Updates and Options

To try and keep us from becoming homeless in the next few weeks here are our two plans.

First, we found out what we could from the bank about the Sheriff's auction, and we also found out what we could through a realtor. The bank wants to start the bid between $140,000 and $160,000. You cannot know what the starting bid will be before attending the auction. But what basically happens is the the Sheriff starts the bid at what the owners owe the bank plus $1.00. We are living in a ranch style townhome. These townhomes have two types the ordinary tall thin ones which are going for $165,000 and the ranch style which typically sell for $139,000. (We thought this was nice, because the ranch style are more spacious. But people in Utah must like the tall thin ones better.) Anyway, what this means is anyone who understands the market and pricing right now will not start a bid on this townhouse above $140,000. So if the home is not sold at the auction it will go back to the bank for further deliberation.

These are our two plans and we have not yet made a decision:

1. We just stay put, pay our February rent and hope that the house does not sell.
2. We get our tax return right away, find some one who will rent a home with a 6 month lease with 3 to 6 months rent paid up front, along with the cleaning deposit.

This is what we are doing:

1. We are gathering all of our documents up from the two jobs, three wards, and two states so we can start our taxes.
2. We are keeping a close eye out on what is available for rent, contacting people who are renting their home not through a rental company, and viewing a few places to get a feel for what is out there and how much money we will need to carry off plan #2. We also have a few people who are asking around for rentals from people they know for us.
   
3. We are contacting the owner to stall the sale (He didn't even know that it was going to be auctioned off.), and the company that we send the rent too to see what we are required to do, and to find out our legal status in the matter.
4. We are praying really hard for John to get a job ASAP.

Nonetheless, these are really nerve racking times and we are just trying to keep things as peaceful and as normal as we can for our children.