Catch 22

It's been a while since I've written anything...mainly because not much has happened. So far, this process has been fairly slow and uneventful. The nasty calls aren't coming, the house is barely showing, and life seems to be going on as always. One thing that has happened is that several people have begun to talk to me about their own housing collapse woes. I had no idea how many of my own local friends are also going through this. I have a friend who recently completed foreclosure, another who has until March before his house forecloses, and another who is in mediation with hopes of avoiding shortsale. My new neighbors bought their house as a shortsale, and another down the block sold in the same way. This is all within a 5 mile radius!

It's interesting what this does for a person mentally. When everyone is doing well, and you're the only one struggling, it's embarrassing, and one tends to feel like a loser.  However, when lots of people are in the same boat, suddenly it doesn't seem so bad. My friend who's already experienced foreclosure is really happy with life right now.  The friend with impending foreclosure feels like life is good. The friend in mediation, however, is stressed. But, hey, everyone's doin it! It can't be that bad! You'd think under such circumstances, something would be done to fix this mess within the system. But maybe there is nothing that can be done. Maybe this is just too big.

The Catch 22 is that the more people who lose their houses, but happily move on relatively unscathed, the less reluctant others may be to pursue this path. It's good to go through this with the examples of others who show that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But the more who do this, the worse off our national situation may become. Or maybe not. That's all too big for my poor little mind to grasp.

Until next time then, CHEERS to all my friends.