Our letter to no where fast...

This was written last year. We do have a new foundation but now SO&SO doesn't want to set the house and have filed a DJ against my grandmother trying to get out of their contract. This is the short version. We have since hired yet another atty and have filed against the G.C. (General Contractor) I have taken out his name and the companies seeing as I don't want a suit filed against me or my family for speaking the truth. I've come to learn that the truth and justice matter little. It's money and the twisting of laws and the truth that rules our land. We have NEVER had anything against the manufacturer of our home. It's a well built home... we hope. I have left the name of our current loan holder in because we modified the loan papers against our better judgment due to the new terms. However he can't do anything to us for 2 years. Woo Hoo... Can you tell I'm just sooo happy. NOT

ENJOY!!! Sit back relax and read on!!!

Dear Sir,

Hello, my name is Joyce Lubbers. I and my daughters (Kim Blankenship and Kristina Selle) and granddaughter (Sara Blankenship) have a 160 acre dairy farm in Buffalo, MO. I am 74 years old and have worked and lived here for the past 31 years along with my "girls". We currently live in a 100 plus year old home that is literally falling in around us and sometimes on us. However, because we trusted the wrong people we are now faced with losing our dairy farm of 31 years, our livelihood, and everything we have worked for. We have never missed a payment of $2200.00 or more each month. We are desperately trying to find other financing, but so far there hasn't been a bank or mortgage company that will to touch the situation we find ourselves in.

Never, have we ever desired something for nothing. We only desire what we have paid and have been paying for and have yet to get.

We decided in June of 2007 to try and buy a modular home and build a fully finished basement. We had been looking for many years to find a home we liked and a dealership we felt wouldn't "take" us. After getting a flier in the mail from So and so Modular Homes and having many phone calls with them. My grand daughter Sara and I went up to look at the homes. We found one we liked, but we wanted to talk it over with my daughters. After getting home and talking it over we decided to make a $500.00 good faith deposit and make an offer on one of the homes that was on the lot.

In July of 2007, I with the help of loan officer we began the process of obtaining financing for a modular home from So&So for $135,000.00 ,a fully finished basement to be constructed by Excavation and Construction for $71,530.00 this was to include:HVAC, sheet rock, insulation, concrete, plumping, electric, framing the walkout side, framing the 2 bedrooms, bath (tub/shower combo, vanity/sink combo, and toilet), kitchen (sink, counter top, cabinets, and island), mud room, pantry, log siding to match the home, excavation, back fill, clean up, lay out, permit and a beam to support the home rather than jack poles. The loan would also pay off my current farm loan with FHA for $74,740.33. Ginny filled out all the paper work and basically told me to sign and to trust her and not to worry as she would handle everything.

Before the loan was approved, General Contractor went to So &So to look over the home we were hoping to purchase and meet with So & So and the Loan Officer. Since before he was hired, he had to be approved of by Double-D Homes. We later learned So & So was going to let the G.C. do all the foundations and basements in our area for the homes they sold. The Loan Officer also told us that she and the G.C. were going into business together. When we asked if he was OK to use the Loan Officer said he's a GOOD guy, and had put off several jobs just to be able to do our job.

On August 16th 2007 she called and talked with my granddaughter Sara Blankenship to say that the loan had gone through, that the closing papers needed to be signed the next day at Hogan Land Title. Also that the points had gone from 1 to 3, that my whole farm of 160 acres was needed and not just the 30 that had been surveyed off, and that my daughters (Kim Blankenship and Kristina Selle) and my granddaughter (Sara Blankenship) would all have to sign along with myself.

On August 17th, 2007 I along with my daughters and grand daughter went to Hogan Land Title of Dallas County to sign the closing papers. However, things had changed to Osage Capital, LLC Emporia, KS was financing the loan, not the original company as we had been led to believe. There was a construction loan for 6 months at 9.75%. I was told that it was to be a 30 year mortgage at 7% fixed interest. We went ahead and signed as Ginny had always assured me and my family to trust her. In less than 15 minutes we all had signed, were told by Denise Reed closer at Hogan Land Title that we didn't have to read the paper work since it was boring to read and it was a standard contract, and that she would be mailing out checks to FHA $74,740.33 for payoff of the farm, Osage Capital $5,838.00, Buffalo Appraisal $500.00, Original company $2,919.00, Hogan Land Title $961.25 in fees, $105.00 in other charges, $1,300.00 First Choice Land Surveying, $26,500.00 as a down payment to S0 & SO and the G.C. was advanced $35,765.00 at the time of closing per his request to the Loan Officer to get started. They had decided the amounts of his draws and we were to just sign when needed as we were never consulted on the matter of the draws. This first draw was supposed to cover: excavating, concrete, plumbing, framing, material and electric. The total amount drawn for August 17th, 2007 was $148,623.58.

By October 3, 2007 the G.C. had been advanced the second draw of $17,882.50. This was supposed to cover sheet rock, insulation, kitchen, bath, material and labor. As of today Aug.7, 2008 all we have are three concrete walls, a concrete floor, 3 windows, a vanity, the walkout side of the basement is partially finished and the interior part has been framed even though he was told by SO&SO NOT to frame it until the modular home had been set.

In the first part of October the G.C. was told again by SO&SO that he needed to hire a structural engineer to engineer the beam that was needed to run the length of the modular home. He hired Travis Miller to engineer a beam. The plans were completed the 8th of October, 2007. Having believed the G.C., SO&SO went ahead and sent our modular home in the first part of October, 2007 before the manufacturer had inspected the basement or approved of the plans for the support beam.

The beam was delivered and installed and this is when things started to go south. The beam was an 18" lam beam (not the 10" or 11" the G.C. had told us it would be) and when it was installed it was only a few inches above our heads, it did not run the full length of the basement, and as were to later find out would not have been approved by the Manufacturer.

After the beam fiasco we had concerns over the rest of the basement. This is when we asked friends who knew construction to look over the basement. We also hired Michael Jones, a structural engineer to inspect the basement structure and also engineer a steel beam for the basement. Something that would be approved of by the Loan Officer. Before Michael Jones had came to look at the structure the Loan Officer had requested a home inspection from SO&SO and also the manufacturer to look over the basement. As they seemed not to believe us when we told them what a retired contractor, a friend of the family who is also a contractor, and others had been telling us about the basement so far.

On October 25, 2007 two representatives from manufacturer came to look at the site and construction this was a week after both halves of the home had been delivered. They told us for various reasons that the house could not be set. The major thing being that the beam was not running the full length of the basement, there wasn't a 6" "plate" at the top or bottom of the beam. It would be required, but had not been called for with the engineer the G.C. had hired.

During October we had found out through a friend that we should have been given lien waivers or that the lender should be getting the receipts. When we asked the Loan Officer about this she told us no that she never gets receipts from contractors that she trusts, and she trusted the G.C.. We then asked if she would get the receipts. The G.C. however would not provide receipts and or a spreadsheet of the money spent to the Loan Officer, and refused when we asked for lien waivers. After the G.C. refused to give receipts to the Loan Officer, we were told not to worry about the money that the Loan Officer and her partner of Osage Capital would take care of things.

Nov. 1 of 2007 two employees of SO&SO and also the vice-president of the manufacturer came down to look at the site and construction, also they took several pictures. One of the employees told us they still believed the G.C. over us. Until of course they saw what he had done and let be done.

After they had came down, my granddaughter called the Loan Officer to see if any progress had been made with the G.C.. The Loan Officer was very upset and wanting to know what we were doing to get the money back from the G.C. and when had it been decided to add $40,000.00 to our loan, bringing our total loan to $334,864.00. This was indeed news to us. Unbeknown st to us the VP of the manufacturer had called Osage Capital about the problem. They both decided none of the money advanced to the G.C. was left. At this point he had been advanced $53,647.50. the VP said and Osage Capital agreed we needed to just add $40,000.00 to our loan, that the VP would send his personal contractor down to do the work, and after the house was set then go after the G.C..

By November 12, 2007 we had hired attorney Jay Kirksey. We were told to mail a letter to both the G.C. and Osage C. and that he would mail a letter to the "entities" with in a week of my mailing my letters. Jay never did this, but he did finally mailed out a letter to the "entities" the last week in January. Leaving us little more than two weeks from the construction loan maturity date. We of course went past the due date on the loan, which meant Osage Capital could foreclose on us at anytime, even though we have never missed a payment.

In February of this year a conference call was made with the Loan Officer, the VP of the manufacturer of our home who was now representing SO&SO, someone from the manufacturer, and the G.C. who present at our attorney Jay Kirksey's law office along with myself. The only thing to come of this meeting was that there was to be another meeting set up between myself and family, the G.C and Michael Jones our structural engineer. This meeting would be held at the job site on my property. The G.C. also agreed to bring the lien waivers and a spreadsheet of the money spent and how much of the money was left.

Finally on March 17th of this year that meeting happened with the G.C., Michael Jones (our engineer), myself, and my granddaughter Sara Blankenship. This was to go over the reports with Michael Jones to try and resolve or find a remedy to the mistakes. And also to try and get date of when construction would get started again with the G.C. He also did not bring the lien waivers or spreadsheet per our attorney Jay Kirksey's request.

By the middle of April our attorney Jay Kirksey told us that he was sorry, he couldn't get the lien waivers or the spread sheet from the G.C., and that he had tried to bluff them all (G.C., SO&SO, Manufacture, Loan Office, and Osage Capital), but that it hadn't worked. Jay told us that he felt bad for us and that we could live above the law office. But until we could come up with $15,000.00 - $20,000.00 to give him he wouldn't file a law suit against the G.C., Loan Office, and Osage Capital. After this we felt that he had "dropped" us, so we let him go and have hired yet another attorney.

All we have to date is a general contractor who has left the job and has yet to account for the money advanced to him, a modular home that has been sitting in our pasture for almost ten months, and are being threatened by Osage Capital's attorney that at any time Osage Capital could or would start foreclosing on my farm and home unless they get paid immediately. We have also paid over $20,000.00 in interest alone to Osage Capital since August of 2007. SO&SO have been paid in full and the G.C. advanced money that he won't give an account of the spending.

We would like to thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,

Joyce Lubbers and family (Kim Blankenship, Kristina Selle, and Sara Blankenship)