Foreclosure University

Your Online Real Estate Investing Resource

Foreclosure University – The Ultimate Investor Resource

Landlord is trying to collect the rent. Place is up for foreclosure. What should I do?

by 4 Comments

Question: My landlord is trying to collect the rent for the month of september 2008 we had a letter put on our door telling us this place is up for foreclosure the auction will be held august 28 2008 i called and told him whats this about he said oh we already took care of all that but i keep calling the phone number thats on the paper all it say is that the auction date was changed to september 29 2008 when i called the place they said yes its up for auction the 29th of september i called a real estate attorney and asked him. He told me to give a 30 day notice and have him keep my deposit as last mouths rent. My landlord would not take my 30 day notice and also said that i must pay this mouths rent and that once i moved he will give me my deposit back. i also let him know of all the things that needed to be fixed from when we moved in not till after i told him about the foreclosure. he start saying oh as soon as they save the house there going to fix every litte thing not to worry and when i told him, well i’m just going to move. he said well you still owe me my rent. then why did i give first and last months rent when i moved in? then he had nothing to say to that all he did was to start threating me tell “you don’t want to mess with me i’ll take you down” also “i know how to take care of you if you don’t pay me my rent” and now today september 13,2008 he gives me a three day notice i just said ok thats fine here’s my 30 day notice that i’ll be moving “he says i don’t want that why would i want that you have three days to get out of my house i’ll be back thursday to make sure your out” i told him you still have to give me a 30 day notice all he said was “no you have three day thats all”. what could I do about this man because come thursday september 18,2008 i don’t know what he will do. will he follow thru the threats. so please help me as soon as possible. should i call the police or what should i do. i am worried i have a three year old litte girl also a 14 month old daughter with a seizure disorder that still dose not hold her head up or nothing she is like a new born chid still what if trys something and one them get hurt please help please

Answer: -listen, this sounds like more than just a rental issue. Clearly this landlords intentions are not good. It sounds like he has already spent your deposit and has no intentions on paying it back. He’s just trying to get as much money as he can from his tenants before they foreclose on the property. In many cases this can be considered ‘rent skimming’ which is illegal. This is where the landlord uses the rent money to pay for personal belongings and lets the property go into default. If he is giving you 3 days to vacate, I would get the heck out before something worse happens, especially if he is threatening you. Let him keep your deposit money a better place to live. And if you feel you need to contact the authorities, do it. Who knows, they may even help you find a better place. Good Luck

Postponed Auction – How do we push it through?

by 1 Comment

Question:  The previous owners have fully given up on their house and now we are interested in buying the home from an investor who has the right to the house after the auction.
The auction was set for 4/7/09 and was postponed by the special master. Our realtor said there was some paperwork missing from the mortgage company.

It has been 2 months and there is no movement on the court case and no new date has been scheduled.

Is there a way we can try to push the auction through faster- write a letter to the judge or contact the special master?
Should we contact a lawyer to do the work?

Please advise-
Long awaiting in New Mexico.

 

Answer:  

We are hearing about more and more of these situations as foreclosures continue to mount. It is a new strategy used by homeowners to postpone and sometimes even eliminate foreclosure or force the mortgage company to “modify the loan”. What homeowners are doing is asking the lenders to produce the original loan documents and they can’t. If they can’t produce the right documents, they can’t foreclose. And until they locate the right documents, there is nothing they or you can do. Not saying this is what is happening, but could be. They could of also had a “short sale” offer which can also postpone the auction. Or the homeowners could have filed bankruptcy which can also postpone the auction.

Liens on the home, (other than property tax or Federal) am I obligated to pay that lien?

by 3 Comments

Question: If I buy a home at a foreclosure sale, and later determine there is another lien on the home, (other than property tax or Federal) am I obligated to pay that lien to obtain clear title?

Answer: – Yes, if the lien has seniority, you are responsible as the high bidder to pay off all liens to clear title. That’s why it’s so important to run a title report to make sure there are no liens on the property and to find out how many liens are on the property. I’ve heard of cases where individuals will bid on properties thinking they are a great deal and find out later it was the 2nd mortgage they were bidding on and they have to now payoff the first. Most lose their deposit and it goes back up for auction because they thought the opening bid was for the 1st mortgage. Hope that helps.

Can your home be foreclosed on if your in bankruptcy ?

by 2 Comments

Question: can your home be foreclosed on if your in bankruptcy ?

Answer: – No, not while in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy only postpones the auction though for 6 to 8 weeks until your bankruptcy is released, unless you file chapter 13 which is a workout option. If you fail to meet what’s agreed upon, then the foreclosure begins where it left off. We wrote a small article about Bankruptcy you can read more about.

I WAS A WINNING BIDDER AT A TRUSTEE SALE, BUT IT WAS A SECOND LIEN. WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?

by Leave a Comment

Question: I WAS A WINNING BIDDER AT A TRUSTEE SALE, BUT IT WAS A SECOND LIEN. WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?

Answer: – Pray there is not a first mortgage or any back taxes you have to pay…Ha Ha. Hopefully you did your research prior to the foreclosure auction and found the property to be worth a great deal more than what the 1st was owed and what you paid for the 2nd. If not, you may want to think hard about an exit strategy. But assuming you did all your due diligence, as the winning bidder your state and county will determine when you need to come up with money to pay for the property. It ranges from state to state anywhere from 24 hours after the foreclosure auction to 30 days. If you can’t get the money within that time, you lose any money you may have had to put down. Then you may still have to wait to do anything to it if there is a redemption period in your state.

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.