Filing today and nervous...

[newdaytoday]

This is my first post, but I've been reading all of the many helpful threads and taking in all the advice of those who have been there.

My husband and I are filing today after several months of preparation and waiting to have the money to pay the attorney. We are looking forward to the relief of no more phone calls and a fresh start, but I am very nervous about one major issue. We are surrendering our house of 12 years and as emotional about that as I am, the biggest concern for me is timing of when we have to be out of the house and finding a suitable home to rent for a while. With kids still living at home, I'm hoping we can find a landlord who will take a chance on us. Husband is working but is making about 40% less than his previous job from which he was laid off from and it took almost a year to find another job. That is basically what has led us to this point. I am looking for work, but have been a stay at home mom for many years and it's proving very difficult to get back into the workforce in this economy. We can't really talk to anyone about this, so thanks for letting me share my anxiety and I'm hoping the next few months will prove to be better than expected.

[oregonpilot]

welcome newday....so glad that you have found us. There are alot of great people here.
This is probably your biggest step.
We are here for you. Good luck today.

[debee]

In CA, once they file the NOD, you will have a good 90 days. If you apply for a mod during the first 90 days, I believe (not sure) you get an extension of another 90 days. Some people apply for mods just to get the extension. This is something you can research further.

There have been other members who were able to get a "cash for keys" deal with their foreclosure.

Some have advised that when looking for a rental, skip the management companies that have a worker bee decide based on your credit score and look for an owner/manager type thing through Craigslist or elsewhere where you can get face-to-face with the real decision maker. It will help that you ended up in this situation because of job loss and not because of credit use. People understand that.

Good luck

[frogger]

A house is just a house, but home is where you make it. You will do good......

[IamIrene]

(((((newdaytoday))))) Me and my husband filed Chp7 last Friday. You've found a great place here...lots of support and excellent knowledge!

[brighteyes]

Exactly what they said. Once you get past the emotional aspect of the home and start looking at it as a busineas decision, the stress and heartache will disappear. It's strictly a business decision. We all bought homes thinking they would provide us a decent retun at retirement age, but thats not going to happen in our lifetime. You wouldn't keep your stocks (like your 401k stocks) in a negitve return fund, no you'd move your money to a better preforming fund and not think twice about it. You are moving your funds from a bad preforming fund, to a preforming fund while NOT loosing any money, like you would have with your 401k. So really its a win win situation.

[newdaytoday]

Thank you so much to all of you who have replied to my initial post! Just got back from the attorney's office and I'm starting to feel better. It is a business decision. Keeping a house that is 200,000 underwater is not good financial sense, my head knows that. Our attorney put me at ease with the information that once the papers are filed, the foreclosure process stops and that a lot of the bigger banks don't try to lift the stay, so we may have more time here than I initially was thinking. The unknown is a scary thing, but I'm so happy to have found this forum. Thank you again! I'm sure I will be visiting often