Has anyone moved out before the foreclosure process is finished?

[cindy02]

I left my house Feb/08, at that time I was late 5 months. Thinking we didn't have much time we moved into our second home (put in about $12000 in upgrades as soon as we moved). In about 8 months we were upside-down about $100000. My husband and I were so upset that we ended up also moving in Nov/08 from our second house. We found a really nice rental home (better area) for $1300 less then our mortgage payment. For the first house it took 16 months to foreclosed and for the second home the property is still vacant. I regret not staying longer rent-free.
We could have saved about $25000 by staying in our first home rent free for 16 months. I just feel that we've made so many mistakes.



Has anyone moved out before the foreclosure is finished?

[BassBoy]

Many of us have. We did.

[cindy02]

Thanks BassBoy.. How long did stay in your home before you moved out?

[Trixie007]

We moved out in Oct 08 - the sale is set for March. But, we moved two states away, which seems like many people who've posted have done that for better employment.

[BassBoy]

Thanks BassBoy.. How long did stay in your home before you moved out?

We filed in Oct. 2005 and we started shopping for a place almost immediately. We have 2 boys.............the poster children for ridalin mind you......ROTFL.......just kidding........we didn't want to get cramped up in some apartment, so we acted quickly. We found a nice home to rent with a very nice homeowner/landlaord and we signed our lease ageement before our discharge (that was 02/06) and we moved in the first weekend in March. The unknown of where we would end up was a scary thought, and having a nice place to call home where our boys would space to play was worth more than anything. Our foreclosure sale didn't take place for another year after that.

[atolar]

we are still staying in our home. the court date for relief of stay was on the 27th of this month... we haven't heard anything other than that. ooo, our lawyer said we had 90 days after we get the letter from the sheriffs department.

[cindy02]

I'm in nevada and after the relief of stay was lifted it took another 6 months to receive the letter.

[ssdsco]

Yes. Last payment was June 2007 on our MD (Washington beltway) Mc Mansion. We got the initial default letter after 4-5 months of no payment and that's it. Could still be living in it 20 months later. It's $200k upside down. They're still trying to collect HOA fee's. I don't want to have new HOA debt after I file BK7 so I wish they'd foreclose.

Starting a few months ago the mortgage company calls every couple weeks asking if my situation changed and if I want to work out something to keep the house including forgiving the entire 2nd mortgage. When I ask why it's taking so long to foreclose they tell me it's out of their hands and offer to give me their attorney's office phone number.

[cindy02]

WOOOOOOO. 20 months... that's crazy.. did you go rent after the 5 months?

[plantlvr]

Still in my home going on 6 months with no payments. I'm in the halfway point for my Chapter 7 discharge and still haven't received a NOD. It's nice not to pay the mortgage but nervewracking too....Feel like the sword of damacleas is hanging over my head!

[Martha13]

We did also, for many of the same reasons BassBoy mentioned. We didn't fully understand how the entire process worked, have 3 kids and wanted to be settled somewhere stable for them (and our sanity) and not have that fear of the unknown in our hearts everyday. Our last mortgage payment was for April of '07, we moved in mid-July, had filed at the end of June. We just received the NOD in December, and I think the clock runs out around the end of March or mid-April...so I guess that puts it at around a year all together.

I have had some moments of mini-regret, mostly centered on hindsight, and adding up all that $$...but the peace of mind and stability is worth more than that overall. I still check on the old house almost daily, which is odd. We have kept everything up, partially out of respect for neighbors, and some strange sense of responsibility. We have definitely kept up with the HOA as many have explained the requirements of that. But I know how you feel, I hate to look back and think of all the mistakes and do the "shoulda coulda woulda" game. It's hard not to.

[hnhlvr]

We moved out only two weeks after our mortgage was late! I wanted to restart my life in a clean, nice rental, in a respectable neighborhood and we were able to do so by having our credit check done while our credit was over 700. Who knows where we would have ended up otherwise, especially since my DH's credit was under 500 after 3 months.

Oh, and the sale of our house has been postponed a few times already, so we constantly would be on the edge of our seats wondering when we'd have to move out.

Look at it this way, you wouldn't have "saved" $25,000, you would have taken advantage of the banks by staying. If you cannot pay your mortgage, *as long as you have the money to pay for a rental instead* staying in the pre-foreclosed home is the equivalant of squatting!

[cindy02]

Martha, I have two kids and at that time I was very concerned if were going to be able to find a nice rental home. Just like you , I have my moments but lately for some reason I think about it more.

[cindy02]

hnhlvr , your totally right. My husband tells me every day that we need to move on and forget the money that we've lost. Once the BK is completed I want to rebuild my credit so we can buy another house.

[question]

I have a question, so if you stay in your home during the foreclosure process and the bankruptcy process and you are obviously not paying your mortgage what happens with the money? Can you really just save the money while filing BK? I have decided to file Bk but I want to make sure I have a plan in order first so I don't have any regrets... and also to make sure I do everything right... I would like to stay rent free for a couple of months so I have extra money to be able to paint and decorate our new house that we would be staying in... Is that possible?