Question: I have a house that is currently going through the short-sell process. I have an approval letter for the first and the second. The second is stating “BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP and/or its investors may pursue a deficiency judgment for the difference in the payment received and the total balance due, unless agreed otherwise or prohibited by law, if the short sale closes on the loan referenced above.” I live in CA and the second was an home equity line of credit (HELOC). We have already agreed to pay $2500 to the second and they have agreed, but they are still including this language in the short sale approval letter. What rights do they have to sue us later on?
Answer: – It depends on what you agree to as part of the payoff. This is where you need to make sure you ADD to the payoff letter that the $2500 is for “full satisfaction” of the loan. See there are 2 types of payoffs. 1 is a “release of lien” which means you pay the mortgage company $2500 and they retain the right to still come after you for the deficient amount. The other payoff is a “satisfaction” which means “paid in full” – they give up their right to come after you for the deficient amount (which is called a deficiency judgment). All they can do is 1099 you for the amount lost of which you can file form 982 and in most cases claim insolvency and negate the 1099. If it was your personal residence, with Obama’s new laws in place, you may not have to pay anyway. So whatever you do, please please please get the satisfaction. Sometimes if they don’t agree to a satisfaction of loan, you’ll just have to pay a little extra more to get that piece of mind.