Tennessee - approximate time I can stay in my house post-foreclosure?

[Clabbergirl]

Received a Notice of Sale which says my house will be auctioned on 2/24/11. I'm filing Chapter 7 but may not be able to do it by 2/24. I'm not keeping the house but would like to stay in it as long as I can post-sale. What kind of time frame have others in TN experienced between when it sells and when the mortgage company (Suntrust) kicks me out?

Everything I've heard from associates and friend-of-a-friend input has been that you can stay for many months, sometimes a year or more, and that the mortgage company will actually give you $ to move out (cash for keys). When I mentioned this to a lawyer, they said if I'm foreclosed before my BK is filed, I'll have to vacate within 2 weeks of sale. And if I don't, the mortgage co can sue me at a later date for 'rent' for all the months I stayed in the home. Is this accurate? It goes against everything I've ever read or heard about foreclosure in TN.

[ryan]

I'm not in Tennessee, but a little research shows most defaulted mortgages there are FC as NON-JUDICIAL...so the timeline moves real fast. Your associates and friends appear to be wrong: All the stuff about staying a year or more etc. does not square with Tenn laws at all, from what I've read.

Your atty would be the best resource for your questions, and from what I can tell he is 100% correct. If you could file BK before the sheriffs sale, it would 'stay' the FC sale for maybe 2 months, (estimate)...but otherwise, it looks like a few weeks after sale is confirmed, unfortunately, you'd probably have to be out.

Note: you might be able to get some amount for leaving it clean etc., but thats another matter.

[free2breathe]

We received notice of sale in TN. It was originally scheduled for June, but was postponed for 3 months. We were already out, because we'd been told that once the sale took place, we'd have to be out fairly quickly. The bank took the house back in Sept, and by November an REO sale closed and the new owner took possession. It moves fast.

[Clabbergirl]

Free2breathe, in your situation, the house sold in Sept and someone took possession of it by November, correct? That's about 2 months post-auction. That's better than 2 weeks. Do you know if it was purchased at the court-house sale? I understand every situation is different though. There have been houses in my subdivision that have been empty nearly a year. I have a realtor friend who told me not to get out until I am told, and then to ask for cash to do so. She said they will auction the house and unless it was purchased at the auction, they will hire a realtor to sell it. The realtor will contact me to leave so that he/she can prep the house for resale. I understand the lawyer has a valuable opinion, but I also know several people who have actually been in my position who's story is quite different. One more fallout of BK...

[free2breathe]

The latter was our case. BofA took the title back at foreclosure auction. They then hired a realtor to sell it as an REO. We may have been able to squeeze a couple months more out of it, but I didn't want to be forced out in a hurry or anything. We had a realtor working for us for several months trying to sell the house before the auction date. The economy was so depressed, there wasn't a chance it was going to sell. The realtor even tried the short sale approach, but we couldn't get WF to even hint at what they would take in a short sale. That makes it a bit hard to try to entice people to make offers.

Our foreclosure was prior to bk, so that made it more attractive for us to try to get it sold. Quite honestly though, my heart wasn't in it. We'd both lost our jobs, and there were no jobs for us in the area. We searched for quite a while (6 months for me, 6 weeks in-state for hubby before he left the state to find work elsewhere). Cash for keys is always an option to hope for though. A couple thousand simoleons in the hand to help with the moving expenses would have been nice.

[Clabbergirl]

My heart's not in keeping the house in any way. I'm sure when the time comes, I'll have some moments of reflection because we've lived there almost 9 years, planted a garden, buried a few pets in the backyard...that kind of putting-down-roots thing. But I'm working full time, in school full time, and have a teen daughter who's schooling/working. If I could ride out a few more months until July when I'm done with my schooling, a move would be much, much easier to take. Thank you for sharing your story though. It is such a gamble, not sure what to do. But I appreciate the input.

[ryan]

... I understand the lawyer has a valuable opinion, but I also know several people who have actually been in my position who's story is quite different. One more fallout of BK...

Just my opinion: I think unless you know ALL the specifics of your neighbor's situations you don't really 'know their story', so to speak.

After a year in FC (I'm in a judicial FC state) myself, I pay more attention to the neighborhood now. And I see people in my neighborhood who are long gone due to FC. Some left on their own before the sheriff's sale, and some stayed to the last hour of the last day. All that will not mean anything to me when it comes to my own specific FC and moving etc.
Lenders are not consistent in their policies (just look at short sales!) and can change on a dime.

...and as to 'cash for keys', the most generous offers go to homeowners who do a deed-in-lieu, for instance. But, once the lender owns the house, they're often not making as good an offer, if they make one at all. I do hope this all works out well for you, as it's a tough thing to go through.

[Clabbergirl]

Thank you, Ryan. I couldn't care less about the cash for keys thing honestly, it seems to good to be true and I would never believe it happens if not for this forum, and my realtor friend telling me she's actually had to do it for a mortgage company. I'm more concerned with the time I get to stay - I need a few more months to finish my school internship - and even if I manage to file before 2/24 - that may not grant me that (considering an automatic stay, and relief of it, etc.)

I've got some education loan refund $ that's pushed me over the exemption limit for TN, otherwise I would file right this minute. But I'm waiting to meet with another lawyer to see what he suggests with that. My first lawyer said hold off until that money is spent - which could take a month or two. Not sure what to do.

[Billssuck]

I think a person just never knows how long a foreclosure will take. Different states, different banks, and very different situations. As for me in Missouri, we're a non-judicial state for fc and from what I've read, fc moves quickly here. Uh...put on the brakes...I made my last mortgage payments (March 2010 for HELOC and April 2010 for 1st-both BOA) and almost nothing has happened yet. They haven't even gotten my automatic stay lifted yet to be able to communicate with me since I'm in a ch13. So...I sit here still in the house saving money for when we move. I have rented a very large storage unit and have started moving extra items into it in case we get booted quickly and all of a sudden I can put our furniture there and live with a relative short term, but virtually nothing has happened. I'm still holding my breath that something could happen any day. BTW a friend of mine from first missed payment to auction, was out in one year...and still I sit here !

[Clabbergirl]

Good idea about the storage space. The idea of trying to move everything in my house on a Saturday (which is the only day I have off every week) is almost too much to even imagine. I want to cry at the thought. Maybe some gradual moving will help to feel like I have a little control over the situation.