Speed up Foreclosure

[Mercury1]

I stopped paying mortgage payments in January 2009 and no longer live at the property ~ lender still has not foreclosed.

I have been paying the HOA while I wait and I have 2009 property taxes due at the end of this year.

I want to speed the foreclosure process up (definitely don't want home).

Please give me advice on ways to speed the process up (or other options not noted below) and the repercussions (if any) with each one ~ thank you

1. Contact my lender and tell them I am abandoning the property

2. Do not pay 2009 property taxes

3. Stop paying monthly HOA dues

4. Be patient, it takes time

5. ??

[justbroke]

1. Contact my lender and tell them I am abandoning the property

2. Do not pay 2009 property taxes

3. Stop paying monthly HOA dues

4. Be patient, it takes time

5. ??

#4. There is no way to speed up a foreclosure. The Bank/Lender isn't even required to foreclose. There was at least one case where the Debtor went to Court to force the lender to foreclose. Judge states that foreclosure is just a remedy for the Lender to exercise their rights under the terms of the Mortgage/Note and there's no law that states that they must exercise those rights.

I would definitely inform the lender if you have vacated the property. They can go in and winterize and secure the property. They'll also take care of the yard maintenance.

I would not pay the property taxes if you're getting rid of the home either. Have you already filed for Bankruptcy?

[Mercury1]

Bk

I spoke to an attorney a year ago before the decision to let the home go and BK was not something that I was planning to do nor discussed.

Why should I consider this?

Also, should I continue to pay the HOA dues as well? What about the home insurance?

Just so I am clear, not paying the '09 property taxes will not add any additional repercussions other than what would normally happen in a foreclosure? I was under the impression to continue to pay the HOA/Insurance/Property taxes until the foreclosure was final.

Thank you

[justbroke]

I spoke to an attorney a year ago before the decision to let the home go and BK was not something that I was planning to do nor discussed.

Why should I consider this?

You're just abandoning the property and not filing for Bankruptcy? If you're in a recourse State -- meaning they can sue you for deficiencies -- how will you deal with the difference between what you owe on the Mortgage and what the lender gets at foreclosure/sale?

Also, should I continue to pay the HOA dues as well? What about the home insurance?

HOA dues are a sticky issue. Even in Bankruptcy you are responsible for these until the lender forecloses. As for home insurance, you may need to talk to your insurer anyhow. They don't like to insure homes that are "abandoned". The key risk for you is a.) since you're not considering bankruptcy, should something casualty occur with the home (like fire, flood, tornado, etc), you could be liable for even more, and b.) liability related to a person getting hurt on the property. I can't give you any recommendation on whether to keep insurance or not, as that is a risk based decision.

Just so I am clear, not paying the '09 property taxes will not add any additional repercussions other than what would normally happen in a foreclosure?

Property taxes attach to the home. Since you abandoned the property, you don't pay the property taxes. The Bank/Lender will pay these property taxes when they receive the bill for them, or when they foreclose (as part of the process to get clear title to the property).

I was under the impression to continue to pay the HOA/Insurance/Property taxes until the foreclosure was final.

HOA Fees and Insurance would be the only things that you could be responsible for.

[Mercury1]

Non Def. State

The home is located in Arizona which is a non deficiency state.

Does this change any of the advice you have given?

Thank you

[justbroke]

You need to validate that your property qualifies for that non-recourse status. There are some limitations, although most single-family homes are non-recourse.

I wouldn't change anything I wrote.

[StartingOver08]

One of the factors to check into is this the original loan to purchase the property or did you refinance or add a HELOC at sometime after the original purchase. Most of the time the non-recourse statutes are limited to purchase money mortgages and not refinances. Make sure to check the AZ statues carefully.

[HHM]

One way to speed up foreclosure.

Take a picture of yourself in front of your house, a can of gasoline at the front door, and a lit match in your hand; and send that picture to the mortgage

But, in reality, there is no way to force the bank to foreclose.

[momtoroxy]

We are in a Ch 7; 341 was yesterday. We plan to let the house go in the BK. We were paid up through October with mortgage and HOA. Our attorney told us that we didn't need to worry about property taxes, or HOA. We technically don't need to worry about insurance, but we are going to talk to the company and pay that seperately until the foreclosure. We live in NV.

[scsurfer]

Can't really speed it up in any certain way if you are just walking away, but;

-Don't pay property taxes because these will be paid from the house auction money (save your money)

-turn off electric , water, utilities, etc. save your money, you're not doing the bank any favors, they don't care. The bank is not allowed on your property until they hold the deed (after deposit is paid after auction). (save your money)

-cancel homeowners insurance, the bank will pick up a policy, you'll get the nasty gram letter that you need to pay it but just ignore it, the bank pays it to protect their investment. (save your money)

-if your state is a deficiency judgement state, don't sweat it, banks aren't going after people for DJ's , except in only high amount loans (500K+) and 2nd/investment type mortgages. Thanks to Obama giving the banks so much damn money at such a low rate they are just writing the money losses from foreclosure off as bad debt. Plus a DJ is a whole separate lawsuit they have to open against you which costs a lot in lawyers fees, and after the 20-40K in lawyers fees they spent on the foreclosure they don't want to waste more money going after someone who probably doesn't have the money anyway!

[scsurfer]

You're just abandoning the property and not filing for Bankruptcy? If you're in a recourse State -- meaning they can sue you for deficiencies -- how will you deal with the difference between what you owe on the Mortgage and what the lender gets at foreclosure/sale?

The bank suing you for deficiency judgement is very rare. They will write-off the difference as a loss on their balance sheet, especially since receiving the Obama administration government loans. If by chance they did sue you for deficiency judgement you wouldn't want to file BK till after they won the lawsuit in court and judgement was made against you for the amount due.


HOA dues are a sticky issue. Even in Bankruptcy you are responsible for these until the lender forecloses. As for home insurance, you may need to talk to your insurer anyhow. They don't like to insure homes that are "abandoned". The key risk for you is a.) since you're not considering bankruptcy, should something casualty occur with the home (like fire, flood, tornado, etc), you could be liable for even more, and b.) liability related to a person getting hurt on the property. I can't give you any recommendation on whether to keep insurance or not, as that is a risk based decision.

Insurance companies don't care, you just need to add a "Vacant Home" rider to your policy, costs about an extra $75/ every 6 months. But if you're walking away from the home just cancel your insurance and the bank will pick up a policy. The house will be covered no matter what happens to it (fire,flood,vandalism,etc) and you won't have to pay anything because the amount will be added to the foreclosure amount.

Property taxes attach to the home. Since you abandoned the property, you don't pay the property taxes. The Bank/Lender will pay these property taxes when they receive the bill for them, or when they foreclose (as part of the process to get clear title to the property).

depending on state but most likely the property taxes are the first thing paid out in the home auction. Don't pay em, save your money.

HOA Fees and Insurance would be the only things that you could be responsible for.

Don't pay either of these if you are walking away/abandon home, the HOA just puts a lien on the house and they get in the payment line after the auction. The insurance will be picked up by the bank as they will protect their investment. Save your money and don't pay either.

hope this helps answers are from experience.

[justbroke]

The bank is not allowed on your property until they hold the deed (after deposit is paid after auction).

Actually, you need to read your Mortgage documentation. If the property is abandoned or otherwise left in disrepair, the lender, by the rights conveyed to it in your Mortgage or Deed of Trust, can enter upon the property to secure or otherwise preserve the property! The lender's rights include entering on the property to even make repairs.

Ask anyone who has abandoned property well before any foreclosure, as to what the lender did!

It's called a Mortgagee right to protect interest in collateral.

[moneytrouble]

All of this information sounds correct, but my situation goes against everything said here.
1. Have not made a payment since December 2008.
2. Chapter 7 was finalized in June.
3. Repeatedly told mortgage company premises were vacated in June.
4. No one has changed the locks or secured the property.
5. No one has turned on the heat or electricity.
6. No one from the mortgage company or HOA has contacted me about anything to do with this property.
I put vacant insurance on the property. This is an apartment style condominium. Do I need to turn on the heat and electricity during the winter, since these are shared units?
The information stated here is that if I ignore the property the mortgage company will come in and secure the property. They are absolutely doing nothing with this property. What should I do??? Is someone going to sue me if I don't keep the property up or turn the heat on? I do check on the condo unit about once a month or more. This is going to cost me so much money with the back dues. Hopefully the mortgage company will just wipe them out.

[justbroke]

All of this information sounds correct, but my situation goes against everything said here.

Please understand that a Mortgagee's "right" to foreclosure, secure, winterize, or repair the property, is just a right. The Mortgagee never has to do anything to exercise its right. This is why you can't force your lendfer to foreclose. They don't have to.

The information stated here is that if I ignore the property the mortgage company will come in and secure the property.

No, that's not the ifnormation here. The information here is that the Mortgagee has the Right to preserve the collateral. The Mortgagee does not have to exercise any of its Rights under the terms of the Mortgage/Note. If you filed Bankruptcy, then you aren't financially responsible, and this generally speeds up the preservation and foreclosure processes. Other than liability and HOA dues, you have no responsibility.

[moneytrouble]

Can I be sued for not turning the heat on in my condo unit, since it is a shared building? We get a lot of snow up here, and they may claim the pipes will freeze even though I am not using the water, or that the snow will fall through the roof.