Chapter One

I had returned to work just a couple of days after New Year's, and I was with my clients Mr. and Mrs. Daughtery, a married couple accessing their financial needs through loan applications. I had to ask Mrs. Daughtery what her income and expenses were including her credit history and other financial information, because of their mortgage loans on a property that is collateral.

"Now you see Mrs. Daughtery, you do have a down payment on this property. Since the seller of your property will get 20% of loans, this is because your home is $350,000, and you are a buyer and you have a larger down payment and you are putting a significant portion of the purchased price," I said to Mrs. Daughtery. I was highlighting the information related to down payment on the first page of a three-page paperwork, and Mrs. Daughtery was listening to me talk and explain about her and her husband's financial needs to buy a home, here in Minnesota. "Okay, and my husband and I did meet with Mr. Williams, and he is willing to accept the 20%," says Mrs. Daughtery. "Alright. And have you ever heard of a PMI, Mrs. Daughtery?" I asked. Mrs. Daughtery shook her head yes, but I went ahead and explained to Mrs. Daughtery what a PMI was as I am highlighting important things to the 20% down payment. I also told Mrs. Daughtery about the cost of savings, including an automatic cancellation with a loan-to-value ratio that would reach 78% or when Mrs. Daughtery reaches the halfway point of the loan term. I sighed.

Every single page of the paperwork was explained to Mrs. Daughtery and I asked her if she had any questions so far. Mrs. Daughtery said no and this was when I gave another example of the 20%, by telling Mr. and Mrs. Daughtery that they can use their 401K of the 20% down payment. Mrs. Daughtery said she will do that instead since she explained to me that her and her husband worked two jobs from the time they were young and until they were about to be retired, and Mr. Daughtery said that he was working two jobs as an accountant and a contractor in two different companies, when he worked thirty years as an accountant and another thirty years as an contractor. Mrs. Daughtery was a nurse for thirty years and right around the same year Mr. Daughtery started working as a contractor, Mrs. Daughtery quit her job as a registered nurse and she became a part-time contractor as well working with her husband at the same company.

I was thinking that these two lovebirds loved to work. I was even a workaholic myself, and I love to stay busy and focus. I would get bored at times if I just do nothing, kind like when I'm off work on Saturdays and Sundays, I do spend time with Ally and we watch TV together and before we rest, we would do some work together like repairing our floorings and doing things like managing the furniture in our house, and we basically remodel our home after a year we got married because our home is old and was built in 1995. I continue to explain more information to Mrs. Daughtery about the 401(k) and what could go wrong with their down payment using their 401(k). That included financial penalties and taxes like 10% early withdrawal penalty, income tax, mandatory 20% federal withholding, and such things. If a customer tells their loan officer like me, that they want to utilize their 401(k) money to make a 20% down payment on a house, the loan officer like me, will help them through the process and make sure the right paperwork is collected and validated for the mortgage application.

The function of me as a loan officer is broken down as follows. I will inform the customer of the consequences. I describe the advantages and disadvantages of using 401(k) funds. As a loan officer, I will go over possible disadvantages such as early withdrawal penalties and taxes, as well as how they may affect the growth of retirement savings. They may also go over the terms of repayment and the potential for a 401(k) loan rather than a withdrawal. I also talk about how it affects the debt-to-income ratio. The client's mortgage qualification amount may be impacted if they choose to take out a 401(k) loan because the repayments, which are often automatically withdrawn from their paycheck, will be included in their DTI. Stress the importance of having a backup plan: It's important to talk about what would happen if the client lost their employment when they had a 401(k) loan because they might have to pay back the remaining amount right away or suffer tax penalties.

Mrs. Daughtery nodded her head as she understood what I was explaining to her. I sighed and said, "Mrs. Daughtery, do you still consider using your retirement savings to purchase your home and will Mr. Williams accept the 401K," I said. "Yes. I'd think I should use our retirement savings to buy our dream home," answered Mrs. Daughtery. "Okay," I answered, smiling at Mrs. Daughtery. I grabbed the paperwork and I turned back to my computer.

After I had arrived at my car, once leaving the bank at five thirty in the evening, the bank was closing and I opened my luxury Lexus SUV car door after I unlocked it with my keys. I sighed after I sat in the driver's seat and laid my messenger bag onto the passenger's seat, and I shut the door after I sat in my seat before putting on my safety belt before I cranked up the car and I pulled the gear in reverse, faced the back of the windshield of my car and pushed on my gas pedal before I started backing up out of the parking lot. After I backed up, I faced the front of the windshield and I pulled my gear into drive and pressed on my gas pedal at the same time I turned my steering wheel, and left work.

Once I arrived home, I opened the car door and I stood out of my car after grabbing my messenger bag and I shut the door after grabbing my bag and I locked it with my keys. I walk up to the back porch of my home and as soon as I step onto the porch, I enter my house after opening the door and I shut the door after walking into my home. I heard Ally coming into the living room after leaving our bedroom and I smiled at Ally as soon as I saw her coming into the living room.

"Hey honey, how was work?" wondered Ally.

"Uh, it was good, I think," I answered, chuckling.

"You think?" wondered Ally.

"It went well, Ally. I'm just tired after dealing with so many clients all day," I said.

"I can understand that," says Ally.

"Well, you're a sales representative. So you know how I feel," I answered, chuckling.

"So uh, Kathy did call earlier, she wanted me to ask you if you were still visiting your son's gravesite," says Ally.

"Why would she ask me that? I visit his gravesite every weekend," I answered back, while taking off my shoes.

"Yeah right. No big deal," says Ally.

I nodded my head and I walked past Ally to head to my bedroom and Ally went to the basement. I sat down on my bed and I untied my tie first, before I took off my suit jacket and signed once again. I cleared my throat and I decided to take my laptop from my messenger bag and I took it out of the bag before I opened the laptop, and then plugging in my charger of the laptop into a plug and I turned on my laptop, waited for it to load, and I went straight to Google to do some research on Jordan's case and looking for the Detectives who were investigating the death of my two year old son.

I read the report from one of the journalists who had written an article about Jordan's death and it said in one of the articles that Jordan was stabbed six times in his chest and suffered internal bleeding before he died. Jordan was found at a graveyard where he was murdered. It took two months for his body to be found. I had a flashback of the detectives who investigated Jordan's murder. I still don't understand how the killer never got caught. The detectives who investigated Jordan's case had spent numerous hours looking for Jordan's killer, and I wonder if Jordan will ever get justice.

Will he and will they have their killer arrested? I remember being so depressed after Jordan's loss, and I had to see a therapist to help me recover from the loss of my son. I am even on antidepressants to help me recover from the trauma of my son's murder. I am doing better and able to move on from the loss of my son. I miss Jordan, and I will always remember that he was the most incredible human being I have ever fallen in love with besides his mother and my ex-wife, Kathy. I will forever remember that Jordan had changed my life from the moment Kathy had birthed him in this world, and he will always be loved and never forgotten.