Posted on: 26th Jun, 2006 12:02 am
Hello All,
I am new here, and feel very fortunate to have found this place. I hope I can get some responses to help me out, as I know NOTHING about forclosure, bankruptcy or anyother thing like that.
Here is my story and problem.
I decided to leave my mother's apartment and buy a house last year. I started looking around September.
I found some nice houses that were in my price range, but none really stuck out to me. A month went by, and I was actually starting to lose interest in moving into a house. Then in late November I found a decent looking house that was in my price range, that was right up the road from my mother's apartment, and it also had special downpayment assistance available for those with qualifying incomes.
I checked it out, liked it, and got pre-approved for a loan. I wemt through the process of trying to get the downpayment assistance, and I found out that I made/make only about 55% of the median income and qualified for $18,000 in downpayment assistance. I was very excited. I went through with the home inspections, etc, and I ended up buying it.
The house was $73,000, and with the downpayment assistance I only needed a $55,000 loan, so my payments were/are low
The conditions of the downpayment assistance is something like:
If I stay in the home less than5 years, I have to pay it all back
If I stay in the home 5 years, I pay 50% of it back
Each year over 5 years knocks off an additional 10%, until it reaches 10 years then I don't have to repay any of it.
Sounds good. I was even thinking of making enough extra payments so when the 10 years is up and I'm forgiven of the assistance I'd have my mortgage paid off too, sell the house for a straight profit, and then put most or all of it ass downpayment for a brand new home built wherever I chose.....Didn't work out like that.
Here are the problems...
Let's sum it up first by saying, the Home Inspecter SCREWED ME BAD.
I moved in. I see that some how the seller had her carpet laid on top of the REAL carpet where it was't noticeable, but now it was taken up and I'm left with stained carpted that ABSOLUTELY must be replaced. Oh yeah, ALL through the house (living room and 3 bedrooms). That will cost me about $1000.
NEXT
I come home from work one day and my front windows are all knocked out. Turns out that the previous owner had problems with someone who thought that she still lived there. Welp, there goes $200 a window for some good replacement windows.
NEXT
I come home from my mother's apartment after a heavy rain, and I see that the property has poor drainage. BIG water puddles ALL OVER the yard. I'm starting to get aggrevated.
NEXT
THe seller's stove, which was left in accordance to our agreement, stopped working. Since it was a gas stove and gas prices are outrageous and gas is dangerous I bought a new electric replacement stove( $750).
NEXT
Since the original stove was gas, I needed an electric line ran from my breaker panel to my stove so that my oven would work. I knew/know a guy that would do the work for just the cost of the supplies. Great! So he comes over and decides that running the line under the house in the crawl space would be the best way. So, I go to unlock the crawlspace to let him in and....BAM! I didn't know my house came with a swimming pool in my crawlspace!? Water ALL OVER the crawlspace from the previous rain when my yard puddled up, about 2 inches deep. The vapor barrier was useless against that much moisture. It was floating in the water. We shine a flash light under there and we see a water line on a couple of the peirs that proves that this has been a recurring problem, AND it has been worse at one time or another. I'm thinking how in the *blank* didn't the home inspector see that this house has water issues. Also one of the peirs had crumbled a bit at the base, probably from so much standing water over a long period of time. But, the inspector never mentioned ANY of this.
NEXT
I call the home inspector and tell him about it. He comes over and pumps the water out and urges me to get a sump pump and a sump pit. He offers to help me do it. So I buy the sump pump, pit, gravel, pipe, and accesories ( $400). We end up only having enough pipe and gravel for the back wall. So, that's all we did. BUT it did/does help get rid of a lot of the water.
NEXT
During the next rain I notice that the pump is cutting on about every 10-15 minutes. So I'm very curious as to how THAT much water can find it's way under my house THAT fast. So I go out in the rain and look at what's going on. Welp, my gutters were leaking. No water coming out of the downspouts, the water just leaked right next to the foundation. But what I noticed next was that on the back of the house the gutters don't go all the way to the edge on the right side, so water was running straight off of the roof and falling right next to my foundation. Turns out that the gutters had little army men and toys lodged right in the way for the water to flow down the downspouts. But even when I unstopped them, they still leak too much. Now I need new gutters. $$$
NEXT
I notice that water sits right next to the foundation on the right side of my home. Not is it only from the gutters not running the length of my roof, or them leaking, but my neighbors house is higher than mine on that side and I'm getting a lot of his runoff. But the real pain is that I have no grade on the sides and the back, my lot is perfectly flat on those points, so the water has nowhere to go but just sit next to my foundation.
So now I need to have some grading done, or atleast a swale...$$$$$$$
NOW
A storm came through while I was at work and damaged my shed. And also, now my car is having problems.
I still need the carpet, $1000. The estimates for the work under the house average about $3000. The grading estimates average about $1700. I need new gutters, front, back and downspouts, $400. I don't know what is wrong with my car yet, but that will be money too.
Here is a BIG problem with getting that list^ done. I have a credit card that is $100 from being maxed out ($1900).
AND since my downpayment assistance counts as a Second Mortgage, no lender will give me a loan. They all say that they don't want to be 3rd in line to get their money if something goes wrong. Having a near maxed out credit card didn't help that either.
So, I'm 24, live by myself, have NO WAY of getting these URGENT improvements done to my house, I'm in credit card debt, and all the while with each rain my house is slowly getting more water damage. Eventually I'll have to pay for water damage repairs which will be $1000's if I can't get these things done.
It would take me atleast a year to get the waterproofing done under my house, and that's with all my money focused on THAT and nothing else, except for bills and food. All the while I'm walking on plastic in my house over the horrible carpet.
So lets say a year is passed, I saved up the $3000 for the waterproofing. Ok, NOW I have to focus ALL my available money on the grading, which will take about 6 months, and I'll still be walking on plastic.
As bad as that seems, that is BEST CASE SCENERIO. That's if NOTHING else goes wrong, and if it did, it would take evern longer.
How to get rid of mortgage and house payments?
I don't have the money for all these repairs, and I don't want to sit back and watch my house deteriorate and end up costing me even more. Eventually I would have to fix way too much just to be able to sell the house. It is pointless spending all my money and all my years JUST fixing things. I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. This has been a terrible expereince for me. I very much want to get back to my apartment lifestyle, which suited my income much better. No repairs, nothing.
PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME!!
I don't know ANYTHING about what I need to do.
I'm thinking of filing for the chapter7 bankruptcy, if it will keep me from having to pay back anything that the mortgage company or the downpayment assistance people might try to make me pay.
But then, would I be able to get into an apartment?
Should I get an apartment RIGHT BEFORE I file for bankruptcy?
Should I get an apartment, let the house foreclose, and then if they try to get me to pay the remainder of the balance and/or the $18000 back, THEN file bankrupt?
I don't know what to do. All i know is that I wanna GET OUT OF HERE.
Please please please help me!!! :(
I am new here, and feel very fortunate to have found this place. I hope I can get some responses to help me out, as I know NOTHING about forclosure, bankruptcy or anyother thing like that.
Here is my story and problem.
I decided to leave my mother's apartment and buy a house last year. I started looking around September.
I found some nice houses that were in my price range, but none really stuck out to me. A month went by, and I was actually starting to lose interest in moving into a house. Then in late November I found a decent looking house that was in my price range, that was right up the road from my mother's apartment, and it also had special downpayment assistance available for those with qualifying incomes.
I checked it out, liked it, and got pre-approved for a loan. I wemt through the process of trying to get the downpayment assistance, and I found out that I made/make only about 55% of the median income and qualified for $18,000 in downpayment assistance. I was very excited. I went through with the home inspections, etc, and I ended up buying it.
The house was $73,000, and with the downpayment assistance I only needed a $55,000 loan, so my payments were/are low
The conditions of the downpayment assistance is something like:
If I stay in the home less than5 years, I have to pay it all back
If I stay in the home 5 years, I pay 50% of it back
Each year over 5 years knocks off an additional 10%, until it reaches 10 years then I don't have to repay any of it.
Sounds good. I was even thinking of making enough extra payments so when the 10 years is up and I'm forgiven of the assistance I'd have my mortgage paid off too, sell the house for a straight profit, and then put most or all of it ass downpayment for a brand new home built wherever I chose.....Didn't work out like that.
Here are the problems...
Let's sum it up first by saying, the Home Inspecter SCREWED ME BAD.
I moved in. I see that some how the seller had her carpet laid on top of the REAL carpet where it was't noticeable, but now it was taken up and I'm left with stained carpted that ABSOLUTELY must be replaced. Oh yeah, ALL through the house (living room and 3 bedrooms). That will cost me about $1000.
NEXT
I come home from work one day and my front windows are all knocked out. Turns out that the previous owner had problems with someone who thought that she still lived there. Welp, there goes $200 a window for some good replacement windows.
NEXT
I come home from my mother's apartment after a heavy rain, and I see that the property has poor drainage. BIG water puddles ALL OVER the yard. I'm starting to get aggrevated.
NEXT
THe seller's stove, which was left in accordance to our agreement, stopped working. Since it was a gas stove and gas prices are outrageous and gas is dangerous I bought a new electric replacement stove( $750).
NEXT
Since the original stove was gas, I needed an electric line ran from my breaker panel to my stove so that my oven would work. I knew/know a guy that would do the work for just the cost of the supplies. Great! So he comes over and decides that running the line under the house in the crawl space would be the best way. So, I go to unlock the crawlspace to let him in and....BAM! I didn't know my house came with a swimming pool in my crawlspace!? Water ALL OVER the crawlspace from the previous rain when my yard puddled up, about 2 inches deep. The vapor barrier was useless against that much moisture. It was floating in the water. We shine a flash light under there and we see a water line on a couple of the peirs that proves that this has been a recurring problem, AND it has been worse at one time or another. I'm thinking how in the *blank* didn't the home inspector see that this house has water issues. Also one of the peirs had crumbled a bit at the base, probably from so much standing water over a long period of time. But, the inspector never mentioned ANY of this.
NEXT
I call the home inspector and tell him about it. He comes over and pumps the water out and urges me to get a sump pump and a sump pit. He offers to help me do it. So I buy the sump pump, pit, gravel, pipe, and accesories ( $400). We end up only having enough pipe and gravel for the back wall. So, that's all we did. BUT it did/does help get rid of a lot of the water.
NEXT
During the next rain I notice that the pump is cutting on about every 10-15 minutes. So I'm very curious as to how THAT much water can find it's way under my house THAT fast. So I go out in the rain and look at what's going on. Welp, my gutters were leaking. No water coming out of the downspouts, the water just leaked right next to the foundation. But what I noticed next was that on the back of the house the gutters don't go all the way to the edge on the right side, so water was running straight off of the roof and falling right next to my foundation. Turns out that the gutters had little army men and toys lodged right in the way for the water to flow down the downspouts. But even when I unstopped them, they still leak too much. Now I need new gutters. $$$
NEXT
I notice that water sits right next to the foundation on the right side of my home. Not is it only from the gutters not running the length of my roof, or them leaking, but my neighbors house is higher than mine on that side and I'm getting a lot of his runoff. But the real pain is that I have no grade on the sides and the back, my lot is perfectly flat on those points, so the water has nowhere to go but just sit next to my foundation.
So now I need to have some grading done, or atleast a swale...$$$$$$$
NOW
A storm came through while I was at work and damaged my shed. And also, now my car is having problems.
I still need the carpet, $1000. The estimates for the work under the house average about $3000. The grading estimates average about $1700. I need new gutters, front, back and downspouts, $400. I don't know what is wrong with my car yet, but that will be money too.
Here is a BIG problem with getting that list^ done. I have a credit card that is $100 from being maxed out ($1900).
AND since my downpayment assistance counts as a Second Mortgage, no lender will give me a loan. They all say that they don't want to be 3rd in line to get their money if something goes wrong. Having a near maxed out credit card didn't help that either.
So, I'm 24, live by myself, have NO WAY of getting these URGENT improvements done to my house, I'm in credit card debt, and all the while with each rain my house is slowly getting more water damage. Eventually I'll have to pay for water damage repairs which will be $1000's if I can't get these things done.
It would take me atleast a year to get the waterproofing done under my house, and that's with all my money focused on THAT and nothing else, except for bills and food. All the while I'm walking on plastic in my house over the horrible carpet.
So lets say a year is passed, I saved up the $3000 for the waterproofing. Ok, NOW I have to focus ALL my available money on the grading, which will take about 6 months, and I'll still be walking on plastic.
As bad as that seems, that is BEST CASE SCENERIO. That's if NOTHING else goes wrong, and if it did, it would take evern longer.
How to get rid of mortgage and house payments?
I don't have the money for all these repairs, and I don't want to sit back and watch my house deteriorate and end up costing me even more. Eventually I would have to fix way too much just to be able to sell the house. It is pointless spending all my money and all my years JUST fixing things. I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. This has been a terrible expereince for me. I very much want to get back to my apartment lifestyle, which suited my income much better. No repairs, nothing.
PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME!!
I don't know ANYTHING about what I need to do.
I'm thinking of filing for the chapter7 bankruptcy, if it will keep me from having to pay back anything that the mortgage company or the downpayment assistance people might try to make me pay.
But then, would I be able to get into an apartment?
Should I get an apartment RIGHT BEFORE I file for bankruptcy?
Should I get an apartment, let the house foreclose, and then if they try to get me to pay the remainder of the balance and/or the $18000 back, THEN file bankrupt?
I don't know what to do. All i know is that I wanna GET OUT OF HERE.
Please please please help me!!! :(
Shalam
Lets be honest. No person should base their financial life based on what some anonymous person posts on a message board in cyberspace. With that being said I offer the following:
I am afraid you are misunderstanding a great deal of your current situation. The choices you make in the next 12 months could have a lifetime full of consequences.
The one thing you do have going for you is your intuition. Like you said, "this is no way to live" and that is a great statement!
I do not believe you have any emotional attachment to your (the banks) house. And if you did I would tell you to get over that emotional attachment as soon as possible.
Isnt that funny? How about from now on we refer to the house as the Banks house. Because that is what it is. You are merely an occupant of the banks house. The Bank's house sure has some water issues...doesn't it? The Bank's house sure has some gutter issues, doesn't it?
I don't know about you, but that would make me feel better already. The sooner you stop using of the term "my house" the better you will feel.
((( By the way- What would your emotions be if you had actually used YOUR OWN money for the down payment. The fact is you used "other peoples money" i.e. taxpayers. What if you had saved up that 18K over the past several years from hard work and now you were stuck in this house....your OWN 18K was stuck in this house...would make for some sleepless nights or?))))
Today, take out a calculator and a piece of paper. Add up the money you could save not paying your mortgage for 9-12 months. Add up the money saved from selling the car (and insurance- they can not force that - no matter what "they" say) (LOL I would like to see an insurance company issue a policy on a car you do not own). Then you can start to do some calculations on what that money can earn you in some safe easy investments - bonds, CDs, etc.
Send me an email if you ever want some more ideas:jck321_98@yahoo.com
Lets be honest. No person should base their financial life based on what some anonymous person posts on a message board in cyberspace. With that being said I offer the following:
I am afraid you are misunderstanding a great deal of your current situation. The choices you make in the next 12 months could have a lifetime full of consequences.
The one thing you do have going for you is your intuition. Like you said, "this is no way to live" and that is a great statement!
I do not believe you have any emotional attachment to your (the banks) house. And if you did I would tell you to get over that emotional attachment as soon as possible.
Isnt that funny? How about from now on we refer to the house as the Banks house. Because that is what it is. You are merely an occupant of the banks house. The Bank's house sure has some water issues...doesn't it? The Bank's house sure has some gutter issues, doesn't it?
I don't know about you, but that would make me feel better already. The sooner you stop using of the term "my house" the better you will feel.
((( By the way- What would your emotions be if you had actually used YOUR OWN money for the down payment. The fact is you used "other peoples money" i.e. taxpayers. What if you had saved up that 18K over the past several years from hard work and now you were stuck in this house....your OWN 18K was stuck in this house...would make for some sleepless nights or?))))
Today, take out a calculator and a piece of paper. Add up the money you could save not paying your mortgage for 9-12 months. Add up the money saved from selling the car (and insurance- they can not force that - no matter what "they" say) (LOL I would like to see an insurance company issue a policy on a car you do not own). Then you can start to do some calculations on what that money can earn you in some safe easy investments - bonds, CDs, etc.
Send me an email if you ever want some more ideas:jck321_98@yahoo.com
"Lets be honest. No person should base their financial life based on what some anonymous person posts on a message board in cyberspace."
LM,
Every visitor and members here are responsible and intentionally none would give any sort advice that can harm anybody. I believe that the moderators here are well aware of what is going on in the forums.
It's true that one must take his own decisions and not get influenced 100% by some other person whom he doesn't know.
May be you are correct with your suggestions LM and all of us I believe here will be happy if you prove to be helpful to someone as our intention as a community is that only.
But we must never disrespect views of sombody as things are solved not by blaming each other but through healthy discussions. We try to help each other as friends.
Why don't you too become a member of our community and help the visitors with your valuable advice?
LM,
Every visitor and members here are responsible and intentionally none would give any sort advice that can harm anybody. I believe that the moderators here are well aware of what is going on in the forums.
It's true that one must take his own decisions and not get influenced 100% by some other person whom he doesn't know.
May be you are correct with your suggestions LM and all of us I believe here will be happy if you prove to be helpful to someone as our intention as a community is that only.
But we must never disrespect views of sombody as things are solved not by blaming each other but through healthy discussions. We try to help each other as friends.
Why don't you too become a member of our community and help the visitors with your valuable advice?
hi you all,
i am very thankful that you all have bothered to give your advice, bcuz you didn't have to.
yeah, if i have a good chance at succesfully getting out of this house and out of the debt by doing the bankruptcy, then that's exactly what i want to do.
bcuz like i said, this isn't how i wanna live. and about $90 of that $350 that's freed-up each month with my budget is made possible by me dropping all my heath insurance stuff.
if i can make it through this, then i wouldn't even care much about the credit backlash. the only way i'd try getting a house again is if some years from now i find a nice woman and we feel we're meant to be together. and that's way down the road. easily after the 10 years. i will pay everything else in cash. and i guess paying my rent on time, along with my other bills like utilities and phone, will help repair my credit a little over time. but i think i'm through with the whole credit setup, unless like i said, if i get married or somethin and decide we need a house. other than that, just straight cash.
i've asked this questions a few times, and i'll ask again. i'm not trying to be pushy, but would someone answer? :)
it has to do with how to start the whole thing...
do i:
1) go get an apartment (while my credit is good)
2) then when i get it, transfer my utilities
3) move all my stuff to the apartment
4) then stop making my mortgage payments
5) let the forclosure take place
6) then when i'm told i have to pay the balance, file chapter 7 bankruptcy
is that^ how i should go about doing it? it seems like it would be best to get the apartment before my credit is trashed. and it seems like it would help my case by having to pay rent, bcuz that should be obvious that i can't afford to pay rent and a mortgage, or rent and 1000's of dollars of the remaining balance. oh, and credit card debt.
i'm going to talk to an attorney before i actually start the process, but i'd appreciate your response :)
also, what are some reasons that a bankruptcy can be dismissed?
i hope me purposely letting the house foreclose isn't one of the reasons.
anyways, thank you all for hearing me out. i appreciate it.
thanx so much ;)
i am very thankful that you all have bothered to give your advice, bcuz you didn't have to.
yeah, if i have a good chance at succesfully getting out of this house and out of the debt by doing the bankruptcy, then that's exactly what i want to do.
bcuz like i said, this isn't how i wanna live. and about $90 of that $350 that's freed-up each month with my budget is made possible by me dropping all my heath insurance stuff.
if i can make it through this, then i wouldn't even care much about the credit backlash. the only way i'd try getting a house again is if some years from now i find a nice woman and we feel we're meant to be together. and that's way down the road. easily after the 10 years. i will pay everything else in cash. and i guess paying my rent on time, along with my other bills like utilities and phone, will help repair my credit a little over time. but i think i'm through with the whole credit setup, unless like i said, if i get married or somethin and decide we need a house. other than that, just straight cash.
i've asked this questions a few times, and i'll ask again. i'm not trying to be pushy, but would someone answer? :)
it has to do with how to start the whole thing...
do i:
1) go get an apartment (while my credit is good)
2) then when i get it, transfer my utilities
3) move all my stuff to the apartment
4) then stop making my mortgage payments
5) let the forclosure take place
6) then when i'm told i have to pay the balance, file chapter 7 bankruptcy
is that^ how i should go about doing it? it seems like it would be best to get the apartment before my credit is trashed. and it seems like it would help my case by having to pay rent, bcuz that should be obvious that i can't afford to pay rent and a mortgage, or rent and 1000's of dollars of the remaining balance. oh, and credit card debt.
i'm going to talk to an attorney before i actually start the process, but i'd appreciate your response :)
also, what are some reasons that a bankruptcy can be dismissed?
i hope me purposely letting the house foreclose isn't one of the reasons.
anyways, thank you all for hearing me out. i appreciate it.
thanx so much ;)
Hi Shalam,
Welcome back.
I think you can follow the process which you have mentioned here. But just get it verified with your attorney as bankruptcy is a legal issue and you need to be more cautious about it.
Thanks,
Jerry.
Welcome back.
I think you can follow the process which you have mentioned here. But just get it verified with your attorney as bankruptcy is a legal issue and you need to be more cautious about it.
Thanks,
Jerry.
Hi,
You need to follow some steps before filing for bankruptcy. The law requires you to first go through credit counseling to detect your ability to pay debts and then there's the Means Test which determines the type of bankrutpcy you should file.
Go through our section on bankruptcy and the New Bankruptcy Lawfor further knowledge on the process.
Thanks,
Jerry
You need to follow some steps before filing for bankruptcy. The law requires you to first go through credit counseling to detect your ability to pay debts and then there's the Means Test which determines the type of bankrutpcy you should file.
Go through our section on bankruptcy and the New Bankruptcy Lawfor further knowledge on the process.
Thanks,
Jerry
Shalam,
Once you have decided for a foreclosure I too think like LM, that you don't need to file a bankruptcy.
Normally for a foreclosure process the property is foreclosed by a lawsuit in the circuit court of the county.
The sheriff of the county auctions the property to the highest bidder for cash required for payment recovery.
In case of any deficiency even after foreclosure there is no right to collect the deficiency from the owner. So, perhaps that will give you relief.
Once you have decided for a foreclosure I too think like LM, that you don't need to file a bankruptcy.
Normally for a foreclosure process the property is foreclosed by a lawsuit in the circuit court of the county.
The sheriff of the county auctions the property to the highest bidder for cash required for payment recovery.
In case of any deficiency even after foreclosure there is no right to collect the deficiency from the owner. So, perhaps that will give you relief.
Please excuse the spelling errors above....was in a hurry!!
apparently you have something similar to our kentucky housing corporation dap loans which requires that you personally live in the home for a time in order to get 10,000 to 25,000 as a grant. this grant allows you to pay only 55,00 for the home and you cant pay it off early unless you want to repay the entire 75,000. bankruptcy does not get rid of the mortgage. it can completely wipe out the unsecured debt you have which may make living affordable but it doesnt wipe out a first mortgage. in some cases it may wipe out a second mortgage in a chapter 13 where the second mortgage is really an unsecured debt because the first mortgage is equal to or more than the value of the home. the only practical use of a 13 is to catch up overdue payments. after the changes to the code last year some people who earn over the average wage for thier size of family may however be forced to file a 13. as to a chapter 7 that is normally filed to redeem personal property or to wipe out unsecured debt.
what i suggest is that unless these repairs are so serious that they would eat up the advantage of the 20,000 grant that you find a way to repair the home. you have walked into a home with an instant 20,000 in equit ..... provided you stay in the home. not many people can make 20,000 so quickly. the only advantage to filing bankruptcy would be to allow you to shed the unsecured debt. under the fha va etc regulations you can buy a home within 2 years after the bankruptcy is over at normal rates. the only other purpose to have credit over the next two years would be to perhaps buy a car. if bankruptcy really would provide so much relief and spare income i would do it. regardless of what the experts say in their forecasts of gloom and doom most of them dont know and havent filed. it simply isnt the kiss of death that they paint it to be. sure a good fico score is important. a bad fico score will cost you more in your interest rates and insurance rates. however if you got to do it .... you go to do it. if your credit is already shot you have little to lose and your credit can be repaired. i have plenty of clients that have over 700 credit scores within a year after filing and you only need a 600-650 score to qualify.
what i suggest is that unless these repairs are so serious that they would eat up the advantage of the 20,000 grant that you find a way to repair the home. you have walked into a home with an instant 20,000 in equit ..... provided you stay in the home. not many people can make 20,000 so quickly. the only advantage to filing bankruptcy would be to allow you to shed the unsecured debt. under the fha va etc regulations you can buy a home within 2 years after the bankruptcy is over at normal rates. the only other purpose to have credit over the next two years would be to perhaps buy a car. if bankruptcy really would provide so much relief and spare income i would do it. regardless of what the experts say in their forecasts of gloom and doom most of them dont know and havent filed. it simply isnt the kiss of death that they paint it to be. sure a good fico score is important. a bad fico score will cost you more in your interest rates and insurance rates. however if you got to do it .... you go to do it. if your credit is already shot you have little to lose and your credit can be repaired. i have plenty of clients that have over 700 credit scores within a year after filing and you only need a 600-650 score to qualify.
I dont know who suggested to just walk away from the home and suggest that you never will get sued. Having a foreclosure on your record is much worse than bankruptcy and you have the problem that for the next 20 years until the statute of limitations runs that you will owe the 75,000 for the house minus the money recovered from the sale of the home not the 55,000 if it goes back. The house will sell at a bargain price at the courthouse steps and that price will be deducted from the 75,000 dollar loan and you wont get the bargain of the other 20,00 DAP grant because you didnt complete staying in the home for 20 years. As a result, if you let it go back you wont be able to but another home until the deficency judgment against you is paid or you file bankruptcy and discharge the debt if you let it go back in foreclosure. All you can to is either
1 sell it to someone else for at least enough to pay it off (but dont commit fraud)
2 File bankruptcy and let it go back
3 File bankruptcy and keep the home if you can afford it after filing bankruptcy or
4 Pay for the repair and not file
Simply walking away from the home is stupid. You lose the 20,000 grant and you end up owing for the foreclosure deficency and having a foreclosure on your record. You want to somehow keep the home unless it is a real lemon and if it is a real lemon the proper way to let it go back is to file bankruptcy while you have no substantial assets. At least in my state we do sue for the deficency. Only a minority of states have a no deficency law. Of you want info please see the manual on bankruptcy at Bankruptcy-Divorce.com
1 sell it to someone else for at least enough to pay it off (but dont commit fraud)
2 File bankruptcy and let it go back
3 File bankruptcy and keep the home if you can afford it after filing bankruptcy or
4 Pay for the repair and not file
Simply walking away from the home is stupid. You lose the 20,000 grant and you end up owing for the foreclosure deficency and having a foreclosure on your record. You want to somehow keep the home unless it is a real lemon and if it is a real lemon the proper way to let it go back is to file bankruptcy while you have no substantial assets. At least in my state we do sue for the deficency. Only a minority of states have a no deficency law. Of you want info please see the manual on bankruptcy at Bankruptcy-Divorce.com
Shalam - Welcome to our forum. Don't feel like you are the only one with problems like this. We all make mistakes in life. This forum is open to discuss such things and find logical and practical solutions to resolve such situations. I would always be skeptical about certain things especially when purchasing a home. Based on what you said, I am guessing there was not a realtor involved or that you met and discussed things with the seller before making the decision to buy. I haven't heard of this assistance program you speak of, maybe it's only for Kentucky. However the fact that this particular house came with it should have raised a red flag why this house? I would have asked what is wrong with it that it qualifies for the program. Did you ever ask to speak with seller, or just get mortgage approved and move in? It sounds like everyone might get to qualify just so they can sell that certain house. It is just something to think about. By law a seller must disclose certain things to a buyer before they buy, and fix what needs fixed before your final decision is made. It is called sellers property disclosures statement and you should have gotten one in all of the legal documents. You also needed to have a walk through the house to see what is wrong, and at the home inspection is where you make the final decision based on what is wrong with the property whether or not to buy. Did the home inspector do a thorough inspection and give you a written detailed report? What he found wrong was not a list of things that the seller needed to repair, but for you at that time to make the final decision based on everthing you say is wrong to not buy. It is your decision no one elses. I don't know if you have a case against seller since you never voiced these concerns to seller before buying. I would seriously take one thing at a time. For the windows this can be easily repaired for now. Get some 3m shrink rap to put on windows. You just blow dry it on there and it will stay until you remove it. Ants are easliy detered by cucumber peelings place them around outside of home by doors and windows and inside also. Ants hate this smell and will avoid it, also ivory liquid dish soap and water mixture poured on ant hills will kill them soon. I would leave down the carpet that is good, or sometimes stores will give you left over carpeting. It is not used just what they cut off of bigger rolls. A second hand store might have some too that is good. I would go through each room and write down what is wrong and what you need to fix it. It is never easy owning a home especially at a young age. There will always be problems if not now later on. Yes, I am having my own situation too. It is on this forum I will probably have to take the realtor and builder to court. I now find out that there were violations against this property that the realtor did not disclose. It is a brand new home too. Everything should be right, right wrong It is driving me crazy too. It has been a year now and nothing has been solved. I try not to let it get to me but different lawyers I spoke to said to take them to court. I really don't want to I just want what we paid for. I would clean up the dead ants, vaccuum, and do what small repairs you can. May be in the future you could sell this house as a as is fixer upper. You must remember that you want to be honest with what ever you do not get fixed tell the prospective buyer. Some people do like to buy homes and put money into them and make them better. The home of course cannot be dangerous to any buyers though. For instance you could not sell without disclosing whether there was asbestos in the siding or termites or other vermen there or gas leaks or cm leaks or fiberglass uncovered. It also should be told how long ago was property built, any damage to foundation inside basement or outside cracks. I would think about this option at least for now. You said you cannot refiance and bankruptcy might make things worse on getting a apt again. If you had a friend move in with you and you both contributed to getting this house put back together might work temporarily. I would find out from reputable professionals just how bad everything really is. I mean if it is dangerous to live there such as if asbestos were found in siding than you seller should have found this out before selling. Is foundation intact or are there cracks that could be structural, how about plumbing and electrical what are these things like? If these things check out all right you might be able to stay there. Is there a decent yard or garage? Did you ever ask seller about these things now? I would not spend any money on big things right now just the small things I mentioned. If you got a lawyer it would cost too much money, and you don't always win your case. You have to prove it to the judge. No matter how good a lawyer has prepared and presents your case it can go the other way and you still are left with legal fees and no solution to your problem. I hope I gave you some help with the other options. spkll1
Crap,
That response a couple of posts back was the Bankruptcy Attorney that I emailed. I asked him to look over my situation on this topic and tell me if I could get out if it with a bankruptcy.
He said it wouldn't do anything for a first mortgage :(
Am I really stuck here!?
OMG
I'm going to for real go crazy if I'm stuck here!!
Is he saying that a straight out bankruptcy without a forclosure wouldn't do anything, OR no matter what I do it wouldn't get rid of the mortgage?
If that's what he's saying, then if I let it forclose I'll loose the house and still have to pay back the deficiency even if I file for chapter 7 after the forclosure.
I'm going to call and ask when I wake up. There HAS to be some way out.
Surely I wouldn't be the first person to ever had a home foreclose, and then after the property has been sold and they come trying to collect the balance, file bankruptcy and not owe.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
to the "guest":
Yes there was a realator involved. And I've already bought the replacement windows.
Thanx for the tips :)
Aw man, I'm about to just go to sleep before I start worrying so much that I won't be able to sleep.
That response a couple of posts back was the Bankruptcy Attorney that I emailed. I asked him to look over my situation on this topic and tell me if I could get out if it with a bankruptcy.
He said it wouldn't do anything for a first mortgage :(
Am I really stuck here!?
OMG
I'm going to for real go crazy if I'm stuck here!!
Is he saying that a straight out bankruptcy without a forclosure wouldn't do anything, OR no matter what I do it wouldn't get rid of the mortgage?
If that's what he's saying, then if I let it forclose I'll loose the house and still have to pay back the deficiency even if I file for chapter 7 after the forclosure.
I'm going to call and ask when I wake up. There HAS to be some way out.
Surely I wouldn't be the first person to ever had a home foreclose, and then after the property has been sold and they come trying to collect the balance, file bankruptcy and not owe.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
to the "guest":
Yes there was a realator involved. And I've already bought the replacement windows.
Thanx for the tips :)
Aw man, I'm about to just go to sleep before I start worrying so much that I won't be able to sleep.
Hi LM,
Hey, don't think I haven't been listening to you. I really aprreciate your responses.
So, if I do like you said in your second to last post, won't they come trying to collect the rest of the balance if they don't sell the house for what the loan was for?
Sorry if you've explained that already. I'm trying to catch on, plus so much is going through my mind right now. Please forgive me.
I noticed that the attorney said that there is no way out of the mortgage, but if the lender decides to sell the house, then isn't that me getting out of the mortgage? It's just if they will pursue the rest of the balance or not. Or if the folks that issued the downpayment assistance will aswell.
I'm all ears buddy. I aprreciate you, and the others aswell :)
Hey, don't think I haven't been listening to you. I really aprreciate your responses.
So, if I do like you said in your second to last post, won't they come trying to collect the rest of the balance if they don't sell the house for what the loan was for?
Sorry if you've explained that already. I'm trying to catch on, plus so much is going through my mind right now. Please forgive me.
I noticed that the attorney said that there is no way out of the mortgage, but if the lender decides to sell the house, then isn't that me getting out of the mortgage? It's just if they will pursue the rest of the balance or not. Or if the folks that issued the downpayment assistance will aswell.
I'm all ears buddy. I aprreciate you, and the others aswell :)
Hi mjk,
I read what you said. The attorney guy said that bankruptcy wouldn't do anything to the mortgage. I wonder if he's talking about me trying to do it without the foreclosure.
Nah, I don't wanna keep the home. I want out of this whole situation so I can go on with my life, and not be depressed.
I think your suggesting something similar to what I was asking about. When they try to get the deficiency that's when I file bankruptcy, right?
If so, that's what I was thinking of doing.
thank you for your reply.
I'm gonna get some sleep now. I'll be back when I wake up :)
I read what you said. The attorney guy said that bankruptcy wouldn't do anything to the mortgage. I wonder if he's talking about me trying to do it without the foreclosure.
Nah, I don't wanna keep the home. I want out of this whole situation so I can go on with my life, and not be depressed.
I think your suggesting something similar to what I was asking about. When they try to get the deficiency that's when I file bankruptcy, right?
If so, that's what I was thinking of doing.
thank you for your reply.
I'm gonna get some sleep now. I'll be back when I wake up :)
Hi Shalam,
If the lender decides to sell the house, he will get the mortgage payments from the sale proceeds itself. As far as I know, you can keep the balance with you. Regarding the bankruptcy, I think you should file it when you are deficient on your loan payments.
If the lender decides to sell the house, he will get the mortgage payments from the sale proceeds itself. As far as I know, you can keep the balance with you. Regarding the bankruptcy, I think you should file it when you are deficient on your loan payments.