If you are having financial difficulties and are at risk of losing your home, you should consult a bankruptcy attorney. On the other hand, if you've decided that you don't want to make your house payment because you no longer like the terms of the agreement you signed, then you should seriously question your personal character.
Should I walk away from my "underwater" home?
by The Berean 113 Replies latest jw friends
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The Berean
Something just came to mind concerning my mortgage note. The lender WAS Wa-Mu ... remember, the company whose stock went from $45 per/share to .19 per/share. Now, when they went belly up and Chase took over the accounts, angry stockholders were told something like this: " Hey, when you invested it came with a risk. If you didn't want the risk you should not have invested." Doesn't the same principle hold true as to my obligation now with Chase?
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JeffT
Berean: you keep dancing around the question that is essential to the discussion as to what you should do.
Can you, or can you not, afford to make the payment?
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dissed
If you can not afford the payment and see the inevitable coming this is what you should do.......
According to a mortgage lender acquatinance in Arizona......haha
Plan your exit, but do not file for bankruptcy.
Stop making your payment COMPLETELY and save the money for your rental. Paying partial means nothing if you are leaving for sure.
You should be able to drag out leaving for 5-7 months, by contesting issues.
If your payment is $2,000, you could have 10-12,000 for new starter money.
Some lenders afraid you may trash the house are giving contracted bonuses if you leave it in good condition - my neighbor got $4,000 for this and signing over the property to make it easier for the banks forclosure.
True, they could come after you for more money, but right now, its proving a waste of time for them to do so.
And if you are real crook.......
Strip the house before forclosure, being sure to replace the stuff with worthless things, so they will not come after you with the law.
As always, disregard this advice as un-trustworthy. But my neighbor did this and had about $18,000 to start a new life over.
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The Berean
OK Jeff:
My loan is variable. The next time it goes up it will be out of reach. To wait until distress may not put me in a position to get financing for the next property. I think I must project ...
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wasastar
Berean,
I do not believe the question is can you pay but rather should you pay. Just beacause you can does not mean you should. It is a business decision. Banks and other frims have no problem unloading bad dept on others if it is in their best business interests. I say if after considering all factors you think it is your best financial interests to walk away then do it. I do not believe you should feel morally or ethically obligated to complete a contract that is no longer in your best interests. Just be prepared to face all the consequences. IMHO
wasastar
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restrangled
Berean, You may want to start negotiating...and that they will!
I have a Girl Friend that had a 500,000 plus house at the time, she took out a 330,000 mortgage and couldn't keep up after several years. It is now worth about 200K.
She had to quit making payments because she lost her job and can't get another.
...quess what....no one has come after her, The bank can't afford to do it. She hasn't made a payment since June of 2009. She is just holding her breath....but she has heard absoluting nothing.
She is not in debt to any other creditors,......the courts are just too backed up and the greedy banks can't catch up.
Just an fyi.
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JeffT
OK, there's a piece of information we can work with. Is the rate tied to something (ie prime plus 1%) or is there a fixed schedule? Unless you're on a fixed schedule, it may not be going up. The Fed is going to be trying hard to keep interest rates down to stimulate the economy. You might try talking to your bank and seeing if they will write a new fixed rate loan at the current rate. They may be willing to do that to avoid trouble down the road. If your house really is worth less than the current loan they aren't going to want it back. Having to write down bad loans is a big piece of what brought down WAMU.
I was a WAMU customer when they went under. I've been happy with Chase, I don't think you can get yourself in trouble by talking to them. The conversation should start like this: "I'm fine right now, but if my interest rate goes up we're (meaning both you and the banker) going to have a problem." See what they say.
Walking away in your current situtuation is short-sighted, and in my opinion, wrong. Ask yourself how you would feel if the market comes back in a year and you just let your bank have the house.
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Robdar
If you can not afford the payment and see the inevitable coming this is what you should do.......
According to a mortgage lender acquatinance in Arizona......haha
Plan your exit, but do not file for bankruptcy.
Stop making your payment COMPLETELY and save the money for your rental. Paying partial means nothing if you are leaving for sure.
You should be able to drag out leaving for 5-7 months, by contesting issues.
If your payment is $2,000, you could have 10-12,000 for new starter money.
Some lenders afraid you may trash the house are giving contracted bonuses if you leave it in good condition - my neighbor got $4,000 for this and signing over the property to make it easier for the banks forclosure.
True, they could come after you for more money, but right now, its proving a waste of time for them to do so.
I agree with all the above. Free rent is something we will advise our clients to take advantage of if possible. When they finally get around to noticing you (and they will) then you can file bankruptcy--unless you have other lenders that need dealing with now. Again, get the advice of a bankruptcy attorney, one that has at least 20 years experience.
And if you are real crook.......
Strip the house before forclosure, being sure to replace the stuff with worthless things, so they will not come after you with the law.
As always, disregard this advice as un-trustworthy. But my neighbor did this and had about $18,000 to start a new life over.
Disregard the above nonsense. Just because Dissed's neighbor is a crook, doesn't mean that you have to be one.
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Robdar
I was a WAMU customer when they went under. I've been happy with Chase, I don't think you can get yourself in trouble by talking to them.
JeffT, I have been happy with Chase also. Their business practices put WaMu to shame. And speaking of WaMu's business practice, no wonder they are no longer here. They got what they deserved, IMO.