Foreclosure or shortsale? update-My shady lawyer

Claireack

I don't really understand how things work mortgage wise over there, I'm assuming similar to here. Do you have the option to rent the house out? Change the mortgage to a business one and let it to someone, then go ahead and buy one to live in elsewhere. Then if the property market picks up you may be able to sell at a later date.

Just a thought, don't know if it would be worth it.

JonnyPistachio

Claireack wrote:

I don't really understand how things work mortgage wise over there, I'm assuming similar to here. Do you have the option to rent the house out? Change the mortgage to a business one and let it to someone, then go ahead and buy one to live in elsewhere. Then if the property market picks up you may be able to sell at a later date.

Just a thought, don't know if it would be worth it.

I certainly can rent the house out, and i'm considering that as well, however, i'd likely have to pay about $500 out of pocket per month still...maybe more, and I don't think i can afford that. In addition, I believe my homestead exemption would be lost and taxes would increase, and insurance/liability goes up too. IT was a renters market for awhile, so people in my area are having a hard time getting much for their rentals.

Also, the potential candidates for tennants in the neighborhood wouldnt likely keep it in the best of shape. I'd also need to hire someone to take care of it, as i'm hoping to move further north too.

JonnyPistachio

Firefox wrote:

My cousin recently completed a short sale on his house in Nevada because he got a much better job in Oregon. He has a family of five to feed and the extra money from the new job is now helping pay for some huge medical bills from a few years ago when his wife was sick. They are renting a pretty nice house in a nice area—hoping to buy again in a few years.
I very much respect how much thought you are putting into making sure your wife and future family is safe. To me, that is the greater responsibility in this situation.
However, it does make me a think of other families living in unsafe neigbourhoods who just don't have the resources to get themselves a safer place to raise their children—nothing to do with your situation or choices, just a separate thought...

Thank you Firefox. and yes, many people have unique situations. I honestly had an exit plan to move from the area in 2010-11. For 11 years prior to that, I saw the prices rising, sometimes doubling year-to-year. I jumped in and bought a house while I could afford it, assuming it would help me in the long run. But it was just bad timing.

I would have no problem living there if I was by myself..and I'd seriously take an old wooden shack in a better neighborhood if I could. First and foremost I want my wife to feel safe, and she doesnt...and I just couldnt have it on my conscience if something happened to her because I made her live in a shitty neighborhood.

I'm glad to hear things worked out for your cousin.

JOEJOEJOE

It seems as if many threads turn into debates when someone asks for advice related to actions on which others might not agree is the right thing to do.

Jearlpam0925

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

It seems as if many threads turn into debates when someone asks for advice relatedto actions on which others might not agree is the right thing to do.

No kiddin'.

Dukes10

JonnyPistachio -
Make your decision wisely. Don't say that no one told you x, y, or z. Here are some effects to your decision:
Your credit is going to be ruined.
This means most likely you will be living in an apartment with the family. Raising a kid in an apartment is not the easiest thing to do. You might not even get a good apartment with such bad credit, so you might be in the same kind of neighborhood. My advice is to get into an apartment before this hits your credit. Maybe even a month or two in advance.
Your bad credit will effect numerous things in your life from trying to get a car loan to even trying to get a job if you need one (they run credit checks on job applicants).
I wish you the best in your decision. I hope you take emotion out of it and really look into every option and see what the ramifications are for each option. Make sure you are not cursing yourself later for your choice of action.

Jearlpam0925

Don't backtrack on all the bullshit remarks you've already made.

amethgr8

my 2cent for what its worth..alot of good advise here. obviously a consultation with an attorney would be in order, as this is not legal advise. I'll tell you what I know of it, a real estate broker.

in todays market (subject to change tomorrow) for a short sale to happen there must be some type of hardship. not sure if the safety issue could be considered a hardship, up to your bank to decide. more like financial hardship to show you cannot make the payment. should you persue this option you will need to fill out paperwork showing what you make and what you owe and if there IS enough money to go around, you may not be a good "canidate" for a short sale. as far as I know, you need to be a minimum of 3 months behind on payments before a bank will discuss a short sale option.

when you make your payment on time every month, you are not in default. in order to talk to the "default" department you need to be IN default on your loan. they have so many people that have lost their jobs and are in default they can't take time to talk to people that are not in default.

lots of things come into play when a bank makes a decision to sell a mortgage short than what's owed. if the mortgage had private mortgage insurance and there is enough $$ vested or not vested (not sure which) then a bank may opt-out of a short sale and put the property thru foreclosure so they can turn it into the PMI company, be reimbursed for the mortgage they gave and let the PMI company have the house.

many FHA mortgages were backed by freddiemac and fanniemae and the banks turned in mortgages to them and got their money out and let freddie and fannie handle the houses.

hope this helps. feel free to PM me, I'll tell what I know.

good luck.

amy

SPEEDY MCCREADY

JonnyPistachio wrote:

I need some advice. I will be seeing a lawyer next week, but I want to talk to people who know more about this, or have been through it.

So I've been battling the idea for a few years. I bought my house in south Florida in 2006, at the very peak of the market. I had intentions of living there for 5 years and upgrading to a better neighborhood. The house is currently worth 1/3 of what I paid. My neighborhood was not good to begin with, and all the nearby foreclosures and shortsales are making it a neighborhood that will take longer to revitalize. Also, the neighborhood has gotten worse with crime and squatters.

I am one of those people who always fulfills my obligations. I have a contract and I owe a shitload of money for something i'll not see improvement back to its original value (not likely in 10-15 years rather).

But the icing on the cake was a few days ago I heard gunshots in the middle of the night. And I have recently been married and my wife has moved in with me. We dont feel safe, and I am considering foreclosing or trying to shortsale it. Anybody been through either of these? If I foreclose, i'm concerned that the banks will come after me in 10-15 years even, to get their money. :?

I would walk away from that house in a heartbeat....

Your credit gets fucked up for 8-10 years??? Who cares!!!!

Use your wifes credit cards and make future purchases in her name.....

That house is worth 1/3 of what you paid for it???
I would walk away in a heartbeat....

JonnyPistachio

amethgr8 wrote:

my 2cent for what its worth..alot of good advise here. obviously a consultation with an attorney would be in order, as this is not legal advise. I'll tell you what I know of it, a real estate broker.

in todays market (subject to change tomorrow) for a short sale to happen there must be some type of hardship. not sure if the safety issue could be considered a hardship, up to your bank to decide. more like financial hardship to show you cannot make the payment. should you persue this option you will need to fill out paperwork showing what you make and what you owe and if there IS enough money to go around, you may not be a good "canidate" for a short sale. as far as I know, you need to be a minimum of 3 months behind on payments before a bank will discuss a short sale option.

when you make your payment on time every month, you are not in default. in order to talk to the "default" department you need to be IN default on your loan. they have so many people that have lost their jobs and are in default they can't take time to talk to people that are not in default.

lots of things come into play when a bank makes a decision to sell a mortgage short than what's owed. if the mortgage had private mortgage insurance and there is enough $$ vested or not vested (not sure which) then a bank may opt-out of a short sale and put the property thru foreclosure so they can turn it into the PMI company, be reimbursed for the mortgage they gave and let the PMI company have the house.

many FHA mortgages were backed by freddiemac and fanniemae and the banks turned in mortgages to them and got their money out and let freddie and fannie handle the houses.

hope this helps. feel free to PM me, I'll tell what I know.

good luck.

amy

Thanks Amy, I'm learning more and more that banks are doing crazy things to help some people. I talked to my realtor friend last night, and he said I have many options and that the bank will likely work with me. I think perhaps things are a bit unusual down here in florida...we have some of the worst (i think) dips in prices and most foreclosures, so they are doing what they can. My friend told me that he even knows some people who simply asked for principle reduction and they got it. Others agreed to a shortsale for no particular reason other than loss of value, but had to pay 5-10K out of pocket.

Speedy, yup, I gotta just get out of the neighborhood..and as far as credit goes, I've never needed it. I live very simply. but that great credit really hasnt done much for me, except get me a good rate on the loan that I am underwater on right now! haha...anyways.. yes, i'll never see the price recouperate, so why stay and risk our lives? shortsale, it seems, only ruins credit for a few years... I've always had great credit and the only two things i've ever owed money on was two houses.

Dukes -- I hear what you're saying. It is hard to not use emotion when thinking about this because the main reason I want to leave is out of fear. I want my wife to live without fear as well. However, i dont drive new cars..never will...and we have lots of options for moving. Rentals are the way to go right now...as I said, even my house would rent for nearly 500 less than the mortgage right now. I can rent a house in a much better neigborhood for less. And we have family that lives north of us...my wifes mother, who lives alone in a decent size house and has offered us to live there.

mickeyrat

Dukes10 wrote:

JonnyPistachio -
Make your decision wisely. Don't say that no one told you x, y, or z. Here are some effects to your decision:
Your credit is going to be ruined.
This means most likely you will be living in an apartment with the family. Raising a kid in an apartment is not the easiest thing to do. You might not even get a good apartment with such bad credit, so you might be in the same kind of neighborhood. My advice is to get into an apartment before this hits your credit. Maybe even a month or two in advance.
Your bad credit will effect numerous things in your life from trying to get a car loan to even trying to get a job if you need one (they run credit checks on job applicants).
I wish you the best in your decision. I hope you take emotion out of it and really look into every option and see what the ramifications are for each option. Make sure you are not cursing yourself later for your choice of action.

have you read through anything he's posted? It seems he started this thread doing JUST what you "advise" . I think he's thinking things through thoroughly. Understands what the consequences of the potential decisions are. His PRIMARY responsibility is to his family and their safety.

JonnyPistachio

A little update to my situation -- Sorry for the length of this rant, but perhaps I can get some opinions from friends or advice from the lawyers here on this refund status..

In february of 2012 I contacted a lawyer who offered to complete a short sale of my property for $1000. He said this was an all inclusive flat rate. I would owe nothing more. They hire the realtor and any other costs are paid by the lender at closing. I was reluctant at first to sign the contract, so this lawyer put an addendum that said:

"This fee is fully refundable if Law Firm does not negotiate a short sale approved by Client’s lender."

He said verbally that this meant completing the short sale of the house so I was alleviated from ownership. The lawyer also told me it will take on average 3-6 months to complete the short sale. Now, I understand that every case is different and some take longer.

Anyways, a year after the process started (feb 2013), there was still no deal. We were close with a deal when Bank of America sold the loan to Green Tree Loans. We had to start all over. Green tree explained to me that it would take 30 days for documents to be uploaded and considered for short sale. FOUR months later, I got a notice from Green Tree that the loan was in a modification process and had not even been sent to the short sale dept. I was furious. I thought the lawyer or realtor was handling it. I learned that the lawyer and realtor hadnt contacted them once in that four month period. So I was on the phone several times a week trying to cancel the modification because we had a buyer lined up. In the last year, the lawyer also completely stopped answering my calls and emails. Once in awhile they would email me random stuff about potential investors interested in the house.

In the meantime, btw, I was keeping the house in good condition...reluctantly because of the gangs, hookers, and drug dealers that continue to plague the area..

Also, in November 2013, we had a low offer come in at 55K, but the bank demanded 87K. The buyer said he'd consider 67K baring an inspection. The bank agreed to 67K, but the buyer backed out. Then, five days later, I got an email from my lawyer saying that I need to send $500 immediately because we have a closing and unfortunately, the costs usually associated with the lender would not be paid...title and lien searches. I responded saying there was no closing, and no offers or buyers lined up, and asked what the hell he was demanding $500 for! No answer.

So, just last week I was informed by the bank that the house will go into foreclosure within a month, but I had been selected to enter a program for a DEED in Lieu...which isnt quite as bad as a foreclosure. so I went ahead with that plan.

I called my lawyer a few days ago and said it was time to cancel short sale proceedings and I would like my money back because we must do a deed in lieu...Now they are refusing to give me my money back. They said that they "secured an approved short sale" and I was therefore not eligible for a refund. I assume they are suggesting that they go the bank to consider selling the house for 87K. I see how they are twisting that addendum to the contract. I honestly dont care about the money as much as I feel they didnt do any work, tried to scam me for more money along the way, and now twisted that addendum...I feel its slimy how they treated me and handled my case.

I think i'm screwed out of the $1000.

PJ_Soul

Damn, that is frustrating just to read about, so the frustation you're feeling must be pretty intense. Sorry you've had to deal with all this crap. Your lawyer sounds like scum.
Holy shit, houses are selling for 55k in some places down there?! @-) I know it's a shit neighborhood, but still, that's crazy.

chadwick

i have friends who were married (now divorced) & they have a son together. they lived here in iowa & they bought a home. things happened & they wanted to get their lives together. school, school, school. anyhow, they rented their house out to a friend & they moved out west where i was living at the time & matt signed up for welding classes.

their friend quit renting their house & moved out. for years matt & his little family lived in bologna sandwiches & at best chicken thighs. when he would talk with the bank it was a piece of cake... the bank would laugh & was easy going about this nation wide housing market crash.

matt improved his families life & his own. he now makes decent money at some big ass factory making tractors. he was a straight A student & may become an engineer someday, he has the brains for it.

credit... fuck credit. being happy & safe where you live is the most important thing hands down.

who gives a fuck if you have to rent a house or apartment for awhile? fuck owning credit cards anyhow. cash saves up nicely for when you may need a car or a washer. no one needs a brand new car. a few grand gets a decent little car. credit is bullshit

more power to you mr. jonny p.

this fucking lawyer you speak of is a fucking jerkoff & sadly that is the image many lawyers give out

chadwick

one more thing... fuck BOA
bank of america is a fucking ruthless ass pile of crap
they enjoy fucking people over with their fine print at the bottom of the page

BOA can suck it as far as i'm concerned

Leezestarr313

PJ_Soul said:

Damn, that is frustrating just to read about, so the frustation you're feeling must be pretty intense. Sorry you've had to deal with all this crap. Your lawyer sounds like scum.
Holy shit, houses are selling for 55k in some places down there?! @-) I know it's a shit neighborhood, but still, that's crazy.

Try the Detroit area hahaha They sell houses here for 500 dollars upwards. Dumpsters, yes (often, some houses are palaces but nobody wants to move to Detroit), shitty neighbourhoods, yes. But the prices are looooow, it almost makes you cry.

Jonny P, I hope you'll get out of that mess soon. Losing a grand is awful, but living in a neighbourhood where you feel safe is priceless. Best of luck!

JonnyPistachio

Thanks guys! Yes, its an unfortunate situation, but it looks like its finally coming to an end. This lawyer has left such a bad taste in my mouth. You'd cringe if you saw the email chain exchange yesterday. And they wont answer any of my calls or my last email. I'm contacting a new lawyer and i'll probably look into complaints and Florida Bar assoc..

Yeah Chadwick, BoA was tough to work with. Green Tree was bad at first, but Im thankful that they offered me a deed in lieu with no deficiency judgement.

Wobbie

couldn't a big time author like you just pay it off out of your next advance? C'mon, Johnny......Grisham or Clancy would just pay it off and move.

good luck with whatever you do.

JonnyPistachio

imalive said:

couldn't a big time author like you just pay it off out of your next advance? C'mon, Johnny......Grisham or Clancy would just pay it off and move.

good luck with whatever you do.

lol, I wish!
I already spent all those proceeds on the two bottles of captain morgan to fuel the next novel! :-O

polaris_x

is this a US thing, a florida thing or what? ... anyone know if this is happening in canada? ... i will fully admit that i don't understand all the nuances of JP's situation but it just seems like everyone is out to get his and to hell with the consequences ... from the banks to the fucking lawyer onwards ...

in any case - i hope it all works out for you JP