Not giving up.

July 15th, one day before my 36th bday, I received a letter informing me that CitiMortage had rejected the Mod App (Modification Application that would allow me to roll my debt to them into monthly payments, and begin to pay my mortgage again). It was a time-sucking application that involved me, my staff, my accountant—and one that they had asked for.

The letter informed me that, though I’m able to my my mortgage again, having quickly transitioned my 8 year business from print to web, CitiMortgage still plans to Foreclose. In three weeks.

via our 20K followers on @waylonlewis and @elephantjournal:
Citi rejected Mod App THEY ASKED 4, wants2foreclose tho m once again able 2 pay monthly in full. Help! RT! Make Noise! @jaredpolis

We’ve now counted about 100 new tweets re this situation, reaching (literally) millions of twitter users. And we’ll continue to make noise, honestly but respectfully, in the hopes that CitiMortgage will allow me to stay in my home and once again pay my mortgage.

My next and last move is to borrow all the money I owe from not having paid myself much over last two years from friends, then pay all default all at once, then can begin paying monthly again and get roommates to help keep the total down.

Inspired to help? Just copy and paste, tweet something like. Let the sunshine in:

Citi: b a hero, let @WaylonLewis of @elephantjournal stay in home, pay mortgage again, http://bit.ly/92YeIQ Pls RT!

PS: unlike last time, I’m now, officially, pretty thin-skinned about offerings of hindsight. We all make mistakes; me particularly. But I’ve done my best, and would be able to pay this mortgage still if I hadn’t idealistically killed my profitable magazine so that we could build an online following, something I’ve successfully managed, if only barely, in just under 1.5 years. To rehash, I live downtown, was able to get rid of car, I bought a home and green-renovated it, hoping to have a family some day< I would have sold it if I could have got a decent price but the market is hit by record foreclosures, my staff works in the home, and I’m happy to have roommates to help pay mortgage if I am allowed to stay and once again pay my mortgage in full.

Please, please, unlike last time, keep comments respectful. Many comments were critical but fair, which is great. Many were sweet. Many were depressingly viscious, as if you enjoyed someone else’s misfortune. If you’d like to criticize me, I welcome it, just email me at waylon at elephantjournal.com. Anonymous commenters that are of the “kicking the nearly-foreclosed-homeowner while down” variety will be asked to rephrase in constructive, fair manner. I am only posting this in order to “make noise,” in the hope that it will encourage Citi not to just casually foreclose, which is easier for them to do, since once you’re in the system, that’s the way this stuff flows. ~ Waylon.