house query

[B65]

Ok so the house across the street sold same size and land as mine.... little newer at $325. my dilema is we have decided to give the house up..do not want the $2450 piti payment we owe $292k. When we miss our first payment hopefully Feb should I try to sell it as well..... we will put the money in the bank anyhow..... so i could try to get the 292k plus broker fees, and maybe an extra 15k so we would walk out of here with the same 15k savings as if we just left it. My only reason for wanting to try is, I am a local Realtor and it is a small town, everyone around here and all my work associates will know I have foreclosed, so to me it is worth trying to sell, would you? and if anyone did this and sold how much interest and late fees did they tack on in the time it took to sell right now mine charges $100 per month if you are late, but wondering if that goes up a lot when you are in foreclosure?

thanks B

[StartingOver08]

Well, as Realtor to Realtor, I can tell you - since you seem to have a little equity to cover the selling agents' commission, put it on for a good price - meaning you may have to not get your $15k. Ask yourself, is the $15k real or not - I know you really put it down, what I am saying is by the time you add the cost to sell, there is not $15k left based on the comp you provided in your post. So that $15k is not really there, is it? If you can sell it for the same, or close to the other comp after your discharge then do that to save face - but not to walk out with money because that is not very likely given the comp you provided.

Your other option is to not bother and just surrender the house in BK and live in the property for as long as you can while saving enough funds to move. You would need to file a motion to surrender if you did not choose to surrender in the original petition.

When you are in foreclosure there are a ton of fees the lender adds - BPO fees, property inspection fees, default interest fees, attorney fees, on and on....The amount quickly spirals out of control.

[B65]

Thanks for the input

i would not change my petition as right now I am current on my mortgage and would only decide after discharge, we said we would revisit the talk of letting the house go after we get our discharge . with paying the $292 if i did not take my comisson i would need to get 305 to pay the mortgage and the other broker and other agent so if i sold it for 320 then i could get a little equity, but to be honest as you said they put so many other fees on while in foreclosure, .. it would not be worth it, I wont have to pay anything extra as the house was listed in bankruptcy so i would not have to pay the legal fees or definciency.. to be honest i always seem to make the wrong decisions and I feel that if we forclose i could save the 15k i would get for not paying for 6 months and that is a good chunk for us to put away for our future and fresh start.. i would only be going through the hassle of selling to save face for neighbours and work associates.. is it really worth the hassle to save face? probably not.. I should just pocket the 15k and consider myself lucky.. I just don't want to make the wrong decision.

Thanks B

[StartingOver08]

Now you are thinking!! I am in the same spot you are - I am a Realtor (for 30 years). I am surrendering my home in the BK plus a rental property that I own (did own!). I no longer feel shame about not being able to sell it before as I am $200k UPSIDE DOWN (1st mtg principal bal $579k plus 2nd mtg $62k and the most I could get for it today is about $400k - last one sold for $455k in July 2008).

So, my attorney said stay here until the bank gets a judgement to sell it - he thinks that I have at least 45 to 60 more days after discharge - maybe more (stopped paying in May 2008). I plan to use this time to truly start over and not take on debt.

In my area many, many Realtors are having to file - career Realtors -not part timers that just got in when the business got good. Think about what is best for you. You and your family are the ones that count - don't worry about what the others think.

[suzy6]

sorry but did I misunderstand you? You would consider letting the house go after your bankruptcy discharge! If the bank sells the house at a loss, which, considering your equity you can be sure they would, you would be responsible for the shortfall. Heck of a way to start over

[B65]

suzy you are wrong

the house is listed in my bankruptcy, I could walk away from this house anytime in my life, I never reaffirmed the mortgage they can never come after me for any difference.

that is my fresh start.

[StartingOver08]

sorry but did I misunderstand you? You would consider letting the house go after your bankruptcy discharge! If the bank sells the house at a loss, which, considering your equity you can be sure they would, you would be responsible for the shortfall. Heck of a way to start over

I surrendered the house too. Once you surrender in the BK - then the bank can not come after you for the shortfall - that is the point of a BK - you are discharging the debt.

[B65]

I think

suzy thought that if I let it go after Discharge then I would be liable.... Once a debt is listed in Bankruptcy, it gets discharged wether you are continuing to pay or not, and that is for the life of the loan Suzy, the only way to change that is to reaffirm.

[monkatom]

Sorry to thread Jack. Starting over you mentioned the OP would need to file a motion to surrender if not done in the original petition is that only because they have yet to be discharged? Just curious as I intended to keep house was discharged in May and have now decided to stop making payments so i wanted to make sure I did not need to do additional paperwork.
Thanks

[B65]

no

so long as you were current while awaiting discharge ....once you have been discharged what you do after that is up to you.... or so i believe


B

[willsurvive]

So what if we aren't current? We intended to stay and were current the day we filed, but now we are talking about letting the house go. We are also looking at a possible loan modification. We are awaiting discharge March 2. We also are well under the means test. But we are now late because we really can't afford the payment.

[suzy6]

Sorry guys, I had thought that for you to keep the property after discharge reaffirmation agreements would have to be completed