Have you heard this one before?

[tallberry]

Hi all...this is a wide open question and I will try to make it as short as possible...
Family of 4 lived in IN until May 07 (husband job transfer to FL). Spotless credit. Put house in IN on market May 07 and moved into rental here in FL. Went through all of savings, all of credit cards maintaining both houses trying to sell the house in IN until Dec 07. Went to attorney, who advised us to stop using and paying CC to survive and file BK(surrendering house in IN-NO PROBLEM). House in IN is technically still on the market with agent...well, get a call today that realtor wants to show it Saturday (after all of this time with little or no showings). My first thought, where were you a few months ago when we still may have had a chance to work through this. Now it is just too late...do I let them see it? Do I pull the stupid thing from the market? My sister says what's the harm in letting them see it? Best friend says why show it when it won't do you any good anyway? Please, please let me hear from all of the knowledgeable souls on this forum, I am truly stumped!

[ssdsco]

Is there any equity in the house after selling costs ? Are the payments current ?

[tallberry]

No not a nickel. We owe $349,000 on first and $78,000 on 2nd. House is worth probably $400,000 or so, right now. We have only missed one payment (our attorney told us to stop paying since we would be surrendering)and filing BK in a couple of weeks.

[needafreshstart]

Does your real estate agent know that you've quit making payments and 1 payment late? Also, I'm assuming she knows your upside down bwtween the 2 mortgages. I was trying to sell a house before I filed and my agent got a little upset when she found out the mortgages were behind, something about laws on disclosure and how she had to have it listed. Have you talked to the 2nd mortgage company about a short-sale, the 2nd mortgage company I had, had certain restrictions on selling price and commissions paid to agent in order to approve a short-sale. At least be upfront with your agent, she would probably be upset if she spent alot of effort trying to sell the house, gets an offer, and the mortgage company won't approve the sale.

[tallberry]

Yes, actually we have tried the short sale route since November and the mortgage company told us they won't even look at a short sale from us unless we are more than 2 payments behind. We were stunned...here we were killing ourselves to stay current on everything and basically found that what we were doing was wrong. Get behind a month or two and then they will talk to us. Ctiibank Financial is the company. They said they were so busy with short sales, that they couldn't even consider us since we remained current (up until this month).

[ssdsco]

I'd call the realtor and take it off the market.

[needafreshstart]

Since you know your filing I'd pull the listing as well, besides the 2nd mortgage company may tell you you have pay off the mortgage in full in order to approve the sale, which doesn't sound like it would happen. In my situation the 2nd mortgage company got screwed and I don't feel bad at all because of the restrictions they placed on us when we were trying sell the house and prevent bk. Just my 2-cents worth.

[tallberry]

that is what seems to be the right answer, just needed some input from this forum. I just still can't stop myself from hoping there could be one last ditch effort. That has been wishful thinking for the last several months and probably why we are where we are today.

[howie]

tallberry, I think most of us on here have been in the same "wishful thinking" mode as well. You are right, it just compounds the problem and puts us more and more in a bad situation. You try to do what is right and hope something comes along to help. Of course for most it doesn't. Sounds like letting it go is the right answer at this point.

[tallberry]

perfectly stated, Howie. I hate to say it but it is so nice to have all of you great folks here who really understand how it feels to be in this situation. Thank You so much!

[Lindsay]

I'd take it off the market. You'll probably be able to stay in it for a while without paying during your filing process. Our lawyer told us that it takes a long time to actually get put out of the house or foreclosed on. You can save the mortgage payment you've been paying to put towards the next place you move to.

[tallberry]

Actually, we haven't lived in it for months. It has just been sitting there empty (for sale) and it has been costing us about $4,000 a month to maintain it (we are renting a place here in FL)! Which explains why we are here today. Such a mess...I would venture to guess that most of us filing BK now are filing due to the horrible RE market. I have sold plenty of houses in my life and it has never taken longer than 3 months to sell, but this one has been on the market nearly a year.

[BKcrazy]

I'd call the realtor and take it off the market.

Ah, not always the best idea because in that signed contract they can make them pay a commission if they cancel the contract early. That's why I only signed a 3 month contract. Check over your contract, you don't want to waste any money. Just tell the agent what is going on right now. I wasn't late until after I had made a contract with a realtor. I just didn't renew the contract and it was still going maybe 24 days after I filed.

[BKcrazy]

Still it's something else to worry about. And with the way the housing market is, they may feel like they need to do something. It states in their contract that you are liable for that comission if you terminate early. So if you've you have already filed, and then I'd consult your attorney. I really wouldn't overlook the possibilty they may try to collect that comission.