??? regarding home we are relinquishing

[tallberry]

Can anyone tell me how soon after fling do you give over your rights to the home you are relinquishing? We don't live in the house but I am assuming we will need to heat it and insure it until the bank takes it. If that is wrong thinking, please let me know. Also, about how long does it take...will I be notified or do they just take it?

[getouttadebt]

Although I do not have an answer for you, I am in a similar position. We are surrendering the house. We vacated at the beginning of February and are living in a rental now. We check on our vacant house at least once per week and the alarm is on even though it is empty. But, my attorney told me that right after the 341 meeting (mine is in 1 week) we will notify the bank that they can have the house back. Don't know what that notice is called, but we do have to wait until after the 341. Sorry this isn't very helpful, but I am hoping others will read this thread and post what they know...

Good luck Tallberry,
getouttadebt

[tallberry]

No, actually, Getoutta, it is helpful. I really had no clue whether it was a month or six months or more. Heating bills on an empty house are still very expensive in IN because of such a nasty winter they are having (glad we moved to FL). i think our last bill was over $300! And insurance is about $125 a month. Do you know how it works with the property tax? Since it is a year in arrears, I would assume we are responsible for last years taxes or are they included in the BK? Sorry for the rambling questions....

[HHM]

You own the home and are responsible for the home until the lender completes the foreclosure process. Even when you surrender your home in BK, the lender still goes through the foreclosure process to require title. Until the foreclosure is complete, you own the home and are responsible for its care and upkeep. Thus, if you filed BK today, you could be responsible for the home for the next 4-8 months depending on how long foreclosure takes in your state.

[Minnymouth]

Since you are not living in the home there is NO REASON, why you can't drain the water lines, have the water and electric turned off, and gas heat turned off.

No reason to pay all those utilities if you don't need too...

And yes, you must maintain all insurance, property taxes, etc on the home as long as you own it. Since you are no long paying mortgage payments, you have nothing else going into escrow towards the property taxes that will be due this year also (your share of it). They will be your responsiblity for as long as the home is in your name. Same as the insurance.

Also, check your insurance policy and see how long it covers a house sitting empty... some don't cover this.

So the sooner you can surrender this home, the better for you.... hopefully they will file to have the stay lifted so they can foreclose right away...

Keep us posted.

[I want out]

Vacant house

We don't live in the house but I am assuming we will need to heat it and insure it until the bank takes it. If that is wrong thinking, please let me know. Also, about how long does it take...will I be notified or do they just take it?

You're not obligated to do anything with it.

I would suggest that you winterize it and cut off the utilities. No sense spending any more money on it.

The mortgage company should have field services checking it out each month, so if they determine that it's vacant, they'll probably change the locks. So, make sure that everything you intended to keep (possessions) is out of there.

[I want out]

[And yes, you must maintain all insurance, property taxes, etc on the home as long as you own it. Since you are no long paying mortgage payments, you have nothing else going into escrow towards the property taxes that will be due this year also (your share of it). They will be your responsiblity for as long as the home is in your name. Same as the insurance.]

Can you tell me how often this is done, in practice?

Nearly all foreclosures have a tax issue that the mortgage company has to deal with, so while you may be "responsible for it," I'm betting that the mortgage company gets stuck with the bill 99.99999% of the time.

[I want out]

[QUOTE=HHM;141735]Even when you surrender your home in BK, the lender still goes through the foreclosure process to require title.QUOTE]

Always?

I know a number of people who actually were paid by their mortgage companies to do a DIL, in Chapter 7 cases.

[kl030505]

As for property taxes, I can tell you that my attorney told us that when we surrender the home, we surrender the property tax liability as well. I am not paying home owners insurance either. My mortgage company took out it's own insurance policy when it was notified I didn't renew ours. They tacked it on to our mortgage payment, but since we are surrendering, it will be discharged.

We are still living in the home. We had our 341 meeting yesterday and the mortgage company hasn't even filed a relief of stay yet so the attorney told us we probably have 4-6 months more if we wanted. We plan to leave at the end of April though. When we do vacate, I will turn off all utilities.

Do you have an attorney? I would ask them. I might also call the mortgage company and ask them to do the DIL.

[HHM]

[QUOTE=I want out;141824]

Even when you surrender your home in BK, the lender still goes through the foreclosure process to require title.QUOTE]

Always?

I know a number of people who actually were paid by their mortgage companies to do a DIL, in Chapter 7 cases.

You can try to do a DIL...but it is still not common practice.

Generally speaking, there is a contrast between the legal obligations and the practical realities...

LEGALLY you are required to maintain the home in decent condition as long you are on the deed. And you are legally obligated to maintain insurance etc. However, in PRACTICE, most homeowners will dump the insurance and the bank will do their forced placed insurance, but that debt, along with all the other charges and expenses related to surrendering the home, get discharged in the BK, so its no big deal. Property Taxes can be more tricky and depends on the state, as a practical matter, the bank will assume the liability, and again charge your account, but that account gets dealt with in the BK.

There is an argument that if the homeowner was negligent or intentionally allowed substantial diminution in value of the property by not maintaining it, the bank may be able to get the debt declared non-dischargeable, but I have not seen that happen.

[tallberry]

I just had a meeting with my attorney and he said maintain the insurance, utilities and keep the grass mowed until your name is off of it. I forgot to ask him about HOA but ours are pretty cheap anyway ($200/annually).