When I filed for divorce, part of the agreement was that he would sign a Quit Claim Deed, putting the town home in my name only. I had contacted the bank and was informed that once I established a good payment history, in my name only, I would be able to have him removed from the loan. The first thing I pay every month is my tithing. But right after that, I pay my mortgage. Without fail, I have made that payment, on my own, for over a year now.
When the 7th month rolled around, I paid my mortgage, and then I called the bank to start the process. Turns out, it wasn't near as simple as I had originally been told. They now wanted me to basically refinance, which meant appraisals, mountains of paperwork, and large fees. Technically, I had the money for the fees, but it was set aside for school. I couldn't justify using the money elsewhere.
After fighting with the bank for a few weeks, they agreed to simplify the process. But they still wanted me to pass a credit inspection and pay the fees, which they were willing to reduce, slightly. I wasn't worried about the credit inspection. At that point, I had been making the payment on my own for about 11 months. But if by some chance, I didn't pass, I lost the money I put down for the fees. That was a risk I could not take. Without that money, I would have to give up a semester of school and I wasn't willing to do that.
I never stopped praying through the process. I kept taking it to God, letting Him know I was frustrated. Each time, I felt His peace. I already knew He had set me up in my home years ago. He had already made sure I didn't lose it in the divorce. God was going to take care of me. I didn't know how, but I knew He would.
I reached the point the bank wasn't going to work with me anymore and I had to decide. I looked into refinancing with a different bank, but because the market is down, that wasn't an option. So one final time, I took it to God. I told him my problem. I didn't feel good about putting that much money into it, not when I was originally told I could just easily have him removed from the loan. I thanked God for providing me with my home and then asked Him to let me know what to do.
Be still. Do nothing. Wait it out. I thought that meant I would just have to wait until the market picked back up and then I could refinance. I didn't see any other options. So I decided to just wait and hope it didn't become an issue later down the road.
Last week, the bank sent out a survey. In the comment section, I unloaded my frustration of the last several months. How I was told it would be an easy process and how it had turned into a lengthy one, with fees. I let them know I was no longer a happy customer and I would be moving my mortgage as soon as the market picked up. As I went to hit submit, I noticed the survey was actually for their mobile app. I almost deleted it all. But I had finally been given a place to voice my complaint and so I hit submit.
On Monday, the vice president of the Salt Lake City branch called me. She apologized for all the problems I had experienced. She wanted to make it right. She wanted to do what she could to keep me as a customer. She was going to waive the fees and have the paperwork drawn up to remove him from the loan.
I was in shock and asked her several times, "No fees? I just have to come sign some papers?" What had seemed impossible was suddenly happening. I had basically given up, but God had continued to move behind the scenes.
Even after I got off the phone with the bank, I figured it would still be a few weeks before I heard back from them again. They had also informed me that he would need to sign also, which was a bag I didn't want to open. We've had no contact since April and I would like to keep it that way. But just two days later, they had the paperwork ready. And to top it off, only I had to sign off because he had signed the Quit Claim Deed last year. After months of tears and frustrations, its finally over. It was the last thing tying me to my failed marriage. Knowing he was still on the loan weighed me down.
I'm still in shock.God didn't answer my prayer the way I thought He would. He went above and beyond what I could ever imagine. I was ready to wait years until the market picked up and then refinance. That would have involved fees. There was also the risk of still having him on the mortgage, even though I had agreed to take it all on myself. But I saw no other way. How grateful I am to serve a God who's ways are higher than mine. I couldn't see a solution, but He could. God is great. God is good. God is always in control.
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