Loan Mod (BoA) after Ch7 Discharge

[may]

Ok. So I want to make sure I have this straight...

I contacted my attorney and this was her response.

You can surrender your home and not be responsible in a Chapter 7 even after discharge. Your personal obligation has been discharged. The only security they have now is the home.

So we can walk away from this home and will not be obligated to anything. We can just cut the power off and lock up.

We have been looking at renting a home to save some money. We found a house that is a cheaper monthly payment, closer to our jobs, bigger, and little to no work to it. The landlord does not require a deposit. He said just month to month. He doesn't do a lease agreement. We can paint the walls and pretty much do whatever we want. With the option to buy. We actually know of this landlord. He owns a shopping strip that our friends photography studio leases. He and his family are well known. We want to jump on it! But I don't know if we have to/need to do anything before we move out. (As much as I hate to say that. )

[ValleYum]

Month to month would scare me. Have you checked to make sure this house isn't in foreclosure?

[Resigned2BK]

Month to month would scare me. Have you checked to make sure this house isn't in foreclosure?

Yeah, I'd want either a 6 month or 12 month lease in that situation.

[may]

I think what he was saying was that we don't have to commit to 6 months or a year. The house is not in foreclosure. It's been paid for.

[mountanddo]

If the house is in foreclosure does the mortage company have to honor the lease?

[may]

The house we're looking to rent is not in foreclosure.

[sh9730]

OP,

Well, first of all....you may want to seriously consider STAYING in your place as long as possible after you stop paying, unless you really really need stability. You will have enough notice to move as the foreclosure process rolls along, and you get to keep all the money you would be paying in mortgage (or rent) for all those months. It adds up! Additionally, you can TRY for a loan modification after your BK, which you might get (I DID!), or at a mimimum that will buy you even more time without making any payments. All without additional liability as your lawyer points out.

[btbeme]

May, I'd stay as long as I possibly could and bank the payments you would otherwise be making. It will take months to get you out, and as I outlined above there are plenty of "delaying actions" you can do. Take your time, and find the right place.

I'd be cautious of month to month, but you can check the ownership status by looking at your county recorder's website to see what liens, mortgages, etc are on the home. When we rented, we did a search for any and all properties owned by the landlord, just to see if we was indeed solvent (he was).