A mortgage broker friend of mine who seems to be doing well financially is proud of this bumper sticker recently put on his car: “Repossession is our Obsession.” Many homes are in the process of being re-possessed. To completely escape from that scenario we make certain to get our mortgage payments in the mail on time. All the evidence that I have received substantiates a fact that I always suspected but never could prove… the postman hand carries and delivers this check… because it doesn’t reach the bank until all the other checks in that account have been processed and the balance has plunged to the point where the check for the mortgage won’t clear when it arrives.
One day I was outside when the post lady came by. I told her of our dilemma and she quickly defended herself, the federal government and all its employees, including those working in the post office, and assured me that after collecting all the mail for that day, she immediately takes it to her ‘other home’ (the P.O.) to be sorted.
An acquaintance told me yesterday that he was P.O’d. I’d never heard the term used that way before. He did look like he had been ‘metered’ a couple of times on his arms…there was a black image of someone who could have been Washington on each one. He had an American flag on the back of his Levis. He had a small leather mail pouch on each side of his Harley that looked like the ones they used to use when they walked their routes. The only thing he forgot to put on was his blue suit. I didn’t ask him because he looked mad, but I wondered if he was upset because, with the financial crunch and the recent cutbacks that have been made, he had the misfortune of being laid off. I guess I’d be flipped out too if I’d lost those government wages and especially the benefits. Is that why he was P.O’d?
One time the mortgage payment didn’t make it to the bank in time. I immediately initiated a new tradition in our household. To avoid late charges and possible repossession, I decided to not make payment by check any more. Yes, it was time to go back to the old times and pay with cash.
When I told a young friend what I was doing his mouth dropped wide open. After closing his mouth he calmly queried “By cash you say?” He then suggested that I ‘get with the times’ (not my lingo, but his).
I know I may be a little behind the times, but I have a hard time accepting the fact that ‘plastic is money’. I just barely learned how to use a tri-pod to take pictures (with my Kodak instamatic). Now they tell me that there are telephones that can take pictures. I’m told there’s something called an I-pod that can play music. All I can say is that for me, money is green. I can see it, I can handle it, I can even smell it (when it’s just been printed). A check is just paper. A computer is just a machine, it can’t talk, walk, buy or sell. How can it pay bills? They asked me at work if they could ‘transfer’ my wages directly to my bank account by computer! Can you believe it? No, I’m happy with my way, the sure way.
Two or three days before the late charge kicks in, I go to the bank and take out the payment in cash (in crisp $20 bills, they don’t give out $100s any more) then drive by the payment office and hand deliver the ‘fat’ envelope with all the $20 bills in it. This way I know that the payment has been made in time and I won’t receive late charges, or threatening mail about repossession.
The last time I took the payment in, the secretary eyed me rather incredulously. She took the heavy envelope, thanked me, and as I walked out the door I heard her whisper to the other agent in the office…”Can we take a payment in cash?” She gave me the impression that she had never seen a green bill before.
Addendum : Just recently I became even more state-of-the-art and instigated the following new, innovative practice to eliminate the need for carrying so much weight around. I opened a separate bank account solely for the mortgage. Each month I write out a personal check and hand carry it to the loan office. There is always enough money in this account to cover the check. No more annoying late charge fees. This is a lot easier and less stressful than hand-carrying a heavy envelope of cash into the mortgage office every month. I still hand-carry but it doesn’t weigh as much, and I don’t get tired.
The mortgage lenders already have you wrapped around their fingers. They have already sucked out most all of your blood. Now with the late charge, I guess they want a few extra bucks to buy some needles when they get tired of sucking (you can only suck so much!)
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