Betty The Restauranteur

[Ghel]

Because interest rates are going up, you're going to hit a point where the opportunity cost for the money the restaurant is worth becomes greater than what payments you're getting out of it. It might be a good idea to actually go and foreclose before that happens.

The restaurant isn't worth anything if we can't sell it after we foreclose. And the way the market is in our little town, I doubt we would be able to sell it for enough to pay off the loan and recoup our legal fees.

It actually makes more sense to let the property go tax forfeit and let the county take it. We'll keep getting the automatic payments from her checking account (when there's money there). We have an Small Business Administration guarantee, so they'll cover about 75% of the remaining loan amount. Then we would write off the rest. It would probably be less than legal fees if we foreclosed.


Tama, I've been thinking this might be it for years. Somehow, Betty has continued to hang on by the barest thread.

[Tama]

So >$100k in loans and liens. Unless she gets another inheritance I think this might be it.

[Tanasi]

So until Uncle Sugar puts a pad lock on the place tax payers are floating her a "loan" that has no hope of being paid?

[TheSHAD0W]

Because interest rates are going up, you're going to hit a point where the opportunity cost for the money the restaurant is worth becomes greater than what payments you're getting out of it. It might be a good idea to actually go and foreclose before that happens.

[Buzzard]

Betty should run for some high political office. She's got the Reality Blinders installed, so she can't properly perceive what's actually happening. She's got the Total Denial system running, blocking out any possible blame or possibility of unhappy things happening. We know she's good with Story Time, which spins anything that gets past the first two into rainbows and candy floss and good times, all around.
Why, if you just marvel at it a moment, you can easily overlook the fact that it's all made out of dung not fit to fertilize the garden with.

[Ghel]

There isn't really a set time period for Betty to respond. The pre-foreclosure letter we sent has expired by now, but we don't actually want to foreclose. The property probably isn't worth what she owes on it, and it certainly isn't worth what she owes plus her tax liens. All my supervisor has been saying is to "keep the pressure on them."

ETA: I managed to get hold of Betty at the restaurant this morning. She's still claiming that all the tax liens should be paid, either in her bankruptcy repayment or more recently, including with the $38,000 loan she got from the credit union. But that doesn't scan with the title work we got. It shows IRS tax liens filed between 2008-2011 totaling about $20,000, and state tax liens filed 2010-2018 totaling about $78,000. If she's on some sort of payment plan, that could reduce the amount owed. But the liens aren't showing as paid. So I told her she NEEDS to call me back this week to schedule a time for her and her husband to come in to discuss the tax liens and property taxes with us. I won't hold my breath.

[Pixelated]

Well so many folks got up so early for so many years they continue that habit.

My mother's parents were used to getting up with the sun and going to bed with the sun. Eventually, of course, Grandpa retired (Grandma had, sadly, long since died.) I had been living at their house for quite some time (long story, irrelevant to this) and one summer morning I jerked awake at 9 a.m., realizing I hadn't heard Grandpa get up. I rushed madly the length of the house to his bedroom, sure that he'd died during the night.

Nope. He was just sleeping in.

Back on topic: Ghel, how long does Betty have to respond? Especially considering how long this has been going on.

[Ghel]

No, Betty hasn't responded to the voicemails I left her. I'm not sure what our next step will be. We really need to have her and her husband come in and talk with us about how/whether they intend to keep the restaurant open when they're having such a hard time making ends meet.

[taxguykarl]

To get back on topic:
Any replies from Betty, Ghel? Did a strong breeze finally knock down this house of cards?

[Tanasi]

What is with all these old folks getting up so early? I'm retired, age 69, and sleep to at least 10:00 every morning, various commitments permitting. Of course I always stay up until after midnight.

Well so many folks got up so early for so many years they continue that habit. A neighbor that was a letter carrier got up at 4am every day even after he retired and so did his wife. That was their habit.
For many years I ate at a little joint called Miss Betty's Sit-in. She had the best breakfast ever and it was cheap. My usual breakfast was two biscuits and gravy with 4 slices of bacon and two scrambled eggs with sweet-tea to wash it down. If she thought you still looked hungry she'd bring you more at no charge. It was like eating at your mom's or grandmother's. A lot of people were very sad when she retired.
That building now has an Egyptian restaurant now and the food is still good just not Miss Betty's.

[Mental_Mouse]

What is with all these old folks getting up so early? I'm retired, age 69, and sleep to at least 10:00 every morning, various commitments permitting. Of course I always stay up until after midnight.

Hmm, I'm barely past 50, and have trouble sleeping more than 7 hours in a night, more often 6. Of course, I also take afternoon naps on non-work days.

[morgana]

Ironclad, I hear you. I'm 67, also retired; bedtime is right around 2 am, gettin' up time is anywhere between 9 am and 2 pm.

Breakfast club? Pfffft.

[notalwaysright]

The breakfast places around here have all kinds of names ranging from Jim's Diner, to Homeskillet, to ones that make me think they couldn't decide on a name so they just chose something random. Like Birch Door or Horseshoe. There's one that's called Over Easy, which is not brilliant because over easy eggs (or any runny egg yolk) make me nauseous. If I accidentally get served runny yolk, I will gag. Sooooo I've never been to that place, even though I'm sure you can get actual cooked eggs.

[Ironclad Alibi]

What is with all these old folks getting up so early? I'm retired, age 69, and sleep to at least 10:00 every morning, various commitments permitting. Of course I always stay up until after midnight.

[EricKei]

Hell, the old BK back home had its own little "breakfast club" of elderly folks every single day; they even had one of the Handicapped parking spots next to the door marked with a sign reserving it for the "club's" President until 8AM daily