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Foreclosure

I am in California. I missed my first payment Sept 1. I got a letter telling me to bring things current by Dec 16th. What happens now?

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Question: I am in California. I missed my first payment Sept 1. I got a letter telling me to bring things current by Dec 16th. What happens now? I am not sure when the period of redemption begins? Was I already in it? Or does it begin Dec 16 and go three months? People tell me different things and I am a single mom of four kids and need to plan. Thank-you. Nomi

Answer: -Nomi, the California redemption period is approximately 3 months and begins after you receive the notice of default. Typically you won’t receive a notice of default until you are at least 3 months behind on your mortgage, especially now, banks are slower issuing the notices of default because they don’t need any more inventory. So you’re about 6 to 8 months out from foreclosure, if it goes that far, so you do have several options as a homeowner. Unfortunately Obama’s HAMP program hasn’t turned out the way we had all hoped, however there are alternatives. Assuming you want to stay in your home, one option is a loan modification. This is something you can do yourself or you can hire an attorney to do it for you…just be careful in choosing the right attorney that really does care about your situation and will guarantee their work. Another option is to sell your home, if it has equity, and move into something smaller or less expensive until things pick up again. If your home does not have equity and a loan modification doesn’t work, you could try to do a short sale where a buyer offers the bank less than what is owed on the property. Whatever you do, don’t give up.

As part of an estate I have a 2nd interest in a mortgage, the 1st mortgagee has now opted to foreclose.

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Question: As part of an estate I have a 2nd interest in a mortgage and the 1st mortgagee has now opted to foreclose. Will my interest be paid or do I only get paid if the property sells for more than the first mortgagee is owed?

Answer: -When the property goes to foreclosure, everyone is paid based on lien priority. If you are in 2nd position and the 1st is foreclosing, the opening bid will be the loan amount on the 1st plus a bunch of fees. The only way you’ll get paid is if someone bids more at the auction than the opening bid. Anything above the opening bid will go to whoever is next in priority.

After the bank forecloses and sells my house, can i get it back?

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Question: After the bank forecloses and sells my house, can i get it back?

Answer: -It depends on your states foreclosure procedures. Some states have a redemption period before the auction. Other states have their redemption period after the auction. If you live in a state where the redemption period is after the auction, then yes, you can get your home back.

My father’s home recently foreclosed and our bankruptcy lawyer did not file the bankruptcy prior to the foreclosure.

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Question: Hello:

Please help. My father’s home recently foreclosed (last week) and our incompetent bankruptcy lawyer did not know it was important to file the bankruptcy prior to the foreclosure which would have cleared any tax consequences or deficiency judgment against him. Since my father has filed bankruptcy AFTER the foreclosure, I understand the lender will either forgive the debt and issue a 1099 to the IRS or seek a deficiency judgment. My question is, if the lender decides to seek a deficiency judgment, will the deficiency amount be discharged in the bankruptcy – although he filed the bankruptcy after the foreclosure? Please advise. Thanks!

Answer: -More than likely you won’t even have to worry about the deficiency judgment because most lenders don’t file a deficiency judgment against homeowners. It is much more common for them to issue a 1099. But yes, if by chance they did file a judgment against him, filing bankruptcy after foreclosure shouldn’t matter. In fact, most homeowners will file bankruptcy after they are hit with the deficiency judgment so it will be wiped out.

I have a mortgage and home equity line of credit I am in Florida. If my property is foreclosed upon what happens to the equity line of credit?

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Question: I have a mortgage and home equity line of credit on the same property with Countrywide. I am in Florida. If my property is foreclosed upon what happens to the home equity line of credit? Also am I held liable for taxes up to the foreclosed date?
Thanks

Answer: -If your home has a first and second with the same lender, Countrywide, it’s almost treated like it’s one loan. If they send it through foreclosure, they’ll probably start at just what’s owed on the first and hopefully get someone to bid on it…If no one bids then they’ll end up with the property. Then they’ll probably write off that 2nd in which they could file for a deficiency judgment but more than likely they will 1099 you for that amount they lost and you’ll have to pay taxes on it. As for the property taxes, they’ll have to pay those in order to sell it to an end buyer.

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

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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.