Delay foreclosure in California

[DumbMe]

Filling out the papers for Chap. 7. Unlike you, I'm ready to go, can't climb the stairs anymore and will never recover my $100,000 downpayment during my lifetime, plus my income is irreparably down from its high from a few years back, and with health issues too (I'm 75). So I'm not making payments and plan to exit the place before foreclosure concludes.

If you want to keep your home, I believe you have to continue making payments, tho' the research I did, some did some didn't and then the banks are more likely to do a work-out with you (I believe, not sure, please do research on this subject) and while you can claim it in bankruptcy, some have just merely continued the payments with our re-affirming it in Chap. 7 - a good sort of protection imo....and the Credit Agencies don't report it either way, either good or bad because of the bankruptcy.

In my case, that's good as I need to rent, but in your case you may want to make sure your mortgage payments "get on record" to hope your FICO score recover from bankruptcy. Good luck.

I've been researching for many many months and am lucky to have as an attorney one who writes real estate laws. If you can't make payments, consult your attorney as there are ways you can keep your home and get some sort of deal with the make for lower payments or ? With this new wave of middle-class now deciding to "walk away" or worse, file bankruptcy, something the banks just hate, I think your leverage is better these days to get the bank to help you.

[plantlvr]

That IS the "real deal"...ReCon Trust is the foreclosure "arm" of Skank of America. If you go to recontrust.com and hit a link, it goes directly back to B of A. You can also search recontrust.com for your sale date. They will be sending you BOATLOADS of the same paperwork, but the bottom line is the foreclosure process is well under way. ReCon Trust are the one's who processed my foreclosure..And as far as the "credit hit"..mine went from 750+ before Chapter 7 AND the foreclosure to now a 685 and going back up, one and a half years later..no big deal..

Thanks Bulletproof! Thought this was the 'real' beginning of foreclosure, but do they still have to send me a NOD? Will I still have 60 or 90 days before the sale?

[bulletproof77]

Recontrust will send you a NOD if they have not already. You can also check the county website you live in (Public Recorder) and see if the NOD has been filed. If it has NOT, you still have a long way to go. Double check everything Recon Trust sends you (and you'll get TONS of the same stuff). I got my NOD from the same group, and from then on the clock starts ticking. From my NOD to sale date was 6 months on the nose..

[freeatlast98]

B of A

I spoke to a real estate friend of mine who applied for a loan modification on her property. She was told not make payments until she received something official from BofA.
She was in constant contact with BofA the whole time discussing the modification. On day a NOD was posted saying the date of the sale for the house. She immediately called the bank and was told not to worry it was a mistake. Fast forward a few weeks later, a man was walking through the property and said he has just purchased the property. She again called the bank and they told her yes the property had indeed been sold. Bottom line, it appears BofA sometimes doesn't know what the other departments are doing.
I googled "BANK of America" foreclosure and it spoke about many instances when this happened often while people were making their trial modification payments. This scares me just the thought this could ever happen.

[DumbMe]

It happens to all the big banks, with one hand not "knowing what the other hand is doing", at least that's what they say. I wouldn't go longer than the 3 months late pays as you will get the NOD on month 4 and it's up to the area where you are and the bank just how fast they will foreclose no matter what the state laws say. I know one man in his house for 2 years, and yet another not too far away who lost his home in the prescribed 6-7 months time. 3 mos. to NOD, 3 mos. after that and then sale on court steps. My attny says, his experience in So. Calif......3 mos. after the NOD is received by homeowner. Also he says you can't trust what banks say about modifications.

[bulletproof77]

I totally agree with DumbMe...Banks have now decided it's "fight or flight" and with the current economic news in the tank, they will lie, cheat and steal to get every last dime from a homeowner they can. They have figured out that the bank makes a profit on foreclosures, so they will tell you what ever they think you want to hear. It was pretty interesting to hear on the news the other day that Skank of America is now "considering principal reductions "...Oh really ? How kind...And I bet that as of a year from now exactly ZERO will have been done..The banks seem pretty desperate..

[DumbMe]

Yes, you're right. It gives a homeowner temporary "hope" and staves off maybe a "walk-away" for awhile - I wonder if banks are really "desperate" tho'. I'd say they're just watching their own behinds and careful not to "break the Obama TARP laws etc." They're cleaning up with mortgage insurance. My attny said banks are even making PROFITS with a lot of the foreclosures and they sure will with mine with all my money in this place. HOA's are also suing for their fees too so be careful of that pitfall.

I had to trust what my realty-bankruptcy attny told me 2-3 years ago (he had always said from 2007 on that Wall St. caused this) that "modifications" are scams. It took me 2 years, 6 tries to finally believe him, I tho't I knew differently after all, wasn't I smart to rise to the top in my field? This is a different ballgame

My family friend and realtor was able to get a modification for her own mortgage with one bank, but there again she and her husband had spotless credit and proof of earnings. She said "it's a good thing they don't see our incomes now" and considers herself very lucky as even she says "most will never get any modification" and agrees with my bankruptcy attny on all he says.

Protect yourself and never get your hopes up - I'm saying that with the experience of 2 years of experienced trying but also, I'm finding even in the So. Calif. areas, that landlords now do consider renters with some credit problems, even bankruptcies, but not evictions (unless you got a ton of dough and excellent income). In one area with lots of homes foreclosed upon, they're saying "foreclosure victims WELCOME!" for rentals too.

[confident]

I read through all four pages and am convinced I am on the right thread. Thank you all for your constructive information.

ReconTrust is what seems to be the foreclosure arm of BofA. We received NOD in early May, and 90 days later we got our Notice of Sale Date (scheduled for first week of September).

We just signed our BK papers this morning, and were supposedly on schedule to file and get the Trustees Sale postponed (we thought until at least after BK discharge after 60-90 days). The purpose of this was merely to buy some more time to stay in the property.

Does anyone have (or know anyone who has have) recent experience with ReconTrust foreclosures actually going on schedule despite filing BK before sale date? We were advised this morning that it is still possible for ReconTrust to request a "motion of stay" (?) and proceed with Trustees Sale as scheduled. If that happens, and the bank eventually owns the property again, the Sheriff can come and change locks anytime after, and they are not required to give us notice, unless the Sheriff comes when someone is at the property, in which case they are given a Notice of Eviction (?).

Any and all feedback is welcomed.

Thanks again.

[DumbMe]

Dear "Confident"....I sure feel for you, it's very unsettling at least about this period of your life - ugh.

I don't know ReconTrust, but have just heard (I've had my trustee meeting, it went well, very short and easy) that Wells Fargo is proceeding ahead with *all* foreclosures now, they're not holding for a shadow inventory any more. There's no putting them off with any compromise of maybe a "short sale" etc. anymore.

Once the Stay is lifted (takes 4-5 weeks from bk filing), which will happen to most others too I've been told by realtors, then they're off and running back on schedule to foreclose. Mine is 3 mos, and haven't rec'd NOD yet, but am sure I will once Stay is lifted in 1 week.

Realtors for short sales are angy at Wells Fargo, and other banks for speeding up the foreclosure process (to on-time per state laws, not delaying like they once did) as they've had short-sales foreclosed right out from under them, canceling the short-sales, and people then losing their homes earlier than when they planned, so be careful. I've heard that from 4 realtors and my attny firm too now.

In Calif. I believe you have at least 2-3 weeks once the sheriff posts the notice of sale on your door, at least 14 days to move out of the house. But with Bk on your Fico now, it's critical that your Fico be fairly OK (in the 600s if possible) so you can rent something decent from what I hear, or...have plenty of money to pay "extra" when renting and show it was not your fault about the bk and having to move (mortgage etc.).

It's kind of nightmarish, yes, but you can't let yourself get down, it's time for action, and preparedness. Also be sure to stay healthy, keep your mind in a good mood, get rest, and take something to help you take care of yourself, Chamomile Tea for sleep, Biotin for mood-elevation etc....Ginseng for energy etc.

And keeping your eye on the final outcome (the prize of peace in your life finally) is absolutely necessary! You (and I) will soon be OK with it all, just prepare for your move, get things ready once you find a place who will take you and family. Thank God summer is almost over.

For you, I sure hope they don't change locks, I don't think they can do that until notice is put on your door and a certain amount of time has elapsed. Be sure to keep radio on, some sort of "evidence of life"....just in case is my advice. Don't change phone nos. until you're clearly moved out of the place....banks check with your phone to see if it's shut off or been changed to see if you've moved, that's been in my research a lot too. Keep the phone on with an answering device until you're completely moved out.

Be sure to consult the laws of your state for time-line of foreclosure, all banks have to adhere to those laws, bk or no...after their Stay is lifted, and they *will* lift that Stay, count on that.

Good luck, and I meant to tell the other party who replied to me "thank-you for your message too"....I'm 1/2 way there, and looking forward to the move, got the ducks in a row now and am coming back to "life" as a person getting freed from the strangle-hold the bank and their predator mortgage had on my life. Sure would love to suee that darn bank, for ruining my life and lives of others too, they're so illegal using our TARP tax dollars for investments rather than helping the homeowners...

I don't believe what they plant in the newspapers, figures can be lied about so easily. Too bad we 100s of 1,000s of homeowners, in the millions now, don't file lawsuits against the banks and force them to treat homeowners with dignity and respect and use our tax dollars for the USE they were legally required to do! I had to almost laugh at a couple of economists who are just now figuring out that it's the "mortgage problems that is hurting the jobs"....where are their brains? It's always the mortgage crisis! No-one wants to spend any money when they're worried about the most basic of things: a roof over their heads. Politicians/experts living in a bubble!

Getting free from this illegal mortgage is almost like going up and then down (with worry) but is an exhilerating experience to finally see daylight. You feel a certain amount of dread with all this legal stuff to go through - dealing with banks and their "heart" (ironic here). Ask your bk attny too what to expect, good luck!

[confident]

For you, I sure hope they don't change locks, I don't think they can do that until notice is put on your door and a certain amount of time has elapsed. Be sure to keep radio on, some sort of "evidence of life"....just in case is my advice. Don't change phone nos. until you're clearly moved out of the place....banks check with your phone to see if it's shut off or been changed to see if you've moved, that's been in my research a lot too. Keep the phone on with an answering device until you're completely moved out.

Thank you so much for your genuine advice. Yes it is time for action more than anything. Your feedback is valuable in our assessing where we really are at this time, because six months ago the terrain seemed to be different.

Here in the forum it seems we are out to learn from each other as well as help the new guy (as we've each probably had our share of "new guy"). It is an upward cycle that can only help us in our own climb, wherever we are in this circle.

My best to you, and to everyone in this boat.

[DumbMe]

Thanks so much. Remember, it's us against "them", and the only way to come through it OK with the outcome you want, is to stay HEALTHY! And not emotional, which is hard to so, you're so angry at them and the situation that is NOT your fault! It took me years to feel that "it's not my fault, it's not my mistake, it just happened because of some house-flipper crooks, and greedy banks etal. who took advantage of a terrible program that gave away our money for the sakes of Wall Street, not us!"....people can win if they help each other - fighting does nothing, worrying and fretting hurts us, but staying healthy, and cold and calculating like they are, is necessary for survival and a good outcome, something good that each one of us deserves! And CAN get....keep well so you can think well (and research well)....it's the name of the game.

It's impossible to believe the banks or their image-repairing ads on TV. They're worse than the music business, more conniving and sneaky. I'd never believe their lies or promises, nor believe any of the script the workers read from their manuals over the phone. You just can't give them any tho't, except to do what you have to do for yourself, we're all in this same fix. No gov't program works, it's all mirrors and sham. Banks are able to pick up some extra cash because they know how to scheme the non-workable gov't programs imo.

[bulletproof77]

Even after filing BK, with a Notice of Trust Sale filed, "Bend Over America" WILL file for a Motion to lift the stay. The judges here in California usually automatically grant them unless there is evidence of fraud. I had Bend Over America and Recontrust AND a Chapter 7 and my sale went through right on schedule. Sold right back to Fannie Mae who held it for 90 days and then resold to a private buyer for less than half of what I owed..Rentals are fairly cheap and easy here in Southern California, even with a fresh BK. Just NO evictions, that's a big red flag.

[DumbMe]

Thanks bulletproof for your post, that makes me feel better too as am just starting to try to find a place and was concerned about the fresh BK. Haha, "bend over America"....ain't that truth! And their dumb ads to try to make themselves look so honest, these are just slick criminals.

They sold yours for 1/2 the price, when all they had to do was give you a break on your place in the first place that could have saved them some money - America used to put people in jail for that kind of fraud. I'm sorry for what you had to go through, the banks have little idea the enemies they are creating when it's so obvious they're cleaning America's clocks for their own greed. I'm starting to see private people selling homes and offering their own financing, way to go!!

Who would have tho't the very ones to save us with bankruptcies would be the lawyers, the only thing banks dislike.

[DumbMe]

I'd hate to think what the WF stands for seeing your BOA.

[feelingnutsy]

Hey---DumbMe---I love you for this---and WF indeed---LOL.