(no subject)

[mynewplace]

See squee-worthy bebehs here: http://anita-margarita.livejournal.com/

I am 98% certain that I am not going to find an apartment that will hold me and my kid without bankrupting me. Thus I did today what might have been a crazy thing.  I went to a mobile home dealer and completed a credit application.  After I have or have not been approved, we will discuss purchasing a singlewide mobile home.  They've found a piece of property for me, but after looking up its location in my city street guide, I'm fairly certain a mobile home will not be tolerated on that property.  Thus, we'll have to find a park. 

Long range plan is to pay on this a few years, then trade up after credit rating is inexplicably improved. Inexplicably, you say? Yes, for despite my tendency to make payments when they are due on large purchases, I have difficulty maintaining the "little things".  I just am not to do da money so good.

I will require assistance from my mother & stepfather to make the downpayment. This assistance may not be available, it's highly possible that they simply won't have it. They may be able to borrow it, but I am not sure how that will go over.  Also, they will not want me to buy a mobile home without first talking with my sister, who purchases repo'ed trailers. Thing is, I have to have bank pre-approval before I can purchase anything, and that's not easy to get. My credit union won't even talk about mobile homes, OR pre-fabs. I must go with the bank that the mfr uses or recommends. 

This is hugely scary for me. Even having my name out there on an application is more than my credit report can withstand right now.  But this rent is also more than my paychecks can withstand. What do I do? 

If all things are denied, and I must resume the apartment search - it's VERY likely I will have to find homes for my cats.  It's that bad, and I don't have much hope that finding homes for them will be possible. 

Comments

[anita-margarita.livejournal.com]

Going to a bank and signing my name to anything with a large sum of money attached - and which I am therefore responsible for - has always been terrifying to me. Although I have done it several times, it never gets any easier,
Credit unions do not, as a rule, like mobile homes, but most credit unions will at least talk to you even if you are not a member.
Suggestion, if you have these in your state: a loan/mortgage broker, who has access to most all the banks/lenders & their terms, and can do a lot of legwork for you, saving you lots of heartache/time/stress.
Other suggestion: go to a financial adviser (such as Edward Jones; ask friends for recommendations). They can look at all your financial data and crunch the numbers quickly and tell you what the best course of action might be. No matter how bad you think your situation is - they've seen worse.

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I suppose there is a point where I need to do that. I just can't imagine where they'd tell me to live.

[reallyamermaid.livejournal.com]

Man, that whole thing sounds scary to me. Like every option. So your bank is actually a credit union instead of a bank? Gosh, what would I do realistically? Um, I guess walk in, plant my butt in a consultantee's chair and say ok, you know my finances better than anyone. What do you suggest? Lay it all out. Kid, transportation, housing. Here's my situation. I've been trying like the devil to figure out my best option and I'm stuck. Look at my money. Look at my situation. What do you suggest? They're the experts. You don't have to take their recommendation; just give it a shot. What the hell else are you going to do? Oh, I know. You're going to have lunch with me Wednesday. But do that more important thing, too. Preferably first.

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I trust my credit union to give me advice. They don't really know me, except for seeing me take money out of my accounts several times every payday. I don't know Court. But lunch is totally doable. I usually go at around 11:30. Shall I pick you up?

[reallyamermaid.livejournal.com]

11:30 is fine with me. Picking me up depends on where we're going. Give me a call or email at work tomorrow and we'll discuss.

[gymorama.livejournal.com]

I hope some one of the options comes through for you soon. The stress is making you crazy.

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

It is indeed making me crazy. I'm fretting like mad today, waiting to hear if I'm approved or not. Even if I am, several hurdles remain, and I'm fretting over those as well.

[gymorama.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Good luck with it. Karma is being sent along your way. yes, the GOOD karma. I try not to share my bad karma

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

I wish I could take the cats for you until you got settled. :(

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

I so appreciate that. Just cross your bits that I can get a trailer. If I can do that, the cats are in like Flynn, and my financial woes will ease as well.

[kokopelleigh.livejournal.com]

i'm late to the party....

but wow! i hope it all works out for you (if it hasn't already by the time you get this comment) :) a friend of mine lives in a 16x80 and i swear the bedrooms in the thing are bigger than mine here.

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

Mom has got my step-sister looking for repo trailers. The guy at Luv Homes is looking, too. I should hear something today.

I didn't even want to LOOK at the trailers until I knew I could get a loan - I knew I'd get my hopes up too high. Sure enough, I got my heart set on one that was sold, and a new one would be out of my price range. But they have this particular living room set that I'm positively creamy over. I can't hardly stand to wait.

[kokopelleigh.livejournal.com]

the first thing rich and i bought together was a singlewide mobile home, in 1994. an Oakwood. it was only a 14x70 but compared to the postage stamp of an apartment we'd been in, we felt like we had all the room in the world. and i don't know WHAT it is with trailers, but sweartogod they've got the BEST bathrooms. ours (and the double-wide we later traded up to) had a 6ft garden tub with jets and double-bowl vanities and frosted glass shower doors and an actual tile backsplash...we only paid like 25K for the whole thing, and i'd guess 10 of it went into the bathroom. it was wild.

i'm excited for you. they're really made much better than they used to be. ours had shingles, and drywall (not that pieced-together looking wall that they typically have), and actual wooden cabinets, french doors, and double-hung pull-out windows, even. (!! i don't even have those *now* !!) it even came with furniture, (albeit the most art deco, purple, tacky, uncomfortable stuff known to man, but still...) finding a nice trailer is easy, its finding a decent PARK to PUT IT IN that's tricky. ours was just gross. and i think when we moved out, the median IQ went down about 50 points. e'rrrrrrbody was related to one another and someone actually crawled under ours and stole the axles. LOL! ghet-toooooo

alas, i ramble. gotta get to work....

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

It's the master baths that have won me over. A garden tub just steals my heart.