Please Help..I am a nervous wreck!

[Justme1277]

I missed my September and October payment on my mortagage due to some financial troubles. i actually had to stop payment on the October check, and used the money to keep my car on the road. I only have one car, and a 8 year old disabled daughter who needs to go to the doctors weekly.
I did call the mortgage company at the end of October, and told them I wanted to get back on track, and get this fixed.
They were very curteous, and said no problem.
They told me they would break the two late payments up over a 6 month period!...I was relieved!
I sent them a check on November 5th! I got letters today...."certified" stating I made no payment!
I called them up, and they first said they never got my check, then when I got nasty, they said they did get the check, and cannot take it from me since I stopped payemnt on one before on them....One bad check in 5 years!!
ANyhow....The letter stated I had 30 days,,,I guess until dec. 15th, to pay them the total of some very large amount, and they would put this all to the good....'typically speaking".
They said I can still make a payment, but it had to be there in 24 hours, and only western union. I told them I would send a cashiers check Monday, and they told me no!
I am lost! We filed bankruptcy chapter 7 last year, it was done and discharged in 2006.
I did not reaffirm. I am just aggrivated now, and we honestly were thinking of moving due to the neighborhood and the school.
How long do I have in Pa.? I don't understand the sticky note on judical stuff.
I am now 3 payments behind, as of Nov. 5th. In their eyes!
I need to save money to move on. I do have the one payemtn in the bank, since they won't cash the check.
I am a nervous wreck!
I am sorry for the long story, but I wanted to make sure IO typed everything that may help with my question..
Is it normal to feel like a lowlife?

[lrprn]

Welcome to BK Forum, JM! Glad you found us!

It's normal when first finding ourselves in deep financial trouble to feel like a lowlife, but the best way to handle that is to see your problems in a cold, hard financial way. Good people have bad things happen. That doesn't make them bad people.

Use the unpaid mortgage payment to start looking for a new place to rent for you and your daughter. Also make appointments for free or low-cost initial consultations with bankruptcy lawyers in your area to see if filing bankruptcy to wipe out any money owed on your mortgage after you surrender the house and get rid of any unsecured debt at the same time makes sense.

Don't let your emotions rule your decisions about the house. Your mortgage company certainly doesn't care they are about to put you on the street. Do what is best for you and your daughter in the long run. You have more power here than you realize.

Hang in there - keep posting questions - we'll help you as much as we can.

[ssdsco]

If you completed chapter 7 in 2006, didn't reaffirm your mortgage and assuming you have little equity in your home it would seem you have some leverage with the mortgage company to negotiate a repayment schedule. They don't want your house especially if the value of the home can't cover the mortgage and all expenses of selling.

If it was me I would put the mortgage money aside, start looking for a rental and also start negotiating with the mortgage company for a reasonable repayment plan.

If the house is contributing to your current financial problems then it might be time to just walk away.

[poorme]

I agree with SSDSCO. Especially if the banks in your part of the country are being hard hit with defaults, you just need to get in touch with someone (at the bank) who can make the call to do what can be done. The two most viable options, well within their power, are to 1) roll the arrears payments into a 6-10 month amount that adds to your regular payment and 2) agree to move the entire arrears to the end of the loan. This is called a loan modification - you just pick up and continue making your regular payment.

Be careful not to sign anything that gives up your rights - as a discharged debt you can walk away without penalty at any time they decide to be jerks, and you can let them know that you're aware of that. Ask them what options they have to help you or other troubled loans - On the other hand, if they decide to walk away from you, they're entitled, but like the other poster said, they don't want your house.

[Hillbilly]

Justme, As you have said that you were "thinking of moving because of the neighborhood and the school", I believe you ought to give serious consideration to finding another place to live and just letting that house go.
Why put yourself through all of that emotional distress, and take on the negotiating of an even larger payment, on a place that you would rather not be living in the first place?
You can remain there for quite a good while yet without making any further payments. Take advantage of that time for a good and careful look around and decide on the area where you would most rather live long term, and save up all that money that you'd otherwise be spending on that place that you are now dissatisfied with, and you will have the needed nest-egg to get you to the place where you want to be.
As you have already went Chapter 7, and did not reaffirm, all you need do is "walk away", at your own convenience.
eta.
If do you make this decision, there is no need for the stress of doing any further "negotiating" with them, just cease and avoid all further contact, eventually they will have to foreclose, and they will eventually give you an eviction notice, however with the number of foreclosings that are now going on this could take many months, maybe even as long as a couple of years from start to finish.
No guarantees about the time frame, but certainly could be long enough for you to resolve most of you other financial problems and accumulate some savings.

[roki]

All i can't tell you that a stop payment is not a bad check by any means? I feel for you and the way you have to struggle with your disable daughter. If you are only late 2 months ask an attorney specializing in consumer credit to help you get an a differ payment plan with the bank if that does not work i suggest you apply for Chapter 13!!!! but you must do it now. Remember you have a disabled daughter the trustee is going to do everything in its power so you keep your house. You'll be ok but you must act!!!!

[CindyLou]

If you are going to decide on letting the house go then look into foreclosure laws in our state and maximize your time in your house with no payments before you move. You could spend as much as six months without making any payments. The entry on your credit report is not going to change no matter what you do. It will not show foreclosure. It will only show included in BK.