A dream being held closed with red tape-My letter to the head of the bank

Dear Sir/Madame:


My name is Sandra Renteria and I have been waiting for months for my 203K HUD Loan to be processed. I am writing you this letter with a heavy heart and determined mind.

Everyday that you go into your office, drink your coffee, hold your meetings, type away at your computer and allow my file to sit at the bottom of your pile- My dream is stalemated.

Here is a day in our family’s life- We live in a building that has no shower, no kitchen and LIMITED heat! We draw buckets of water from a small faucet and carry them over to a stove to boil water in order to bathe my daughter in a swimming pool that we have to self drain with more buckets. Before the luxury of a stove; we were building a fire outside in a fire pit in order to maintain a hygienic life for our 7 year old. This process can take up to two hours of our day. Measured in lost opportunity cost, one can only imagine how impactful and draining this is on a daily basis. I would liken this situation to trying to do your job with a ledger book and an abacus. I would challenge you to meet your Profession Development Goals under these circumstances.

Despite the fact that every day that I wake up to do additional back breaking work on top of my already demanding schedule, I do it with an altruistic spirit. We are a family committed to Main Street America and we are willing to sacrifice during this time in order to bring to fruition a concept that can be impactful to our family as well as our local community. However, the financial and emotion impact on our family that these months and months of delays are causing are NO LONGER TOLERABLE!

If your concerns are regarding the appraisal, please take note of a recent Kiplinger article written on the top 10 housing economies. “Texas makes a strong showing, with six cities in the top ten, reflecting the state's population and job growth in recent years, much of it related to strong energy prices”-December 16th 2009 Kiplinger.com. This speaks highly of our region. There is much substantiated data available should you need more back up for our file. (Remember the file-the one at the bottom covered in red tape. I’m happy to increase the girth.)

Our financials are solid and our dedication to this dream is unyielding, however our patience and funding is finite. As much as I would love to create a detailed accounting of monies invested and lost as well as additional expenses incurred due to the delay of this loan, it would only create an additional delay to a project that is important to our family, local community, and supporters.

It is with urgency that I write this letter to explain that the seller, Mr. Cooksey, has selflessly extended our closing deadline multiple times with the understanding that January 15th was our final extension. The clock is ticking with every stroke of a key. I am no longer willing to impose on his generosity and kindness. Mr. Cooksey is the biggest proponent for this project. His willingness to accept the delays for my dream is unfathomable in today’s culture. My dream has become his dream. Our dream has become the dream of a community. The dream of our community has gone national, (please view http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pecos-TX/Preserving-a-Pecos-Tx-Jewel-The-Fonville-Jewelry-Building/212720605267?ref=ts.) You are no longer holding a file that belongs to a faceless applicant; you are now holding a dream that is being followed by thousands. This is a dream that started with the planting of a seed which has branched out to become larger than you or me. It has now become a glimmer of hope as well as a movement of change for this historic and iconic building on Main Street America.

In order to make this dream move along, this is what I NOW need from you. First... dig my file out of the bottom of the pile, then pull the scissors out and cut thru the red tape. Then, please attach a sticky note handwritten with “URGENT-Handle With Care and Love” to my file and hand process my application. Please consider this your dream as well. Hand carry this to every office for every needed signature and review with the understanding that time is running out and this dream needs an answer.

Thank you in advance for your dedicated follow thru to our dream. Nena Tiahrt, my loan specialist, has been untiring and passionate about our file. If everyone could show the same dedication and passion for their work as she has, this letter would not be needed. So as a Texan who is looking forward to the day she can turn a knob to bathe her beautiful little girl with HOT water in a tub that self drains “GET HER DONE!”

Sincerely,

Sandra Renteria