Can we just walk away from our house?

[ezgo68]

My wife and I filed chapter 7 in April 2007 and were discharged a couple days ago. When we filed we were planning on keeping the house because we really love it. We DID NOT reafirm the loan but have kept up on the payments. Now we are thinking that we can't really afford the house after all because the payment takes up 53% of our income.

1. Can we just walk away from this house since it was discharged?
2. Is it still ours to sell if we could?
3. If we just stop making the payment and save that money, how long until we would be kicked out?

Our mortgage is through Wells Fargo.

Thanks!

[JRScott]

1. As long as you did not reaffirm you could walk away without owing anything .

2. I believe you could still sell it if you wanted to. Might ask your lawyer to be sure

3. I'm not qualified to answer that, probably from a few months to possibly a year, depending on the system in your state.

[Beach Bum]

This is exactally what our lawyer is advising us to do after our discharge. Stop making payments, list it for sale to cover what you owe and just let it foreclose if you don't get any buyers. All the while saving up what payment you would of been making.
Here in CA the process takes a minimum of 111 days, probally longer due to the shear volume of foreclosures in this housing bust.

[HHM]

The responses you have received so far are right on...

1. If you did not reaffirm, then you can walk away without any risk of a deficiency balance.

2. You can sell it, but you have to sell it at a price that will fully satisfy the amount you owe unless you can get the bank to agree to a "short sale". The reason you have to sell it at a price to fully satisfy the lenders is because their lien on the home is still valid, and therefore you need the bank to sign off on the sale in order to pass clear title to the buyer.

3. Your state law will tell you exactly how long you have for a foreclosure process, but in general, foreclosures take 4-8 months depending on the state.

[ezgo68]

We live in Missouri. Does anyone know how long the forclosure process takes here. Does the timer start the day of your last payment or the first day after the next payment due date?

[lrprn]

We live in Missouri. Does anyone know how long the forclosure process takes here. Does the timer start the day of your last payment or the first day after the next payment due date?

If your mortgage agreement contains a power of sale clause, then a MO foreclosure can be done without going to court first. That speeds up the process quite a bit - it could be as little as 60 days.

For the details about foreclosure in Missouri, see http://stopforeclosure.com/Missouri_Foreclosure_Law.htm