what to do....

[dawnranae]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?MN
I am a co-owner (secondary borrower on mortgage) of a house that is very potentially going to be foreclosed on ( 3+mo’s behind). I do not reside at the property, have not for 2 years and have been told by other owner he plans to refinance for 2 years now to get my name off mortgage and he has not. I wanted to sell the property 2 years ago and he refused. I have been contacted by Mortgage Co. to see if I can make payments current. I cannot, I currently rent on a lease. I cannot afford an attorney to file a partition and do not know if a partition would do any good at this point. Value of home is aprox. $185,000. We owe $160,000 plus 1-1/2 years property taxes are overdue. My question is what are the best steps for me to take to protect myself. I do not need to file BK due to any other debts, I am maintaining my rent and other bills on time, but am afraid of what may happen if the property forecloses. Would there likely be a deficiency with the numbers provided above? Should I file BK pre-foreclosure or should I wait until a foreclosure takes place? Does it matter? How do BK attorneys charge (upfront or payments)? What happens when property taxes are behind? Is it listed in Foreclosure or handled separately by Govt.? The taxes were not put in escrow. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[seniorjudge]

"Value of home is aprox. $185,000. We owe $160,000 plus 1-1/2 years property taxes are overdue."

If you want to file bankruptcy, post this in the bankruptcy forum. Tell them we sent you so you will not get nastygrams about double-posting.

I am NOT a bankruptcy attorney.

It looks like, however, you have $20K to work with. If you let it go into foreclosure, you may risk losing some or all of that.

 

[rainmand]

Filing bankruptcy to get yourself out of this situation should be your last resort. Since you're in the beginning of a potential foreclosure process, if I were you I'd hire a Lender Mediator to represent you to your Lender and have them work out a plan to get you back on track. Your Lender probably mentioned something like this to you when they called you. They call it a forbearance agreement. However, I wouldn't accept their forbearance agreement because it'll be designed in their favour, and its been my experience the borrower slips back into trouble again 4-6 months after entering into forebearance agreements designed by Lenders. A Lender Mediator will work out an agreement with the Lender that is more reasonable for you, so you'll be able to complete it successfully. I'd do it quick, before the Lender sends the Notice of Default letter, to avoid your credit report having a NOD on it. A 90 day mortgage late is bad enough.

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My question is what are the best steps for me to take to protect myself.

 

[GUMBOYAYA]

Make sure your figures are correct

If you want a forebearance in order to stop the foreclosure action, make sure you figures are right. Add in any collection costs that may already be charged to your mortgage. If you're sure you can sell it quick and that your partner will sign the sales agreement, by all means do the forebearance, if you are not going to get money back, offer the bank a deed in lieu. This will at least soften the damage. Don't file bk until you find out if the bank is going to sue you for the deficiency on the house. I don't know the deficiency rules in your state. The foreclosure will stay 7 years on your credit, the bk will stay 10 yrs.

 

[dawnranae]

what to do...

Thanks for all your advice.
I was informed by the Mortgage Co. that the loan file WAS turned over to Loss Mitigation, whatever that means... How long does it usually take to get a Notice of Default? I do not reside at the property so I would not see such a notice even though my name would be on it. I have heard thru 1 of his family members that he is working with someone to refinance, but I don't know who would touch him if his credit has gotten so bad. Also 1.5 yrs of taxes are due. Can't the county also force a tax sale? How long does it take before they'll do that? What would happen on taxes if it is foreclosed? Will the foreclosure pay them off, or will they come after us seperately? I wish I had some money to work with to hire some professional help, but unfortunately I don't so it's all up to what he is able to or willing to do and I'm afraid I'll just have to ride it out and pay for the biggest mistake of my life. Anybody considering buying a house without being married should STRONGLY reconsider. OR have an attorney draw up papers to say the house WILL be sold if relationship dissolves.

 

[seniorjudge]

Foreclosure notices take as long as the mail takes to get them there.

In most states, foreclosures of mortgages do not affect taxes.

You could have a foreclosure of a mortgage and then have a foreclosure for taxes.

"Anybody considering buying a house without being married should STRONGLY reconsider. OR have an attorney draw up papers to say the house WILL be sold if relationship dissolves."

I have told a hundred couples this and none have listened.