It’s been a long time since I posted on this forum. I am making this post to give hope to anyone who is looking to egg out the process in order to stay in their home as long as possible.
I BKed on my house and all debt (except student loans) Nov. 2010. It’s now January 2013. I have not paid rent, mortgage, or any other housing related payment since October 2010, still in my same condo. My outstanding lawyer is still fighting the case, and we are now on the second wave of appeals. I originally filed as a stay-and-pay deal (which is only available in some states, and thank god mine is one of them!).
Now it is important to note that I am in a unique situation. Because I live in a condo that was rent-to-own at the time I bought it, it’s making this a more ideal circumstance for me than most people. Because I purchased the condo right when the housing bubble was popping, I basically bought it for about $50K more than it’s worth now (if I still owned it). Now meanwhile, the complex is trying to sell other apartments as condos for about 60-70K less than I paid for mine, and that’s with refinished marble counter-tops, brand new appliances, wood floors, etc. and are not being very successful.
So bottomline: the bank isn’t in a hurry to sell my place because they know they won’t be able to offload it quickly without selling it for less than half what I paid for it, and that’s after a lot of work.
In the meantime, my lawyer thinks that the legal team that represents the first-time homebuyer’s program I used has figured out that the longer they drag their feet, the more they get paid by the mortgage company. So they have been very slow to do things like ship paperwork to the court. The mortgage company doesn’t seem to care (or doesn’t audit their foreclosure files to know any better).
It took just over a year for my first appeal to finish from the time I was originally discharged from BK, at which time my lawyer simply offered to go for another round of appeals so long as I pay him the flat rate appeals fee he charged, plus any extra costs for document shipping, etc, around $3K. It’s not been around 14 months since that wave of appeals began and we are still working our way through it. The last I heard, they were still getting documents to and from special appeals court, due in early September, a good month or 2 before pre-trial stuff. I’ve had the same law firm through this whole process and they have treated me like family the whole time. Words cannot express how thankful I am to them.
So in doing the math, 3K per appeal = 16+ months in a condo rent/mortgage free which is around $150 a month “rent”. And my condo is very nice
The real kicker: I was originally offered about $1,500 to leave the house soon after BK, mid 2011 as a sort of ‘keys-for-cash’ deal. My lawyer advised me to throw them back a counter offer for more. So I did, they failed to respond….and here we are, still tied up 2 years later!
I’ve managed to stash away a good amount of money, do not rely on credit cards anymore at all, and am enjoying life! While I don’t advise anyone to intentionally game the system, if you are up all night crying like I was at one point over finances, let this serve as proof that it does not have to be doom-and-gloom. If you live in Maryland, private message me and I will be happy to give you my lawyer’s name.
I do not feel sorry for the mortgage company in the least, as I tried several times to work out a deal with them prior to it getting to BK and they very rudely refused on multiple occasions.
There have been no signs that I will have to leave anytime soon according to my lawyer, and when it’s time for me to go they will very likely offer me a better cash-for-keys deal to ensure I don’t ‘scuff up’ the place on the way out.
In the 2 years since BK, my finances are doing well overall. I have 2 credit cards with a total of $4k credit available (only used about $200 of that total, and that’s just because of the holidays). I bought a brand spanking new car less than 3 months out of BK (put $12K down on it) and it really wasn’t that hard honestly. The dealership was very willing to work with me just given the amount of cash I put down, and it’s a great model (Hyundai 2011 sedan).
Last I checked, my credit score was still hovering around 670ish, up from around 610 at it's lowest...but the truth is I am still flooded with credit card offers, etc. all the time. I was still able to get financing on my new computer for my business, the car, and an NTB card for tires on the old car I had prior to selling it. You will find there is an entire industry dedicated to helping people with bad credit get money, a business that has grown since the recession.
I encourage everyone to take the time and talk to a good lawyer and weigh your options before you rush into anything. Whatever you do, do NOT leave the house until you absolutely have to, as either dictated by a lawyer or a formal eviction process or both. There will probably be people on some of these forums who will try to tell you this isn't possible but I am living proof it very much is if you are smart a a bit lucky! Truth is if you are able enough to save a few grand through the process for a good lawyer, eviction could be much MUCH farther away than you probably think
I BKed on my house and all debt (except student loans) Nov. 2010. It’s now January 2013. I have not paid rent, mortgage, or any other housing related payment since October 2010, still in my same condo. My outstanding lawyer is still fighting the case, and we are now on the second wave of appeals. I originally filed as a stay-and-pay deal (which is only available in some states, and thank god mine is one of them!).
Now it is important to note that I am in a unique situation. Because I live in a condo that was rent-to-own at the time I bought it, it’s making this a more ideal circumstance for me than most people. Because I purchased the condo right when the housing bubble was popping, I basically bought it for about $50K more than it’s worth now (if I still owned it). Now meanwhile, the complex is trying to sell other apartments as condos for about 60-70K less than I paid for mine, and that’s with refinished marble counter-tops, brand new appliances, wood floors, etc. and are not being very successful.
So bottomline: the bank isn’t in a hurry to sell my place because they know they won’t be able to offload it quickly without selling it for less than half what I paid for it, and that’s after a lot of work.
In the meantime, my lawyer thinks that the legal team that represents the first-time homebuyer’s program I used has figured out that the longer they drag their feet, the more they get paid by the mortgage company. So they have been very slow to do things like ship paperwork to the court. The mortgage company doesn’t seem to care (or doesn’t audit their foreclosure files to know any better).
It took just over a year for my first appeal to finish from the time I was originally discharged from BK, at which time my lawyer simply offered to go for another round of appeals so long as I pay him the flat rate appeals fee he charged, plus any extra costs for document shipping, etc, around $3K. It’s not been around 14 months since that wave of appeals began and we are still working our way through it. The last I heard, they were still getting documents to and from special appeals court, due in early September, a good month or 2 before pre-trial stuff. I’ve had the same law firm through this whole process and they have treated me like family the whole time. Words cannot express how thankful I am to them.
So in doing the math, 3K per appeal = 16+ months in a condo rent/mortgage free which is around $150 a month “rent”. And my condo is very nice
The real kicker: I was originally offered about $1,500 to leave the house soon after BK, mid 2011 as a sort of ‘keys-for-cash’ deal. My lawyer advised me to throw them back a counter offer for more. So I did, they failed to respond….and here we are, still tied up 2 years later!
I’ve managed to stash away a good amount of money, do not rely on credit cards anymore at all, and am enjoying life! While I don’t advise anyone to intentionally game the system, if you are up all night crying like I was at one point over finances, let this serve as proof that it does not have to be doom-and-gloom. If you live in Maryland, private message me and I will be happy to give you my lawyer’s name.
I do not feel sorry for the mortgage company in the least, as I tried several times to work out a deal with them prior to it getting to BK and they very rudely refused on multiple occasions.
There have been no signs that I will have to leave anytime soon according to my lawyer, and when it’s time for me to go they will very likely offer me a better cash-for-keys deal to ensure I don’t ‘scuff up’ the place on the way out.
In the 2 years since BK, my finances are doing well overall. I have 2 credit cards with a total of $4k credit available (only used about $200 of that total, and that’s just because of the holidays). I bought a brand spanking new car less than 3 months out of BK (put $12K down on it) and it really wasn’t that hard honestly. The dealership was very willing to work with me just given the amount of cash I put down, and it’s a great model (Hyundai 2011 sedan).
Last I checked, my credit score was still hovering around 670ish, up from around 610 at it's lowest...but the truth is I am still flooded with credit card offers, etc. all the time. I was still able to get financing on my new computer for my business, the car, and an NTB card for tires on the old car I had prior to selling it. You will find there is an entire industry dedicated to helping people with bad credit get money, a business that has grown since the recession.
I encourage everyone to take the time and talk to a good lawyer and weigh your options before you rush into anything. Whatever you do, do NOT leave the house until you absolutely have to, as either dictated by a lawyer or a formal eviction process or both. There will probably be people on some of these forums who will try to tell you this isn't possible but I am living proof it very much is if you are smart a a bit lucky! Truth is if you are able enough to save a few grand through the process for a good lawyer, eviction could be much MUCH farther away than you probably think
discharged: 2/22/11
I am soooo totally not a lawyer, but i wish i had married one! Does that count for anything?
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