My Life in Argentina and Beyond

I wish I could shame the real estate woman and the loan officer she recommended into giving me my money back—the $170,000 that I bought the condo in Atlanta for—as well as my lost excellent credit and all the other money I lost. I also wish I could shame them into giving me the condo in Buckhead back.I could give an interview and mention their names. That's one idea. Other than that, I don't know.They ought to be ashamed of themselves. Eugenia Renskoff

I feel tense and my left side—my arm and my neck—hurt. My mother, when we were children in Buenos Aires, must have felt the same way. She must have felt trapped in a beautiful neighborhood with a life she didn’t want. She never intended to be a housewife or a mother of 3 kids. Last night, when I couldn’t buy the things I had the money to buy, I shook just like she used to shake. She wanted to be free and do her own thing.

I don’t want to be poor and deny myself a simple pleasure like yogurt and/or oatmeal. I couldn’t vent with Lauchita. I held her tight and she comforted me in her kitty way. Her body was warm and understanding in my arms. My mother, when she was frustrated, let off steam in a way that hurt me.

A fat man with a well-fed face wearing a three-piece suit walked by our double line at the soup kitchen. He gave us—the women first and then the men—the once over and asked: What are these people waiting for? No one in the line answered. They probably thought ignoring him was the best thing to do. Food, I said. The man walked on with his group of friends. I smiled because I envied his luck. He’s probably never seen a soup kitchen line in real life. The only time he’s come across soup kitchens is in the movies.

The Office of the Governor

 State of Georgia 203 State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia 30334

October 14, 2009

Re: Mortgage Fraud/Foreclosure Experiences in GA

Dear Governor Perdue,

I have had an extremely bad experience in your state. I was a victim of mortgage fraud and I lost my home in November 2005. I have written letters to the Attorney General of GA and filed a complaint against the broker. Nothing has produced any type of justice and results. A copy of my letter to the Attorney General of GA can be found at www.beccar.wordpress.com. It tells the story of my downfall. I feel very ill used. Now I am not writing to you just to vent and maybe my problem is something that no one cares about because it didn’t happen to them. It happened to me and I am not a person with power and influence. All I know is that when I went to Atlanta, GA I was a person with a nearly perfect credit score of 754 and when I left it I was deep in credit card debt for the first time in my life. The loss of my home because I trusted these two people has had repercussions that I have to live with to this day. I cannot begin to describe to you what it has done to me. It has been the most horrible experience of my life so far and I deeply regret the day that I decided to take the Grey Hound bus going to Atlanta. I never told these real estate professionals to lie about my income or to say that I had my own publishing company. That was done without my knowledge and when I found out about it, I thought it was too late to turn back and that I had to go through with the closing on July 26, 2002. I was naïve; I realize that now after reading about similar cases in newspapers like the New York Times. I have paid a very heavy price for that naïveté and am still paying for it. I assure you that everything I am saying in this letter is the absolute truth and nothing but. Now I don’t believe in people like I once did. I don’t trust anybody, especially realtors and their friends. I have them to thank for it. I was out of the country when my condo foreclosed on November 1, 2005 and I had to way to get back to the United States. Nevertheless, I tried everything I could to stop it and I called the Sheriff’s Office, among other GA government departments. Needless to say, I had no attorney and no money to pay for one. I was alone and far away at a t I tried everything I could to stop it and I called the Sheriff’s Office, among other GA government departments. Needless to say, I had no attorney and no money to pay for one. I was alone and far away at a time when I was going through a terrible experience. I have since left GA. If at this time the statues of limitations for white collar crimes are not too long in GA, I would like to see them expanded to 10 years. No one—no one calling themselves real estate professionals--has a right to put their personal gain/commission ahead of a borrower’s needs.

Sincerely, Eugenia Maria Renskoff

Saturday, October 17, 2009: I have written a letter to the GA governor concerning my mortgage fraud/foreclosure experience. Some people will say it is a waste of a 44 cent stamp and/or my time. I don't care. The experience has made more than a lasting impact on my life and the more people know about it, the better. It would be more than fair to say that it has changed my life for the worse.

I was foreclosed on in Atlanta, GA in November 2005 when I was out of the country. I didn’t have a lawyer to help me and I couldn’t afford one. I used up all my savings trying to save my beautiful condo in Buckhead. The mortgage fraud/foreclosure experience I lived through (I believe I was given a subprime mortgage though I had a credit score of 754) is still haunting me. The day of the foreclosure, I called the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office long distance and did everything I could to stop from losing my home. Someone had told me that maybe my civil rights were being violated because it was happening when I was far away. I didn’t know if this was or was not true. I just loved my condo and didn’t want it to be taken away from me. That afternoon, I used up I don’t know how many phone cards and talked to many people; some, like a woman named Ms. De Louise, were very nice and tried to help me. This has been a great personal tragedy. It has left a mark on me and my life that so far has been impossible to erase.

Thursday, October 1, 2009: I have been informed that there is a document saying I may have paid mortgage on my GA condo in 2006. This cannot be true since the condo in Buckhead foreclosed on Tuesday, November 1, 2005. I feel that this nightmare named GA will never stop. It is haunting me now, almost 4 years later, and will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. In all my life I have never been as haunted by anything as I am by this--the horrible mistake I made when I took the Greyhound bus to Atlanta in May of 2002. Saying that I am disgusted and unhappy does not begin to describe my feelings at the moment. Everything conspires to remind me of it.

The Jefferson Market Branch of the NYPL is right across the street from Cinterella, the famous deli/Italian food place. And I hesitated and hesitated before I finally decided to buy some dulce de leche ($6.99 versus $10 at Dean & Deluca on Prince Street) and a loaf of walnut/raisin bread ($6.99 versus $10 at Dean & Deluca). Once upon a time treating myself to these foods was nothing much. I just went to a place like Zabar’s on the Upper West Side and bought them. Now, I feel like they are beyond my reach and that I cannot afford them.

Another consequence of the GA foreclosure/mortgage fraud: When I was living in Atlanta (right after it dawned on me that I had been scammed) I would take just $20 out of the ATM and treat myself to some sourdough bread from Eatzy’s, the Buckhead deli. I felt a little guilty about it, but that sourdough was a reminder of my old and easier life, a life with no bad money problems.

The ongoing foreclosure crisis in the United States brings my own foreclosure all too vividly back to me. In 2005, I did everything I could to save my condo in Atlanta from foreclosure. There was negative equity in the place, so getting someone to buy it wasn’t an option. Nevertheless, I tried that because the condo was in a beautiful neighborhood, close to supermarkets and shopping malls. I talked to the lender, contacted HUD, got in touch with anybody who might possibly be of help. I lost my fight and my home was gone on November 1, 2005. What came after was even worse and I have been living an uncertain and hard life since then. In my own lifetime, I hope to see the real estate broker and loan officer who got me the loan punished. I have been told time and time again, that given my 754 credit score, the loan was very bad indeed. I say to anyone reading this: If you now find yourself in a similar situation, fight! Do whatever it takes to save your home. Don’t give up even if it seems hopeless.