GULP!!! Last chance before B of A foreclosure?

[MaxHouston]

On March 1st, that marked the 8th month mark of my not making any mortgage payments, then on the 18th of this month, it will be official with the monthly late fee added (since the late fee kicks in on the 18th of each month).

When I was 2 months behind (officially on August 18th of last year), towards the end August, for the next 5 days, I received a certified letter (via US mail) packet of material from B of A telling me that I was behind and late on my mortgage, and that they plan to start the foreclosure process if I did not at least pay half of what I owed and if I did not contact them to take advantage of one of their options (repayment plan or loan modification or deed-in-lieu or short sale or full payoff), by mid October. In addition to this pack, I received the same exact same packet of material via FedEx (the next day), and then I received the same exact packet of information the next 3 days in a row via regular US mail. I guess they wanted to make sure I had at least one copy in my possession for a paper trail and legal purposes. Yet I figured the certified one was sufficient since I had to sign for it. I live in Los Angeles, California by the way.

I had thought about trying to get a hard money loan (to at least catch up on the 2 payments,by early October, but a week before I had to pay, that is when the news started coming out about B of A doing those robo doc foreclosures. So I had an opportunity to try to figure out what I am going to do. So I am saving up money so I can file for BK. Since I have been unemployed since last summer and since I was self employed, I do not qualify for unemployment insurance. So I have been living off of what little savings I have left.

From mid July, I had been receiving multiple calls Monday through Saturday, from B of A telling me that my mortgage was past due and for me to call their home loan department. They would call between 1 to 8 times per day. Those calls lasted up until the 24th of last month, and they all stopped.

Now today, I just received a letter from B of A telling me that since they have not received my past due payments, they have referred my home loan to their Foreclosure Review Committee for review. Yet they are still giving me several options (repayment plan or loan modification or deed-in-lieu or short sale or full payoff). Yet they did not provide a deadline date in this letter . . . whereas they had a deadline date in each packet of material they had sent out August.

So long question short, about how much longer before the foreclosure process starts? I think that they may have sent someone out to take a photo of my house in late January, however I have credit card collector issues, so it may have easily been one of the collection people looking for assets.

Also, I am not sure if it matters, yet with my being 8 months behind and with the late fees, I am less than $9,000 behind in my mortgage.

Max H.

[discouraged]

Hopefully someone from CA will respond. Here in MN once you get the notice from their attorney that it will be going into a sheriff's sale - approx a month after you get the letter saying it's going to their attorney - another month until the sheriff's sale and then a 6 month redemption period. I received my info from the city Foreclosure Prevention office (they told me to file bk). You may be able to get the info from an office in CA or, as I said, hopefully a CA foreclosure person will respond.

[helpme2010]

On March 1st, that marked the 8th month mark of my not making any mortgage payments, then on the 18th of this month, it will be official with the monthly late fee added (since the late fee kicks in on the 18th of each month).

When I was 2 months behind (officially on August 18th of last year), towards the end August, for the next 5 days, I received a certified letter (via US mail) packet of material from B of A telling me that I was behind and late on my mortgage, and that they plan to start the foreclosure process if I did not at least pay half of what I owed and if I did not contact them to take advantage of one of their options (repayment plan or loan modification or deed-in-lieu or short sale or full payoff), by mid October. In addition to this pack, I received the same exact same packet of material via FedEx (the next day), and then I received the same exact packet of information the next 3 days in a row via regular US mail. I guess they wanted to make sure I had at least one copy in my possession for a paper trail and legal purposes. Yet I figured the certified one was sufficient since I had to sign for it. I live in Los Angeles, California by the way.

I had thought about trying to get a hard money loan (to at least catch up on the 2 payments,by early October, but a week before I had to pay, that is when the news started coming out about B of A doing those robo doc foreclosures. So I had an opportunity to try to figure out what I am going to do. So I am saving up money so I can file for BK. Since I have been unemployed since last summer and since I was self employed, I do not qualify for unemployment insurance. So I have been living off of what little savings I have left.

From mid July, I had been receiving multiple calls Monday through Saturday, from B of A telling me that my mortgage was past due and for me to call their home loan department. They would call between 1 to 8 times per day. Those calls lasted up until the 24th of last month, and they all stopped.

Now today, I just received a letter from B of A telling me that since they have not received my past due payments, they have referred my home loan to their Foreclosure Review Committee for review. Yet they are still giving me several options (repayment plan or loan modification or deed-in-lieu or short sale or full payoff). Yet they did not provide a deadline date in this letter . . . whereas they had a deadline date in each packet of material they had sent out August.

So long question short, about how much longer before the foreclosure process starts? I think that they may have sent someone out to take a photo of my house in late January, however I have credit card collector issues, so it may have easily been one of the collection people looking for assets.

Also, I am not sure if it matters, yet with my being 8 months behind and with the late fees, I am less than $9,000 behind in my mortgage.

Max H.

You never know the time frame. I am in L.A. too and I filed ch 7. About 3 weeks after it was discharged, I received a notice on my door saying the auction date was in 3 weeks. That was far faster than most people on this board. I tried to do a loan mod, but by then it was too late (they said it would take too long to do a loan mod before the auction date). I ended up doing a chapter 13 and now I am waiting for their response to the loan mod packet I sent in.

So if you want to modify, you should send in the loan mod forms asap (it takes a couple months to process). As for paying back half the amount or more of what you owe, I am guessing that is highly unrealistic, so your best guess is the loan mod if they will do it (e.g. I am looking for a 6 month loan mod forbearance plan of reduced payments).

Or you just wait them out until they put up the auction notice and then you have probably a couple more months before you must vacate. Hopefully they will offer you cash for keys to get out after the auction sale.

[MaxHouston]

Oh one thing I forgot to mention in my first posting, is that I fell behind in my homeowners insurance payment by 2 months, so it was officially canceled on February 05, 2011. Yet around February 19th, I got a letter from B of A telling me that they got notice from my insurance company that my policy was not renewed, and that I now need to provide them with satisfactory homeowners insurance coverage by March 23. In that letter B of A also stated that they were going to charge me about $1,500 for the required insurance if I did not provide proof by that March 23rd deadline.

Yet I am hoping to slow things down by filing for BK, but since I am unemployed, I can not qualify for a loan mod.

Now today (03-09-11), I have received a letter from B of A that says:

“If proof of acceptable coverage is not received by 04/10/2011, BAC Home Loans will purchase Lender-Place Hazard (homeowners) Insurance at your expense and charge you for the cost of the insurance. The approximate cost of the Lender-Placed Insurance will be $2,072.00, if purchased by BAC Home Loans. This estimate is based, in part upon our knowledge that the location above is in Foreclosure and a 50 - 84 year old home and other rating factors. If this information is incorrect, please contact us at (866) xxx-xxxx. Additionally, if the occupancy of your property changes the charge may differ from the amount stated in this letter. The coverage period will be effective from 02/05/2011 until 02/05/2012."

So there was no talk of foreclosure in the letter dated March 03, 2011 (that I received on March 07, 2011). Plus they gave me payment options in that letter, with not deadline. Yet today’s letter is dated March 06, 2011, and I just received it today (March 09, 2011), they have stated that my house is in foreclosure. Yet thus far, I have not received any other mail certified or non-certified from B of A speaking of foreclosure. Nor have I received anything from their attorney. Yet I will have the money by the original March 23rd deadline date to start a new homeowners insurance policy with another company, but if B of A is going to foreclose anyway, why bother sending me this letter . . . because I can not see (at this moment) why would someone pay any amount on homeowners insurance if they have been told by their lender that their property is in foreclosure. Unless this is a discrepancy, that I need to tell them that my house is not in foreclosure. Yet my house is 61 years old.

I did do a Google search online just now, and nothing is coming up with my home being in foreclosure as of yet.

Your thoughts?

Max

[badhouse]

Sounds to me like a Notice of Default is imminent; they simply haven't filed it yet. You can check for it everyday at www.recontrust.com.

Unless you intend to get caught up on the mortgage, you don't have to worry about the forced insurance. They will not be able to come after you for that balance post foreclosure. If you want to cure your default, you may have to pony up for it.

[badhouse]

If you have equity in your property, the cost of that forced insurance will almost certainly be deducted from any amount in excess of the sale price that would be returned to you.

If you don't have any equity, and if you don't plan to cure your default, there is no reason to worry about the insurance.

[slam22]

Our house is in San Diego and have not made a mortgage payment on either our 1st or HELOC since March of 2008. No Notice of Default has been filed by BofA. We just recently re-located to Texas due to a work re-assignment and are currently working with the bank to do a deed in lieu. We filed Chapter 7 three years ago and were thereafter discharged so we are not liable for anything. We've just been paying the small HOA fee. Bank has been paying the property tax and insurance. With BofA you never know. In California it could be awhile. Just depends. YMMV.

[MaxHouston]

Thanks Badhouse, and Slam22. I appreciate your help and input.

Max