How long were you able to stay?

[1967]

I used to be really nice with my bank and never missed a payment. Between job layoffs and spending all our savings and investments to save the house we are now out of money.....and very angry. We tried to talk to the bank and work things out but they tread you like dirt. 20 years of perfect credit and perfect payments means nothing to them. You would think they would view our relationship as a partnership but they don't, boy was I a fool to think like that.

Anyhow, my wife and I haven't made a payment in 10 months. We are filing for chapter 7 in 3 weeks. Last week I got served with papers that the bank is foreclosing and the letter says we need to get back to them within 20 days with a response.

I think if I time it right I can file for BK and the foreclosure stops. That will buy me at least another 3 months. Once that ends I think the bank will start the foreclosure process again and that should take 3-4 months on top of the 3. Then I was told once the foreclosure happens it has to go to a sheriffs sale, and that should take another 4-6 months.

I have a few neighbors homes that are foreclosures and are NOT selling right next to me.

From what I understand the bank can't kick me out until after the sheriff sale, then it's a matter of following eviction laws.

I used to be a nice guy back when I followed every rule in the book, and I have been honest my whole life. But I'm at a point now where I will ride this as long as humanly possible, and I will stay here rent free as long as I can.

1967

[keepswimming]

Thank you again.

I sort of wish we wanted to stay in this area, so we could live in this house "rent free" as you all call it. I had never considered that, or knew it was even an option. Hopefully, though a job in another state will become available sooner than all of this hits the fan once and for all. As we search for jobs, though, I am starting to think that stopping paying the mortgage may give us more opportunities that would not be there otherwise. I doubt anyone would buy our house without us doing some repairs we cannot afford, and the stress of selling a house is one I barely survived when I was eight years younger! I still have many questions, and need to pray more about all this, but I am just about ready to put a fork in Plan A.

[jlmaca]

jlmaca,

The attorney gave me a stack of paperwork to fill out and mail back to him. I cannot imagine we would be a 13....
Still paying the mortgage, with our Church's help. Have not paid feb. yet. I guess I am still not convinced of the direction we should go. Flat out, trying to be totally objective, no matter which way we go (with debt solution co or with BK,) we are going to face several years of feeling the bondage and consequences. So my gut is telling me we should surrender now and try to get a drastic new game plan as soon as possible in order to get on with life. Either way, we will be without a way to get a new mortgage for quite some time, and will be faced with the fact that we will not qualify for the good rates any more (for a mortgage). But, it is what it is, and I cannot imagine trying to pay even the settlements on the cc the way it is. The game is over. Has been for a long time and we have not been ready to admit it.

Thank you for your response. I hope to learn lots more here.

I cannot advise you however, My wife & I had a similar situation and procrastinated about BK for 2 years. We paid our mortgage on and off for that period of time pondering our dilemma. Finally we decided that it would be best to cut our losses filed BK lost the house and started anew. We closed BK Dec 09. We still live in the house and are not paying the mortgage. We are saving the money for a new start. We have not even received a notice from the bank that our house is in default and have not made a payment for 6 months. We are greatly relieve that our debt is gone. I think maybe you said it yourself, "the game is over." Yes our credit is trashed for years to come. No new mortgage for 2 years mimimum. Other than that high rates for car loans etc... Plus you'll have some explaining to do during home rental investigation but that can be overcome. Many of my lifelong friends are going through this mess. It's not like landlords are going to be shocked. If you make a decision to fight through, do some down to earth hard core budgeting and stick to it or you will delay the inevitable and waste tons of money paying for a mortgage and CC that you can get dishcharged.

[keepswimming]

jlmaca,

The attorney gave me a stack of paperwork to fill out and mail back to him. I cannot imagine we would be a 13....
Still paying the mortgage, with our Church's help. Have not paid feb. yet. I guess I am still not convinced of the direction we should go. Flat out, trying to be totally objective, no matter which way we go (with debt solution co or with BK,) we are going to face several years of feeling the bondage and consequences. So my gut is telling me we should surrender now and try to get a drastic new game plan as soon as possible in order to get on with life. Either way, we will be without a way to get a new mortgage for quite some time, and will be faced with the fact that we will not qualify for the good rates any more (for a mortgage). But, it is what it is, and I cannot imagine trying to pay even the settlements on the cc the way it is. The game is over. Has been for a long time and we have not been ready to admit it.

Thank you for your response. I hope to learn lots more here.

[jlmaca]

I met with an attorney yesterday. I still have many questions.

As briefly as I can I will describe our situation:
65K cc debt (mostly business expenses)
Mtg 140k, not sure what the current MV would be...perhaps 120k?

Our income has been drastically reduced in the past two years. Struggling/applying for new jobs, etc...but still no change in income. Church is helping us to pay utilities, etc.
We signed up with a debt solutions company back in May. We pay them 332 per month, but we cannot afford this either. Not sure if I should cancel that program asap or keep researching more about BK first.

Many of the jobs we are applying for/looking for are in other states. We really want to move so that we can be closer to more opportunities for our entire family. Our home is currently "off the grid"...which means LOTS of driving for all of us, not being close to other families, not close to the school, church, or cities where more work opportunities exist. Mtg payment is 1200/month and we are considering BK and perhaps Foreclosure. Just depends if any of these job apps turn out to be anything to open the door for us to move or not.

I am really afraid to try to sell the home traditionally for many obvious reasons. We actually had two house payments when we first moved here eight years ago. Our home in AZ took over a year to sell and it almost sunk us. We kept on trying and got dug out of that mess, only to dig ourselves into another hole with business, etc. We need a new start and not sure what order to try to do things in.

Any advice on any of these aspects would be greatly appreciated. Though we know in our hearts that very few of our family's needs are being met out here in the middle of nowhere, I am really nervous about moving after a BK, realizing that we could not really do it now, the way things are, either.

I am also nervous that if we do decide to file, we may have to wait 90 days since we kept paying three of the cc's that agreed to zero percent for x number of months. we quit paying all the others back in may/june. This may show preferential.

Thanks in advance...

Join the crowd, you are not alone in these tuff times. What did your attorney recommend? Chap 13 or 7? Are you still paying your mortgage? If you are serious about BK stop paying the debt solution company....

[keepswimming]

I met with an attorney yesterday. I still have many questions.

As briefly as I can I will describe our situation:
65K cc debt (mostly business expenses)
Mtg 140k, not sure what the current MV would be...perhaps 120k?

Our income has been drastically reduced in the past two years. Struggling/applying for new jobs, etc...but still no change in income. Church is helping us to pay utilities, etc.
We signed up with a debt solutions company back in May. We pay them 332 per month, but we cannot afford this either. Not sure if I should cancel that program asap or keep researching more about BK first.

Many of the jobs we are applying for/looking for are in other states. We really want to move so that we can be closer to more opportunities for our entire family. Our home is currently "off the grid"...which means LOTS of driving for all of us, not being close to other families, not close to the school, church, or cities where more work opportunities exist. Mtg payment is 1200/month and we are considering BK and perhaps Foreclosure. Just depends if any of these job apps turn out to be anything to open the door for us to move or not.

I am really afraid to try to sell the home traditionally for many obvious reasons. We actually had two house payments when we first moved here eight years ago. Our home in AZ took over a year to sell and it almost sunk us. We kept on trying and got dug out of that mess, only to dig ourselves into another hole with business, etc. We need a new start and not sure what order to try to do things in.

Any advice on any of these aspects would be greatly appreciated. Though we know in our hearts that very few of our family's needs are being met out here in the middle of nowhere, I am really nervous about moving after a BK, realizing that we could not really do it now, the way things are, either.

I am also nervous that if we do decide to file, we may have to wait 90 days since we kept paying three of the cc's that agreed to zero percent for x number of months. we quit paying all the others back in may/june. This may show preferential.

Thanks in advance...

[232323]

thanks for the quick and informative reply debtstinks.

the bank haven't served me a NOD just yet. i guess if they were to serve one right now, the latest, i will have to move out is around june/july 2010. is this correct?

now, when the house goes on sale and no one bids on it, is it possible for me to live in the house while it is being sold as a REO property? many of my neighbors are doing the same but i do not know their entire situation.

[DebtStinks]

i live in modesto, ca. i haven't paid my mortgage since janaury 2009. Filed for chapter7 bankruptcy in march 2009 and got discharged/closed late september 2009.

it's now feb 2010. does anyone know when the bank (b of a) kick me out of my home? when i filed for bankruptcy, b of a, did not start the foreclosure process. all they did was send me letters to pay them asap.

does the bank need to give me the time table like someone who is in foreclosure with notices of default, notices of trustee sale and etc?

i also did not pay my home insurance and in one of the letters (sent jan 2010), the bank assumed that i am not living in the house? should i call them and tell them that i am still living in it? shouldnt they send me a letter telling me that they are going to kick me out and i have X amount of days to move out?

i do not want to contact them via phone because i dont want them to kick me out just yet. i enjoy living in the house that i am in right now. what should i do? i am a general contractor and my business has been very slow. thanks, guys!

Have they served you with at NOD? You can look it up at your county recorders:

http://www.criis.com/stanislaus/srecord_current.shtml

I'm going to assume that since you stopped paying in Jan. 09 and filed in Mar. 09 that you didn't receive a NOD before your BK... and odds are you haven't been served with one yet (look it up at the link above).

Once BofA files the NOD you will have 3 months... then they will publish a sale date for 3 weeks. Then the house goes to auction. Once sold they will post a 3 day Notice to Vacate on the house. It's the same process regardless of your BK.

[232323]

i live in modesto, ca. i haven't paid my mortgage since janaury 2009. Filed for chapter7 bankruptcy in march 2009 and got discharged/closed late september 2009.

it's now feb 2010. does anyone know when the bank (b of a) kick me out of my home? when i filed for bankruptcy, b of a, did not start the foreclosure process. all they did was send me letters to pay them asap.

does the bank need to give me the time table like someone who is in foreclosure with notices of default, notices of trustee sale and etc?

i also did not pay my home insurance and in one of the letters (sent jan 2010), the bank assumed that i am not living in the house? should i call them and tell them that i am still living in it? shouldnt they send me a letter telling me that they are going to kick me out and i have X amount of days to move out?

i do not want to contact them via phone because i dont want them to kick me out just yet. i enjoy living in the house that i am in right now. what should i do? i am a general contractor and my business has been very slow. thanks, guys!

[liboton21]

He may ask what your intent is as to the home. In my case the trustee in Riverside didn't even bother. Good luck with the loan mod. BofA sure didn't work for me. I'm amazed that you are current on your first and they are talking loan mod. Be careful, those in-house mods just postpone the inevitable..They put it all on the back of the note and in the end, you will still overpay. By the way, don't get nervous about the 341. The hardest part is the parking in downtown Riverside. Hang 2 lefts after the metal detectors and relax..

I went to Las Vegas NACA STD to lower my IR and they are pushing for a mod. I do not mind staying in the house if my monthly is low. Thanks for the 341 tip.

[bulletproof77]

He may ask what your intent is as to the home. In my case the trustee in Riverside didn't even bother. Good luck with the loan mod. BofA sure didn't work for me. I'm amazed that you are current on your first and they are talking loan mod. Be careful, those in-house mods just postpone the inevitable..They put it all on the back of the note and in the end, you will still overpay. By the way, don't get nervous about the 341. The hardest part is the parking in downtown Riverside. Hang 2 lefts after the metal detectors and relax..

[liboton21]

I'm current on 1st but not paying 2nd since August property was way underwater in Riverside since my neighborhood was hit with FC. I have a pending loan mod with BofA both 1st and second thru NACA. My 341 is next month, since I'm in a active loan mod should I stop paying? Will trustee ask me about it on my 341? Also, BofA currently being sued by NY Atty Gen so it should probably hold-off a lot of FC.

[bulletproof77]

Got my NOD 09/09 (CW/BofA-Southern Cal. San Bernardino County-Foreclosure capital of the world)...All the bank has done is do a substitution of trustee to Recon-Trust, they absolutely refuse to issue a Trust Sale Notice. I check Re-con Trusts website and the County Recorder and nothing. What is interesting is that my small second with Mid-First Bank HAS initiated foreclosure. I BK'd first and second and am long discharged. Just want this chapter over with..."Take this house-PLEASE"....

[seriously]

house was included in Chap 7. That case was closed in Nov 09. Haven't made a payment since June 09. Have received NOD but no sale date set. I am moving out of state in about 2 months regardless. Ny state/Wells Fargo.

[DebtStinks]

Funny I have a Countrywide/ BOA loan and they've been extremely efficient in moving forward. Only thing so far is that they pushed back the sale by a week.

What state are you in? How underwater are you or do you have equity?

It really might depend on your area... where I'm at there are TONS of bank owned homes on the market. If they were to dump more it would drive the prices down more on properties which would increase their losses.