Foreclosure vs. Deed in Lieu -- Help please!

[Poorhouse64]

I surrendered the house in BK, Ch 7, discharged 07/2010.
Stopped paying & house vacant for a year.

Which is better? Do a Deed in Lieu or proceed with the bank's slow foreclosure process?

I called the bank (7 weeks ago) about a Deed in Lieu and they were supposed to do the title search and send me the 7-page Deed in Lieu package. They never sent the paperwork.

I called again today and they NOW say they would send the Deed in Lieu paperwork only after I give them FAXED written permission to change the locks (permanently) so that they could enter the house and do an "interior inspection" to ensure it was in "broom swept condition."

When I asked them why they needed to change the locks (and take possession of the house) the loss mitigation bank lady got extremely hostile. I'm fine with them changing the locks AFTER my name is off the title, but the lady just got madder & madder.....

Then she said even though I surrendered this house in BK, my credit score would be further ruined for life if I let this go to foreclosure instead of deed in lieu. I argued that NO....the credit score must show $0 Balance Included in Bankruptcy... (not default of $350k mortgage thru foreclosure... to which she snottily replied: "believe what you want to believe"....) Scare tactics?

What to do? Does it really matter what I do with this house??? Deed in Lieu or Foreclosure? Either way, the bank is (and always has been) just impossible to deal with. I just wanted the BK to be over and my name off that title of that vacant house as soon as possible with as little pain & suffering as possible. What to do?

[Poorhouse64]

.... or am I worried over nothing? Should I not CARE if/when the vacant surrendered house goes back to the bank via Deed in Lieu or Foreclosure?

Is any of this REALLY my problem?

I worry so much......

[13for60]

Having done a Deed-in-Lieu in 2000 or so, this process is different that what I want through, however it sounds reasonable. Let's face it - they already own the house, what we're trying to do is speed up the process that removes us from them.

An interior inspection is important for the lender. Some people, believe it or not, when faced with foreclosure will strip the house of EVERYTHING - light fixtures, flooring, cabinets, windows - you name it. The mortgage company needs to make sure all us well before they continue. IMHO it appears reasonable and a sign of good faith on your part.

ALthough it's still reported as a foreclosure, DILs offer some advantages: immediate separation of the borrower from the loan, cost savings associated for the foreclosure for the lender, and there is even some debate that a DIL affects the borrowers credit somewhat more favorably that a full-on foreclosure.

Mine went without a hitch and never came up during any subsequent credit applications.

Collection Agents are cut from a certain cloth. I could never do that job in a million years. The guy i worked with on my DIL was a royal jerk the entire time, but I refused to let him get to me and everything he said would happen came through. Once you sign the deeb back to the lender you are done.

Hope this helps.

--13for60

[Poorhouse64]

Well instead of the bank sending the DIL paperwork as promised, they had their attorney send a collection notice (???) The house was surrendered in the BK.

So either the bank or the attorney's office doesn't know what's going on...... and neither do I.

I'd love to get my name off of the title.