Handing Keys Over

[mrbojingles]

Has anyone who has surrendered their house in a Ch. 13 called the lender (CitiMortgage- in our case) and told them they were leaving the house in a couple of weeks. If the house is in very good shape and you turn over the keys as well as the title (deed-in-lieu) -- would there be a deficiency judgement?

Owe $180k, house is appraised at $80k -- in Michigan..

Any insight on how to do this or what we should be looking for would be greatly appreciated.

We called CitiMortgage today and started the ball rolling...

[Faust]

Depends on the state you live in.

[Dannmcg357]

Im afraid that they can unless they agree they wont in writing. Will they is difficult to answer as it is up to them.

[justbroke]

The ability to get a deficiency judgment is also dependent on the State in which you live. Some State's don't allow deficiency judgments in non-judicial foreclosures. Some don't allow deficiency judgments at all if the loan is a purchase-money loan (such as California). Since you live in Michigan, please know that it is a Recourse State. In other words, they allow deficiency judgments to be pursued by the lender.

Now the real problem is that you're in a Chapter 13. Is your plan confirmed? If it's confirmed, surrendering the home now may be problematic. The deficiency could cause issues with whether the creditor still enjoys secured status (for the deficiency) or does it become administrative priority.

These are things you should be discussing with your attorney.