Foreclosure University

Your Online Real Estate Investing Resource

Deficiency Judgment / 1099

I have an investment property in California that foreclosed. Can they garnish wages?

by 2 Comments

Question: I have an investment property in California that foreclosed, now I have a differdent company NARS calling me regarding that line of credit that I owed the to Chase. They want me to pay the whole 53,000 in full or make payments on it. I currently live in NC. Can they lien my home in NC or garnish my wages?
Thanks,

Answer: -If they file a deficiency judgment against you, yes you’ll have to pay them and that judgment may be able to attach to other properties or yes they could garnish wages if they took it that far. Very rarely does this ever happen because it costs the banks even more money to sue for a deficiency judgment and clearly they should know you don’t have any money, so they don’t even bother. And if by some odd reason the bank did file for a deficiency judgment, most homeowner file for bankruptcy which wipes out the judgment altogether. More than likely they will 1099 you for the amount they lost and write the loan off.

It’s not uncommon either for lenders before foreclosure and after foreclosure to put fear into homeowners minds telling them they will sue them or garnish wages or take assets if they don’t pay. These are all scare tactics. It’s there job to “scare” you so you’ll pay them as much as you can, even though clearly you can’t afford any payments to them.

We currently have a loan for $244K and a second home equity line for $79K. Our condo is worth $150K. I can’t do a loan modification I tried.

by 3 Comments

Question: We currently have a loan for $244K and a second home equity line for $79K. Our condo is worth $150K and we owe $320K, but we don’t know wether in California we are liable for that 2nd loan since it’s a home equity line? I don’t want to end up owing Bank of America $79K when I’m going to loose my property and ruin my credit. What should I do? I’m still current with payments but I’m struggling and I can’t do a loan modification I tried.

Answer: – I would keep trying to work with your bank on the loan modification. There are several attorney’s out there that “GUARANTEE” there work when modifying loans so you may want to check into that as well. It’s hard to believe sometimes, but they really do want you to stay, the challenge has always been jumping through all their hoops which an attorney can assist you with. Also you have a better chance since they know certain things to say that will increase your chances of a successful loan modification.

If a loan modification still doesn’t work, then you could try to do a short sale. Unfortunately with a short sale you would have to sell your home, but if you can’t make the mortgage, then you’re going to move anyway so might as well be a short sale then foreclosure on your credit. Regardless if you do a short sale or foreclosure, the bank still has the right to come after you for the deficient amount, but very rarely does this ever happen in California because of the laws there. And if you have an seasoned agent or investor working with you on the short sale, they can actually eliminate the possibility of a deficiency judgment altogether. So really all you have to be concerned with is a 1099 from the bank. They will write off the loan as a loss and 1099 you for the amount they lost. Whatever you do, don’t ever give up.

Purchased four homes. Two of the homes are in FL, and the other two are in SC. We may be forced to foreclose. How is a foreclosure going to affect our homes in SC?

by 4 Comments

Question: My husband and I invested our life savings and purchased four homes. Two of the homes are in FL, and the other two are in SC. We live in one of the FL homes, and we may be forced to foreclose on the the second home in FL. How is a foreclosure going to affect our homes in SC? Is the bank going to put a lien on the home we live in or the other two in SC? Please I need help.

Answer: – More than likely nothing will happen to your homes in South Carolina if your home in Florida goes through foreclosure, unless you used your South Carolina homes as collateral to purchase your Florida home. Your biggest concern would be a deficiency judgment which would definitely affect you and possibly other real estate that you own. But again, more than likely they will 1099 you for the amount they lost and write it off. But there is always that chance, which is why it’s always better to try to do a short sale instead of just giving up and letting it go to foreclosure. At least with a short sale and a good agent or investor who knows what they are doing can help you avoid a possible deficiency judgment altogether.

My husband bought a condo a few years back. If we dont get a renter soon we will have to foreclose on the condo or short sale it.

by 4 Comments

Question: My husband bought a condo (Interest only loan) a few years back before we got married. It is now worth less then half of its value, therefor we couldnt sell it, and was too small for us to live in it together. We ended up buying a second house together and was planning on renting out our condo. With our bad luck we have not been able to find a renter, so we have been paying on 2 mortgages. It is getting to the point where we can not afford both, and if we don’t get a renter soon we will have to foreclose on the condo or short sale it. My questions are as followed:
1. Will it affect my credit even though I didn’t purchase the condo or sign a contract. Only my husband did?
2. Can the bank go after us if we foreclose or short-sale? Can they take our current home?
3. Will we owe taxes on it and if so is there ways of reducing those or getting around them?
4. My parents co-signed on the new house, can this effect their credit, or can the bank go after them?
5. Lastly my husband has an HOA fee on the condo as well, can they come after us if we stop paying that? Can they garnish our wages.
Thank you for all of you help!!

Answer: –

1. It will only affect the credit of the person who’s name is on the loan, not the title. So in this case, your husband will be the only one who’s credit is affected if the property goes into foreclosure or short sale.

2. The bank can come after you (deficiency judgment) if you foreclosure or short sale…however they typically don’t. More than likely they will just 1099 you for the difference and count it as income. They can’t take your current home unless you pledged it as collateral in order to get the condo which you didn’t since you bought this home after the condo.

3. As for the taxes, yes you will most likely be given a 1099 for the loss which counts as income to you on your taxes. Depending on the situation, you may be able to use IRS form 982 which will counter act the 1099. You will need to discuss this with your accountant. As for property taxes, those will be taken care of either by the bank if they take back the home when it goes through foreclosure or even a short sale.

4. Because these are 2 separate transactions and homes, and was not used as collateral, they cannot do anything to your parents.

5. Yes, they could file a judgment against you as well…but more than likely they won’t.

If the bank sells my house for less than what was owed on it can they come after me for the balance…

by 2 Comments

Question: If the bank sells my house for less than what was owed on it can they come after me for the balance…

Answer: Yes…The bank has 3 options at this point. Either they will do nothing or they will 1099 the homeowner or they will file a deficiency judgment for the amount they lost. In most cases they will 1099 the homeowner and count the loss as income to the homeowner. If you talk to your accountant, sometimes IRS form 982 will counteract the 1099 and you won’t have to pay a huge amount of taxes. They could also file a deficiency judgment against the homeowner and require the debt be paid off. Since most homeowners in this situation can’t pay it off, they file bankruptcy which will get rid of the judgment. There are some things you can do to ensure that a judgment is not filed and that is by doing a short sale. If you have someone who knows what they are doing, they can ask for a satisfaction or to satisfy the loan which means the bank can no longer come after the borrower for the deficient amount. The loan is considered paid in full. Plus with a short sale, the home is sold and foreclosure stays off your credit.

I have a home in WI that is still owned by my ex-husband and myself. It was in foreclosure and he filed bankruptcy.

by Leave a Comment

Question: I have a home in WI that is still owned by my ex-husband and myself. It was in foreclosure and he filed bankruptcy, not sure what is happening now but we had a home equity line on the home, will I be required to pay that back or will the foreclosure take care of it?

Answer: -The bankruptcy will postpone the auction for approximately 2 months, then it will be released and the foreclosure process will pick up where it left off. If no one bids at the auction, the junior lien holders have the option of filing a deficiency judgment where they can come after you for the amount lost, or they can 1099 you for the amount they lost or they will do nothing.