Bank wont take property back...

smckaybiz · Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 12:23 pm Post subject: Bank wont take property back...

Please bare with me because this situation is very confusing but I really need some help. I live in the state of PA and the property I'm discussing also resides in PA. Back in 2004 me and my wife filed for a chapter 7 bankruptcy in which we surrendered the property back to the bank. But at the same time we were going through our bankruptcy our mortgage company had filed for bankruptcy themselves. The loan was then transferred to a company named Ocwen who is based out of Florida. They know that they can't come after us for the debt because of the bankruptcy but they refuse to foreclose and have the title transferred to them. They are also not willing to release the lien unless we decide to pay the old loan off. I also know that they had sent us a cancellation of debt tax form in the mail meaning they were using the loan cancellation as a tax write-off. Are they not required to either take the home or release the lien since, according to them, the debt no longer exists? I now have a tax lien showing on my credit from the year 2006 which I am not legally responsable for. I contacted the county tax office who told me that they won't remove it because the title is still in my name. Is there anything I can do here? I'm not trying to cheat anyone out of anything. I would either want them to have the title transferred to their name or release the lien so that I can sell the property for the amount of the backed taxes. I don't want to make any money out of the deal I just want this to be resolved once and for all.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

larry · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Posts: 3328 473.40 Dollars($)

Hi Scott.

Is it that the lender has accepted the deed in lieu? If they have accepted the DIL then why is the title still on your name? I think you should talk with the lender and ask him why the title of the property is still on your name.

If the lender has accepted the deed in lieu then you should not be liable for the due debt and also need not to pay tax on the forgiven debt.

Best of luck,
Larry

smckaybiz · Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:04 pm Post subject:

This may sound a little rediculous but what does deed in lieu mean? I don't think that they have accepted the deed in lieu. Do they have to foreclose on the home in order to have accepted the DIL? I just know that they have taken over the debt from the original mortgage holder that went bankrupt. It doesn't make much sence because they actually assumed the debt after it was already discharged in our CH7 bankruptcy. Too many bankruptcies going on here if you ask me. What can I say, we were young and naive at the time. The only reason we filed for bankruptcy was to rid ourselves of the obligation to the house. I may end up having to contact an ATTY about this but was just trying to equip myself with some more knowledge of the situation first. Would you mind explaining the whole DIL thing to me?

Thanks Larry

larry · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Posts: 3328 473.40 Dollars($)

Hi Scott.

Deed in lieu is one of the common process through which the delinquent home owner can avoid foreclosure. In thins process the home owner handover the property to the lender and the lender generally don't come after the borrower for the deficiency judgment.

As you have said "we surrendered the property back to the bank." I thought I might be that the band has accepted the deed in lieu.

To know more about deed in lieu of foreclosure check out the article at http://www.mortgagefit.com/deed-lieu.html

Hope thins helps.

Feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

Best of luck,
Larry

smckaybiz · Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 5:54 am Post subject:

Thanks again Larry. I don't think that a DIL is going to help me much because in this case I know that the bank does not want to take the property back because the home values have dropped so much in the location that the house is that it wouldn't be worth their time to take the property back. I just don't understand how after 4 years from the bankruptcy discharge something like a tax lien can show up and seriously damage my credit further. I had finally gotten my credit score back up to 700 when I found out that this was showing bringing my score down to the low 600's. It just doesn't seem right.

So the battle continues...

gmakerley · Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:56 am Post subject:

Scott, i am a bit dismayed that you mentioned earlier that you hadn't contacted an attorney in this regard.

i think that's a logical step to take at this time.

smckaybiz · Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject:

Well George, I thought the first logical step was to contact my original atty who handled my bankruptcy, which I did after about two months of me trying to call him without him returning my calls. After finally getting to speak with him he told me there was nothing I could do except for pay him money so he can write up some letters that I could send to the credit bureaus but there would be nothing from stopping tax liens to show back up in the future.

Never-the-less I am now considering contacting a different atty to review my bankruptcy case and see what legal actions I can take, if any. This all just happened recently and with my wife just graduating college and starting work, and my kids finishing up this school year my time has been very limited.

I was jsut trying to see if anyone else was familiar with this kind of a situation and might provide me with some more information...

cliff · Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:09 pm Post subject:

Hi Scott,

Have you considered a short sale?

smckaybiz · Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:00 pm Post subject:

I don't think the property is worth more than what was owed for it so I don't think that would work.

What exactly is a "short sale" anyways? Just flipping the property?

larry · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Posts: 3328 473.40 Dollars($)

Hi Scott.

Short sale is one of the popular ways to avoid foreclosure. If sells the property in less than what you owe to the lender then it is called short sale. It does not affect your credit as much as deed in lieu or foreclosure.

Feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

Best of luck,
Larry

cliff · Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:24 am Post subject:

Hi Scott & Larry,

That is correct it is where the lender accepts less than what is owed on the mortgage. Many times with damaged properties lenders are willing to do this.

When was the last time you spoke with your lender?

mapiscor · Joined: 11 Jun 2008 Posts: 2 1.80 Dollars($)

You've got a very complicated situation here, I was an employee of Ocwen from 2003-2007 ...I wish I could help, but in this situation...I dont think there ain't any option for discussion.
Sorry Scott, best of luck.

cliff · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject:

Hi mapiscor,

Is Ocwen still as bad now as they where back then?

smckaybiz · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:49 pm Post subject:

Cliff I can answer that for you, yes, and maybe worse. The first problem(as with most other customer service lines) is that the wait times are unreal to speak with someone. And the music they play does everything in its power to make you want to hang up the phone Laughing

.

If you have a real problem with them and you need additional assistance I would recommend contacting the office of the comsumer Ombudsman(800)390-4656. Don't try to contact their customer service because it more than likely will be a big let down. After dealing with their customer service dept for more than 2 years I found out about this other dept and they were much more able to assist me. I hope this helps anybody else who ever has to deal with Ocwen. Smile

cliff · Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject:

Great information thanx. Very Happy

We will use it to assist the clients we help. By the way we help people with mortgage problems for free. We depend on people who are knowledgeable to help out those in need.

If you are interested e-mail me and check out our website.

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