Question about walking away from house

[Chrisi18]

So DH and I had our 341 last week, went great. We moved this past weekend into a rental, since we are surrendering our house. We contacted the bank to let them know we are out, and were ready to give them the keys, and they won't let us. They said they have to go to court first. I'm just worried about the house sitting there, without being properly secured, and winterized. I believe we still have insurance on the house until Feb. Is this the normal procedure for banks? I guess I thought I could just surrender the keys to the bank whenever we were ready to give up the house. Anyone else have any experience with this?

[TEW]

Chris
You can’t just give back a house. It will have to go through foreclosure. Depending on your state it may take a long time. I just walked away from mine. I don’t expect the foreclosure until next year sometime. The mortgage company has to sue you to take back the deed. Don’t worry since you have filed BK it is not going to cost you anything. You will be getting some ugly mail or scary. Don’t let that worry. Keep an insurance coverage on the house since it is an asset.

[wonkettegirl]

Isn't there any way to make them take it faster? Or any way to come to an agreement to keep it out of the courts? I really don't want to have someone look my name up on ccap (our computerized court reporting system) and see a big huge FORECLOSURE pop up. I also don't want to get dinged for property taxes, worry about pipes freezing if I'm gone, need to mow the lawn in the summer, etc.

If I am willing to turn over the keys and sign over the deed, it just seems punitive for the banks to insist on a court proceeding (read: public procedure).

[BROKENN]

We moved out of our house and a my experience was the mtg company was more than happy to secure the house.

Also, the mortgage company slapped its own insurance policy on it.

If you call them, it is you communicating not them violating the stay. I would call and ask for the BK department. They are more in the groove to handle these things.

I locked it up and chained the fence. I PDF my Pacer entry for the mortgage companies relief of stay and turned it in to the bank. Meanwhile, they haven't even foreclosed yet. That they have to do no matter what to own the property again.

[BassBoy]

If your concerned about the pipes freezing, then go to the lowest faucet or water outlet in the house and drain the the lines after you've turned off the main and leave this faucet open.

Don't worry about prop taxes. Most mortgages have 6 months to a year of escrow to pay these and you should be fine. You'll need to keep the insurance current if it lapses and the mortgage company hasn't paid it, however as BROKENN points out, the lender will more than likely slap their own policy on the home, and that is of no real concern to you. It just gets added to the amount you already owe them, and therefore is discharged.

You will need to make sure the lawn is mowed and trimmed as it needs to be. If you're moving too far away, you could have a close friend that lives near the home to do this for you until the house goes to sale.

Keep in mind that in a judicial foreclosure state, the bank must have an order granted by the court to repossess the home, so don't be frustrated that the bank/lender won't just let you hand over the keys. It's just the way it is.

[Chrisi18]

Thanks everyone! I called and talked to my lawyer and he pretty much said the same thing you guys said. Luckily we only moved like 5 min. away so we can pop in and check on things. Also tonight we are going to take care of the pipes. Thanks again, you guys always make me feel better!

[majicman50]

Planning our exit.

We were discharged from a chapter 7 in Oct. 09. Did not reaffirm the mortgage. Our last payment was made in July 10. The notice from Citi says "THE ABOVE REFERENCED LOAN IS IN DEFAULT." To prevent foreclosure proceedings, we must receive .........by 10/02/10. We are in Missouri. At this point how long do we have before an actual eviction? Should we call and attempt negotiations for as long a stay as possible. We mainly want to have enough time to find a rental place.
HELP!

[Floridagail]

We also stopped making our pmts July 1 , all we have received is about 5 loan modification packages, we did not request any. and a regular late pmt notice. We are not moving until last minute. So hope we have at least a year. We will follow it closely. We know people here who have not made pmts for over year so far in Florida.