,

Sheila Stone