Getting concerned, hope someone can help!

[DCC77]

My husband and I filed ch. 7 on 4/7/10 and it was discharged on 8/5/10. Hearing was 6/1/10, and at that time, we decided to keep our house without reaffirming it. We were current on our mortgage at that time. After much thought and discussion, we've decided that it's time to leave our home. We are $40k upside down on it, and the area we live in has been changing and not for the better. Basically, it's becoming unsafe to live here with children. Homes are sitting for over a year before people either take them off the market or they are foreclosed on.

We stopped paying the mortgage (PNC Bank) in December 2010 and we received notices back in November from them saying that they know we haven't reaffirmed and nothing they say or do can make us personally liable for paying the mortgage again, but they still will take it from us if we don't pay.

What I want to know is if anyone has dealt with PNC Bank and how long they take to start foreclosure proceedings? We will be ready at the end of March to look at rental homes. Is it possible for them to come and evict us before then? What is the realistic amount of time it takes for them to do that? What exactly happens when you don't pay and they don't ask you to because we didn't reaffirm? I don't want to call them and draw attention to our "file" by asking questions.

Oh, and our mortgage does not include the taxes and insurance escrow either. We are paying off 2009 taxes now and we haven't paid 2010 yet. Should I bother to pay 2010? I want to keep it insured (policy comes due 4/11/11) just in case something happens while we still own the home.

Basically, if someone can give me a timeline of how things work in this situation, that would be super helpful. I just want to be prepared for whatever happens.

Thanks!

[justbroke]

I don't know why you'd pay the taxes if you're not staying. The taxes attach to the property. In any event, I don't have any news about foreclosures with PNC in Pennsylvania.

Looks like Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure State which means it will take some time to foreclose. My cursory glance indicates that it's at least 10 months from default to actual foreclosure. You could probably delay it more by answering the complaint.

[shark66]

If your last payment was in November of 2010, they'll be taking you to court at the end of February - 90 day rule.

Presuming you want to get as much "free rent" as possible, you should respond to the complaint (you'll have 20 days to do so) appear at the hearing and try to stall as much as possible.

Once they win a judgment, the Sheriff's sale will be scheduled, likely 60-90 days after the appeal period is over.

The rest of the game will really depend on the area you're in. In some areas (usually the less desirable ones) the banks are really not that quick to kick people out. Obviously, a ton depends on PNC themselves - never dealt with them so can't offer any first-hand experience. Also, many sheriffs are overwhelmed with the amount of foreclosed houses they have to sell, and sales are (at least in the areas that I'm familiar with) only held once a month...so many a times, sales get postponed, and postponed again...and again...

Now, when you'll get served with an eviction notice is really anyone's guess, but I doubt that it would be sooner than a fortnight after the sale...

The way I see it, you probably wouldn't have to move until August or thereabouts, even in the worst case scenario.

My $0.02 only...

Good luck.

[DCC77]

Thanks everyone for the advice/info.

shark66- I haven't received anything at all, not even a phone call, from PNC bank and it's now 3 whole months without a payment (well technically almost 3 months since my 2nd mortgage is due on the last day of the month and the 1st is due on the 15th). Both are with PNC bank though. I am thinking we will start to see some sort of paperwork soon. We don't necessarily want to get the free rent as much as we want to leave asap. We are done here, we need to get out. Gunshots at night a few months ago, gang activity, and general nastiness are pushing us out. It has changed so much since we moved here in 2003. I also didn't realize we'd have to go to court. Can we not show up and make this process go faster (provided that we move out first)?

Jeveland- PA is a Judicial state, so I guess that means it'll take longer than a non-judicial state?

justbroke- What does answering the complaint mean? Does that mean showing up at the court hearing?

Thanks again!

[shark66]

Thanks everyone for the advice/info.

shark66- Can we not show up and make this process go faster (provided that we move out first)?

You can skip showing up in court regardless of whether you move out or not. That would speed up the proceedings by a small margin.



Jeveland- PA is a Judicial state, so I guess that means it'll take longer than a non-judicial state?

Yes.

justbroke- What does answering the complaint mean? Does that mean showing up at the court hearing?

Yes.

Thanks again!

The only problem that you might face is that the bank won't get the deed off your name soon enough...given your description of the neighborhood, it doesn't seem likely that the house will sell at Sheriff's sale, and if it goes REO they might drag that part of the process two days short of forever...hopefully not, for your sake...

Good luck.

[DCC77]

Interestingly enough, houses do end up selling in my area at Sheriff's sale for much, much lower than what is owed on the mortgage. I think around half of what is owed is what they are going for. The "entities" that buy them will fix them up and rent them out if they can't sell them (which they can't). So, I am confident it will sell but not to a person that will be living in the home. It'll probably be rented out within 6 months of the purchase.

I was thinking about renting it out and moving but I am not cut out to be a landlord and have no interest in doing so.

It will be interesting to see if we get anything in the mail this week from PNC Bank. Since they aren't going to ask us for money, I wonder what they will send? A notice of default?

[shark66]

Interestingly enough, houses do end up selling in my area at Sheriff's sale for much, much lower than what is owed on the mortgage. I think around half of what is owed is what they are going for.

It most certainly is interesting. My experience is that the starting bid usually equals what is owed on the first mortgage, and I've been to quite a few Sheriff's sales in PA.

It will be interesting to see if we get anything in the mail this week from PNC Bank. Since they aren't going to ask us for money, I wonder what they will send? A notice of default?

I'm not certain how it's going to be called since the debt was discharged in BK, but you'll get it from the Court. Most likely a deputy knocking on your door and serving you...

Good luck.

[DCC77]

The house next to mine sold at Sheriffs sale for $56k cash, and the amount owed was approx $130k. The owner tried to sell it a few times but had no luck (probably because his tenants were not great about letting people in to see the place). He had no legal way of getting rid of his horrible tenants, so he tried to make them someone else's problem. Then he just stopped paying the mortgage and taxes. The opening bids on the properties for sheriffs sale are only between $1,000-$4,000 based on what I am seeing on my county's website.

So, I wonder how long it will be until that deputy comes? Should I call the bank and see what they are doing?

[shark66]

The opening bids on the properties for sheriffs sale are only between $1,000-$4,000 based on what I am seeing on my county's website.

Very interesting. Which district have you filed the BK in - eastern, middle or western?

So, I wonder how long it will be until that deputy comes? Should I call the bank and see what they are doing?

If you're really intent on moving out soon, give them a call, you've got nothing to lose...

Good luck.

[DCC77]

I am in the eastern part of PA.

I almost called PNC today but at the last minute I got nervous. We'll see how tomorrow goes. My main fear is that we'll be told to leave before we have a place to move into. All I can do now is just pack and wait until we can put the deposit down on a rental, which should be by the end of March. We would have had more saved up but I was on maternity leave from Dec to Feb, so we were on one income for a little while.

[shark66]

Given that you haven't even been served yet, there's no way anyone will get you out in less than a few months...and tomorrow is March 1st....

Good luck.