Comments on: Foreclosure: Questions and Answers

By: Candice

Candice — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:25:53 +0000

i was told that if my house forecloses, that i could “sell my keys to the bank” and they would give me a couple grand for them…. any truth to this? i’ve never heard of this before.
Also: i was told to gut the house and sell everything i could. Is this Illegal???

By: Terri Ament

Terri Ament — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:19:56 +0000

My mother in law filled out papers to stop a foreclosure. The lender has sent her a form requesting information on household income, she is choosing not to reply. The letter states that if she doesnt reply then they would consider the matter closed and would proceed accordingly what does this mean?

By: Ken Dudek

Ken Dudek — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:29:56 +0000

My wife and I are trying to keep up on our house – Due to my companies financial woes (I am an employee) we are burning up savings in the bank to keep up. Question is this, we have money in investments outside of our 401K’s and IRA’s, I have heard never to touch 401k’s, etc. – but what about regular investments? Am I better off not touching that money and risk losing the house? Or should I dip into them to keep us squared away until some of my commissions come in (which could be up to six months). Please advise me.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:18:46 +0000

Michael-
Wow – great answers and insight. as a real estate professional I often find that most people don’t know how to answer the hard questions- but you do! may I offer to your readers an article I wrote about what they can expect if they are in trouble? Again great site!!

By: jody

jody — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:45:07 +0000

if my foreclosed house was sold for less than i owed by the bank do i owe taxes on the loss?

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:22:50 +0000

James,

If you are the only person listed on the mortgage, only your credit will be affected…not your wifes.

By: Marietta Garrett

Marietta Garrett — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:14:13 +0000

In our area we have a problem with inland empire foreclosures and how to find south florida foreclosure homes – it really is difficult! Learning about the american housing rescue and foreclosure prevention act and finding government tax foreclosure properties is a drain – but I’m glad I found your mortgage blog to help out!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:19:24 +0000

Hello Michael,

So my question is in regards to a judicial judgment. If the property sells for more than what the judgment was made for, who gets the left over money.

Example: Property judgment is for 48,000.00 and it auctions for 53,000.00. Who gets the remaining 4k?

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:13:33 +0000

Hi,
My landlords house is in serious jepordy. They were within hours of losing it when they were allowed to enroll in somewhat of a “payback” program. I’m not sure what that means. All that I know is that they have to pay ON TIME for 6 months, and then can renegotiate the terms. At least that is the way they explained it to me. So here we are in month two of their deal, and they tell me that they don’t think they are going to make the payments after all. Obviously they are very stressed, and I feel for them. However, I have to worry what I, as a tenant (with children) am going to do? What is going to happen to us? Does the foreclosure process start all over again? Does it go much quicker this time? I was planning to move out of state in February anyway, so is it possible for me to work a deal with the bank or new owners? I’m at a loss at this point, please help.

By: Michael Emilio

Michael Emilio — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:31:02 +0000

@ James Spearman,

Banks always go after the full amount of your mortgage left unpaid – unless you do a short sale. This is when they agree to sell for a lower price to avoid having to go through the tedious and costly process of foreclosure. As for your wife, I would obviously consult a real estate lawyer to discuss your options. Since she’s not on the mortgage note, this should leave only you with the deficiency judgment, but will likely still severely affect her credit score. Still, every state is different, so consult a professional to find out what options you have.

@ Ms. Lorain,

You really need more information on this property. Do a CMA. What’s the true market value of this property? How much $ is left on the mortgage? Run the numbers – is what’s left on the mortgage worth more than the value of the home? If you run into too many snags along the way, just move on, there’s tons of pre-foreclosure properties out there.

@ Jeff,

Two years on the market? Ouch. Have you considered a short sale? Obviously, putting money into a property that’s going into foreclosure makes no sense – look at your options and if you’re going short sale, get a good short sale real estate agent. Here in South Florida short sales are now explicitly marked in the MLS so this should help short sale sellers get out of their situations faster.