Stalling Tactics to Stay in House Longer after BK????

[helpme2010]

I live in California. I am a month away from my discharge at which point my mortgage company will resume my foreclosure process.

What tactics can I use to stay in my house as long as possible? e.g. filing any responses to mortgage company documents, should I fill out and send in the mortgage modification documentation they sent me during the BK process? Any other ideas on how to stay in the house as long as possible?

Also, what are the typical timetables to look out for so I know exactly how long until I am forced to leave? What documents should I expect in the timeline from the mortgage company?

Thank you.

[tobee43]

well, now with all the mess going on with the banks it's hard to tell.

i can only tell you about our experience. we surrendered the house via foreclosure, however, had vacated months prior...it's over 2 years now and they still have not foreclosed.

i know people that got served went to court and told the judge they had no place to go...i know someone that did that 4 times and stayed over 1 year that way. but it's hard to tell...i'm certain if you go into court they will extend the time....but it's hard to tell how long.

[AngelinaCatHub]

well, now with all the mess going on with the banks it's hard to tell.

i can only tell you about our experience. we surrendered the house via foreclosure, however, had vacated months prior...it's over 2 years now and they still have not foreclosed.

i know people that got served went to court and told the judge they had no place to go...i know someone that did that 4 times and stayed over 1 year that way. but it's hard to tell...i'm certain if you go into court they will extend the time....but it's hard to tell how long.

Tobee is about as accurate as fate would allow. Who knows why the mortgage companies are doing what they are? Perhaps political pressure, or plain CYA? Send you papers, plead no place to go, plead for a new mortgage with lower amount. Anything will be better than doing nothing. Keep us informed. 'Hub

[helpme2010]

I have been reading a ton of posts and still am trying to figure out exactly what documents I am expecting to receive from the mortgage company and a rough time line of how long I will get after each document. e.g. is the NOD the major document to look for and then I have 3-6 months or longer? I am just trying to pace myself to find a rental property once I know how long I have to move out.

[ccsjoe]

Foreclosure in CA is non-judicial, thus each document must be recorded with the county clerk's office and you must receive a copy of each. First you will get the NOD, this is referred to as the pre-foreclosure stage. Typically, before things went haywire, NOD's were issued and recorded at the 90 day late mark. 60-90 days after that, typically the lender would assign the trust deed to an agent (trustee) with the capacity to sell. This trustee would in turn issue a Notice of Trustee's Sale which had to indicate a sale date of no less than 21 days from the date of the notice itself. On the designated day and time, the property would be sold at the courthouse steps either to an investor or other third party or it would revert back to lender (still considered a sale).

If you have yet to receive an NOD you have plenty of time still.

[helpme2010]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Here are my timelines:

April 2009 - Notice of Default and Election to sell under deed of trust (from trustee company)

Feb 2010 - Reinstatement demand (from trustee company) with option to modify loan for 6 months

6 month loan modification (which I skipped my final payment and filed for chapter 7)

Nov 2010 - I am expecting to be discharged around Thanksgiving.

What do you think my timeline will be now???

Foreclosure in CA is non-judicial, thus each document must be recorded with the county clerk's office and you must receive a copy of each. First you will get the NOD, this is referred to as the pre-foreclosure stage. Typically, before things went haywire, NOD's were issued and recorded at the 90 day late mark. 60-90 days after that, typically the lender would assign the trust deed to an agent (trustee) with the capacity to sell. This trustee would in turn issue a Notice of Trustee's Sale which had to indicate a sale date of no less than 21 days from the date of the notice itself. On the designated day and time, the property would be sold at the courthouse steps either to an investor or other third party or it would revert back to lender (still considered a sale).

If you have yet to receive an NOD you have plenty of time still.

[ccsjoe]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Here are my timelines:

April 2009 - Notice of Default and Election to sell under deed of trust (from trustee company)

Feb 2010 - Reinstatement demand (from trustee company) with option to modify loan for 6 months

6 month loan modification (which I skipped my final payment and filed for chapter 7)

Nov 2010 - I am expecting to be discharged around Thanksgiving.

What do you think my timeline will be now???

As brutally honest as I can be, no clue! However, let me venture this: You were previously issued an NOD, redeemed by going into a loan mod, which would nullify the NOD had you paid the entire probationary period, so technically, if you paid the probationary period, you should receive another NOD, they can't cut corners with procedure.

[helpme2010]

Thanks ccsjoe, as Maxwell Smart says, "missed it by that much"

I had done a loan mod for 6 months prior to this most recent one, so perhaps that first loan mod reset my NOD. On the 2nd loan mod, I missed the final months payment and then filed for BK.

During BK, they sent my attorney another loan modification package and I was thinking after BK is discharged that I can fill out the loan modification package again and maybe it would cause them a few months delay processing it.

I am looking for any tactics to stall the sale date. I am assuming right after discharge, they will then do the trustee sale and notify me of the date, so I am thinking I have a lot less time than I thought.

[ccsjoe]

Anybody's guess, I've seen houses get foreclosed while owner was awaiting loan mod....so bottom line is it's a toss up. Hopefully your first mod redeemed the NOD and they have to go back to square one, which I think is the case here.

[jacksjean]

I received an NOD this past weekend at 45 days late. Called the mortgage company (Ocwen) - - they stated they start their foreclosure proceedings at day 81. Since I have yet to pay September's mortgage, I'll technically be in foreclosure Nov 20. I plan on filing BK 7 the second week of November. Per my BK attorney, this should stay the foreclosure for approximately 3 months (Ocwen needs to file some kind of stay motion). In the meantime, I'll be listing the property via short sale. Overall, I was told to expect/plan to move the first of March 2011 regardless of whether the house sells or Ocwen forecloses. PS: I've applied twice for loan modifications with Ocwen; didn't help my situation......

[Anewpage]

What exactly is a NOD? It is something that has to be "served" on you?
I received a notification that I was in default on my mortgage, and asked for the two months payments that I was behind. Nothing about acceleration. Is this a NOD?

Thanks for any help....

[Dougie011]

Nod is short for notice of default. I wondered for the longest time what a nod was also.

[tcreegan]

Hi all,

Anewpage, yup, NOD = notice of default

jacksjean, No point to doing a short sale if you are going to declare BK. Unless you know a real estate agent who wants a commision. If you are going into BK, a short sale is a lose-lose situation for you and the lender. Go into BK and live payment-free for a few months, save the $$ for your post-BK life...

helpme, I wasnt' trying to, but going back and forth with GMAC mortgage on a modification gave me 6 months of no foreclosure action. (then I filed BK partly b/c they wouldnt do a HAMP)

And the best info on foreclosure time-frames is a local real estate agent, they watch this stuff pretty closely.

Hope it all works out for everyone!

Tom in Colo

[Anewpage]

Seems there are a lot of acronyms we need to learn! LOL!

I had an attorney for the BK (341 - done - awaiting discharge). That firm specialized only in bankruptcy and didn't want to handle foreclosure matters. The attorney told me that I would have to be served by a Sheriff in the state of Illinois for a NOD. And after that it would be at least 7 months before I would actually be foreclosed upon....does that sound correct?

Thanks!

[helpme2010]

I have a great BK attorney, he also helped my girlfriend with her BK 5 years ago, just before the new laws took place. He told me he expects well into next year, but I didn't mention I already received NOD a year earlier. I have been through 2 loan mods after that, so frankly, I forgot everything I have received and done.

Since there are no judicial proceedings in California, I am looking for anything that I and others on this board can do to stay in the house longer to help save up a little extra money for renting until I can get a job again.