How long were you able to stay?

[GWBcasualty]

You sure on the value of your home? Where did you get the estimate?

Zillow

[GWBcasualty]

What is best really depends on your situation and what you are hoping to accomplish. What are your immediate goals specific to a foreclosure and BK? Do you want the home?

Goals?
Get a fresh start through BK. I never contemplated foreclosure until a few days/weeks ago. We are current on the loans.

We lived in this home about 10 years, did a lot of improvs and at one point had almost $400k in equity in it at the end of 2006... sadly that equity vaporized in thin air. Clearly is difficult to let go.

Short term. I can see no chance for real estate appreciation, so I am aware that I am basically throwing away money by paying the mortgages.... staying in the house one year for free and walk away would allow us to build a nice little cushion of savings.

However, if I could reduce my payments by 25%-30% or maybe combine the 1st and 2nd through a MOD (the loans are both ultimately owned by BofA although through different subsidiaries).... I can see it worth it to stay and hope that 5-10 years down the road I can get back a nice chunk of money by selling.

Both scenarios would require me to stop paying... but which is the best way to go in order to work out a loan MOD? Stop paying pre BK or post discharge?

[jlmaca]

GWBcasualty I guess I can only relate to what I am going through. I could not advise either way. I found it foolish to keep paying. I went back and forth for months on whether to keep the home or not. I'm 100k underwater so there is no hope of redemption here. You don't seem to be as underwater but I guess that's relative to your situation/income/ etc. If your main goal is to stay in house as long as possible and save money I'd go for it. Check your state laws or ask your attorney for the details of foreclosure timing, redemption period etc. All state are different. My bank, Wells Fargo is not very active on my foreclosure. My Chap 7 was discharged in Dec 09. I did not reafirm and have only received a request to modify the mortgage from the servicer. I have no notice of deficiency or any sign of a foreclosure summons. When that happens I have a plan in place to delay, delay until October 2010. I considered the mod request for 10 minutes but since I'm so far underwater I came to my senses quickly.

[DebtStinks]

Zwillow is WAY over valuing homes in most areas of CA. You might check for some comp sales in your area to get a better idea of what the value is.

We stopped paying Feb. 09 did our BK7 in June and discharged in Sept. We still have not received our NOD from BofA and they haven't said a word to us. Once you get the NOD in CA you have 3 months to cure the loan or they will set the sale date which is like another 3 - 4 weeks (at best). So you'll have like 4 months min. before you'll need to be out of the house on a foreclosure in CA.

It really comes down to your specific situation. Do you have a ton of unsecured debt eating away at ya? Income issues due to job loss or a decrease in salary? Have you pretty much decided to that Chapter 7 is the way to go and are just looking at timing it correctly? Also some leaders won't even deal with a mod post bankruptcy if the home was discharged.

Hard to advise without knowing the whole picture. But if I didn't have much unsecured debt and wanted to keep the house I would be talking a close look at the homes value. If it really is only worth 375k then I'd consider doing a chapter 13 and strip off that second mortgage.

But if a clean start is the goal and renting for a couple years is ok then I'd screw the house, stop paying on everything, and plan to file your chapter 7. Timing on that is also key. You have a large mortgage and socking away $3,000 a month into savings instead of paying will quickly get you into a situation where you won't be able to exempt your savings in bankruptcy.

Now I'm rambling... its hard to advise without being in your shoes.

[logansdad]

we were going to try and ride through, once the bank got wind of our intentions of not reaffirming they pushed the hand. This all happened Friday afternoon My lawyer advised us they turned it over to foreclosure my payments are due the 1st of the month and am current but not paying today. We were going to try it but DW is all about staying rent free now and sticking it to them. I don't know I will decide this week. i just cant bring my self to reaffirm this house in Michigan. I now feel that since the are foreclosing and I am current why pay anymore...

[qsr]

Made my last payment in July, sale date is next week. I'm going to file in advance to avoid it. Maybe I'll get to ride through until discharge or maybe they will lift the stay....

[GWBcasualty]

I now feel that since the are foreclosing and I am current why pay anymore...

How can they foreclose if you are current?

[GWBcasualty]

Also some leaders won't even deal with a mod post bankruptcy if the home was discharged.

They would if they reworked it as a new loan replacing the discharged one.

But if a clean start is the goal and renting for a couple years is ok then I'd screw the house, stop paying on everything, and plan to file your chapter 7. Timing on that is also key. You have a large mortgage and socking away $3,000 a month into savings instead of paying will quickly get you into a situation where you won't be able to exempt your savings in bankruptcy.

I know.... that's why maybe the best is to stop paying right before filing. So no money piles up in the exemption column, but enough time will be left to get significant savings. Without knowing for sure what home prices will do in the future, the best realistic choice would be to let it go.... it's just tough to admit to yourself that you wasted 10 years....

[logansdad]

They would if they reworked it as a new loan replacing the discharged one.




I know.... that's why maybe the best is to stop paying right before filing. So no money piles up in the exemption column, but enough time will be left to get significant savings. Without knowing for sure what home prices will do in the future, the best realistic choice would be to let it go.... it's just tough to admit to yourself that you wasted 10 years....

I know it is it was hard for me too. But you will have a chance again at maybe a better priced home. To us it was simple we are good people stuck in a bad mfg area. I wasn't going to stick it to them but I need some protection on our end signing a reaffirm does nothing for me, no business would enter into bully tactics like sign or else. They don't know it yet but this is going to be the biggest mistake that they made. It has now become my passion to have the upper hand. I am offering to settle my HELOC at .20 on the 1.00 for release of lien and I will sign the reaffirm at the original terms of the 1st. This is the final offer take it or leave it. Then I will object and stall with all my theatrics to every motion that they enter.

[logansdad]

How can they foreclose if you are current?

Because in the note defaults can be monetary and non monetary. They can foreclose if they believe that you have Hazardous waste stored on site. Or any thing that can cause loss to the bank. It is sad that we are so happy to get the keys and sign but there are so many protections in a mortgage its amazing I read my 9 page note the other night I was sick.

[DebtStinks]

They would if they reworked it as a new loan replacing the discharged one.

I’m really not impressed with the modification programs… lower the interest and jack your loan out to 40 years. Sweet you’ve made my horrible investment more affordable so I can keep it, thanks so much. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll break even by the time I pay it off in 40 years! Or how about the holy grail of loan mods… you get a principle reduction! But wait… if you ever sell the house for a profit in the future we want that money back. It’s all smoke and mirrors… none of that crap makes your bad investment good. Any business burdened with an investment like some of our homes and they would kick it to the curb in a second and move on. Businesses do this every day and it is “good business”, making a profit, smart move, blah blah blah. But the homeowner is held to a different standard. Society looks down on you for abandoning your responsibilities. You should feel ashamed for walking away! What a load of crap.

Banks never have been nor will they ever be your friend. They are out to make a profit and keep shareholders happy, just like any other business. When they took your loan they assessed the risk and set your down payment and interest rate according to their assumed risk. The homeowner on the other hand is often dumping their entire life savings into this investment. They put their blood, sweat, and tears into maintaining and keeping their home. When a home forecloses there are no winners… the bank looses as well as the homeowner. But for the homeowner this was their single most important investment of their life… not just home #4673 on block 264 as the bank sees it. But just like a business the homeowner has to look at this home they are invested in and decide what is best for your family. What will it take to make things right so you can provide for your family’s future? And really what’s more important than making the right decisions to ensure that you can provide for your family’s future?

Without knowing for sure what home prices will do in the future, the best realistic choice would be to let it go.... it's just tough to admit to yourself that you wasted 10 years....

Man if I had that crystal ball I sure as hell wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place. But I don’t see home prices going up here in CA any time soon. I’d guess we are pretty close to the bottom… but that really won’t be seen until the government stops pumping tax dollars into the buyer credits. It seems like it’s doing the job right now… but this market is being held up by rotten 2x4’s and a ton of duct tape. Yank out those tax dollars and let’s see if this baby will hold! That will be the real test.

Everyone’s situation is different and all you are able to do is the play the hand you were dealt the best you can. For my family it was swallow our pride and pretty much start over from scratch by filing for a chapter 7 and walking away from our house. In hindsight it was absolutely the best decision we could have made. We are actually looking forward to our future instead of dreading having to even get out of bed for another hopeless day. We have learned a lot from this experience and are grateful for this second chance.

[moneytrouble]

14 months of non-payment, and they still have not foreclosed on my home. I am not living there, but still. They were throwing me out of my home after 4 months of non-payment in 2008, and now they are doing nothing. 14 months have gone by since I last sent them any money, and 7 months since my Chapter 7.

[jlmaca]

14 months of non-payment, and they still have not foreclosed on my home. I am not living there, but still. They were throwing me out of my home after 4 months of non-payment in 2008, and now they are doing nothing. 14 months have gone by since I last sent them any money, and 7 months since my Chapter 7.

Well at least you are probably all situated in a new place with a new beginning. I'm starting to think the banks are getting afraid to foreclose agressively as Obama has scolded them for acting too quickly.

[moneytrouble]

Not really, the condo is still in my name hanging over my head, and I read on here I may supposedly need to pay some of the condo dues accrued after chapter 7, as the banks supposedly only pay a certain portion. The longer the bank waits, the more I might have to pay. Also, home lenders use some lending service like a credit report, but it is only for home lending, that lists when your foreclosure sale date was, and use that as part of the approval process. My foreclosure sale date at this point will most likely be a year or longer after my bankruptcy. So my fresh new start has not begun yet.

[DebtStinks]

We are in the same boat moneytrouble... I know we could qualify at 2 years out from BK easy on an FHA. But god knows when BofA will forclose on our house... could be another year or more. Then it's 3 years from then.