...follow up question

[bluesky]

thanks to the users offering insight. here's my bottom line question...I'm almost 3 months behind on 2nd mort. only way to get caught up is stop paying the 1st for a while. Citimortgage said catch up by Sept 2 or foreclosure. Should I call their bluff and not sacrifice the 1st mortgage?

Or skip a couple of payments on 1st to catch up with them? No win situation.
Some users here think Citi will not foreclose because of the trouble with paying the 1st mort before getting theirs. Some say Citi will follow through and foreclose.....what to do??

[mickeyme]

I have a Citi 2nd as well. I stopped paying it in Nov 09'. They told me they would move forward with foreclosure but in my situation I am so upside down that a sale would not even pay off the total of the First. So I decided to call their bluff and it worked for me. I did not read you other posts so I am not sure where you stand. It wasn't until I stopped paying the first that a NOD was filed and done so by my GMAC who holds my first...Citi was not listed on NOD.

Good luck but know that if you have equity in your place and a the 2nd thinks they will be paid they will foreclose.

[SMinGA]

What is your home worth?
How much do you owe on the 1st?
What are your long term plans regarding the house?

From your prior posts, you DO have equity in the home and so you're not in the same position as someone upside down on the 1st mortgage. You're taking a chance because your 2nd is likely to make a profit if they foreclose. (Others who chance it, generally are not.)

So the last question is the important one. What are your intents? Keep the house or not? If you intend to keep it, are you filing ch. 13 to get caught up on the 2nd? If so, be prepared to file as soon as the 2nd moves to foreclose. If you're letting the house go, stop paying the 1st also.

[bluesky]

house appraised at approx 130k in 2003 when the 2nd was taken out. I think prices have fallen in this area so I think the value closer to 120k. I owe approx 90k on the 1st and 23k on 2nd.
I should have mentioned I'm post BK chap 7, discharged back in Jan.
plan is to keep home for now, unless I have no choice.

[Pandora]

house appraised at approx 130k in 2003 when the 2nd was taken out. I think prices have fallen in this area so I think the value closer to 120k. I owe approx 90k on the 1st and 23k on 2nd.
I should have mentioned I'm post BK chap 7, discharged back in Jan.
plan is to keep home for now, unless I have no choice.

If you're post BK and discharged in Jan... did you reaffirm both your 1st and 2nd mortgages by chance? If so, then the only way out is to pay them both as you're on the hook for both. If you didnt, and you're doing a "retain and pay" - then pay the 1st and the 2nd has nothing to stand on. The lien still exists but they cant do anything to you - you're free to walk away.

[bluesky]

...i did the retain and pay option, not an actual reaffimation. when you say they can't do anything what does that mean exactly? they can foreclose right? they already threaten that in the letter.
again, I'd like to stay here if possible, paying only the 1st will do that you think?

[Pandora]

Yes, they legally have the right to do that, however... The 2nd only has a lien on the property, and you are not obligated to pay anything as it was discharged, but if they choose to foreclose they may never get paid unless the property value rises in comparison to the amount owed on the 1st mortgage.

they'd have to pay the 1st off, plus fees - it rarely happens, especially if you're upside down.

Pay your 1st over your 2nd - the 1st has to agree to release their rights in the 1st position and if you're not late, then they'll be hard pressed unless the 2nd offers one heck of deal. You could, at some point in time, offer to settle with the 2nd for 5-10% if you have it and try to get them to release the lien.

ETA: since you didnt reaffirm and want to stay - if you dont pay your 1st - the stay lifts and foreclosure proceedings begin from the 1st mortgages' position.

[Pandora]

are you certain your house value has only dropped 10K in 7 years? Not sure where you're located, but that seems very low comparatively speaking given most places in the US have dropped significantly in the past 2 years.

[bluesky]

the value is only a guess by me, i really have no hard info on what the house is worth, last appraisal was for the 2nd. could be less than what i said or more but doubtful it went up. I'm in north central NC.
I hate being in this position. the ch. 7 bk helped me a bunch but the 2 mortgages are making it really tough to maintain my regular cost of living.
I hope Citi will do as you said and not foreclose if I stay in default.

[LoadedGuns]

the value is only a guess by me, i really have no hard info on what the house is worth, last appraisal was for the 2nd. could be less than what i said or more but doubtful it went up. I'm in north central NC.
I hate being in this position. the ch. 7 bk helped me a bunch but the 2 mortgages are making it really tough to maintain my regular cost of living.
I hope Citi will do as you said and not foreclose if I stay in default.

http://www.eppraisal.com/

[bluesky]

ok using that link and putting in my address i get the following 2 #'s , Zillow says 137k cyberhomes says 117k.

[Pandora]

You can get a "guesstimate" based off of your county tax assessment. If your county does 100% of Fair Market Value, its a pretty good estimate to actual value of your home. If they dont do FMV, then most times you can add about 25% to it for a ball park figure for value.

Where I'm at they do 100% FMV - and it was pretty close to our actual appraisal that we had to have done for the purpose of stripping our 2nd, only off by less than 6K.

[bluesky]

Pandora, the county # is 131k , meaning I have equity if the county is accurate. wonder if that's enough to make Citi foreclose?