Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cindy Billman, CDPE, SFR on October 18, 2011 at 9:05pm

Since Realtors are not attorneys we cannot give legal advise but can only give you our opinions. If possible I would talk to an attorney. Or, since WF wants you to try a short sale it first, that to me is your best option.  Do you qualify for HAFA? It sounds like it if WF will gives you 120 days to sale. If the property hasn't sold in 120 days then you get deed the property back to WF.  A short sale is much better than a deed-in-lieu.

Permalink Reply by TJ on October 18, 2011 at 11:12pm

What is the HAFA. It was mentioned on WF website but when I asked the agent about it he didnt know what I was referring to.

Permalink Reply by Lorraine Hunter, CIAS, CDPE on October 18, 2011 at 9:27pm

here are several factors that may be involved.  Do you only have one mortgage or is there a second?  With a Deed In Lieu you are essentially handing back the keys without any objection to the defficiency judgment for the balance of the mortgage.  By having the short sale, demonstration of effort and that the property is listed, you may have better negotiation for eliminating the debt more so in your favor.  Also, there are many investors to buy the property at the right price.

 

I am not sure where your property is located.  I am here in Florida.

Please feel free to contact me for more information at RealEstateSolutionsIntl@gmail.com or 954-903-4240

Regards,

Lorraine Hunter, CDPE, CIAS

Permalink Reply by TJ on October 18, 2011 at 11:10pm

yes it is only one mortgage and it is an FHA. I do not understand the whole deficiency judgement. I was told deed to lieu does not effect your credit but I guess either way your credit gets messed up. if I proceed with a deed to lieu can I lessen the effect of my credit by continuing to pay my mortgage?

Permalink Reply by Sherrilee Denton on October 18, 2011 at 10:08pm

I'm sorry, it sounds like your under a lot of stress and we understand your frustrations, but why would you want to forgo your option to short sale the home and negotiate any potential deficiency judgement. The banks aren't in the business of owing property so its in their best interest to see the property short sold and off their books.  Since your lender, WF, suggested your first alternative was to short sale you should consider taking the steps to list your home with an experienced short sale agent.  There are may excellent realtors trained and experienced in short sales that could assist you.  Where are you located? I'm in the East Valley / Phoenix AZ area and have short sale realtor referrals for most states and areas, so please if I can be of assistance, feel free to contact me at www.DeliveringDreamsToday.com

Blessings, Sherrilee
Sherrilee Denton, REALTOR®, RECS, CNE, CSSN, CSSPE

Permalink Reply by TJ on October 18, 2011 at 11:08pm

yes I am under alot of stress and I guess I am just looking for immediate help and quick fix to something that is going to take time. I had a two family members do a deed of lieu and it went smoothly for them. They did not have to worry about putting the house on the market first or their credit being messed up, but I guess each lender is diffrent. I want to be educated as best as I can about this short sale process so I don't have more financial problems later, but I am scared as to what the short sale will do to mine and my husbands credit. I have so many questions. you are right I need to talk to a specialist. but I must tell you your expressions really comforted me. I cried so hard today in front of my three month old daughter , I felt so bad. thank you

Permalink Reply by P. Barton Erickson on October 19, 2011 at 11:10am

 

I can see that you are under a lot of stress and these are stressful times. The thing is that you must be systematic in dealing with this. You need to ask yourselves some questions in order to determine what to do. Let me say that I am a REALTOR® and not an attorney so I can not give you any legal advice. Please do not take offense at the questions. And do not answer them here publicly. But you will have to face these questions in some form when negotiating with WFHM, an attorney or another REALTOR®.

1. Do you still want to live in the house? If not HAFA may not be for you.
2. You stated the possibility of continuing to pay the mortgage. Are you or your husband or both employed? Can you pay the mortgage or is it just that it is affecting your lifestyle. The mortgage company will require you to write a hardship letter and supply all your financial information including your income. Also WFHM may not consider you for a Short Sale or Deed in Lieu if you have the ability to pay your mortgage. 
3. Is your house upside down? What that means is that the value of the mortgage balance is more than the value received when selling your home. The value received would be what is left from the sale after paying closing costs including commissions, taxes, outstanding bills, etc. You can get help with this by contacting a competent full time REALTOR®. This determination is important along with information on the RE Market in your area to determine the salability of your home.
4. Have you talked to an attorney? Have you considered bankruptcy?

If you wish to talk you can contact me through. www.HouseJeanie.com.

Regards,

Bart

P. Barton Erickson, BPOR, e-PRO, REOS, SFR, SRS
Lamon Associates
Cinnaminson, NJ

Permalink Reply by P. Barton Erickson on October 19, 2011 at 2:14pm

Just one more thing, whether it be a Short Sale, a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, or a Foreclosure there are two things you need to be concerned about. There is the mortgage payments and the debt itself. In the case of SS, DIL and Foreclosure the payments and the debt are two separate items that must be resolved. This is why it is a good idea to have legal advice. It is possible to be absolved of paying the rest of the mortgage payments but still have the debt. In this case the bank or mortgage company will issue you a 1099 for their loss. This is most common when there is a second mortgage but it can happen on a first mortgage.

Regards,

Bart

P. Barton Erickson, BPOR, e-PRO, REOS, SFR, SRS
Lamon Associates
Cinnaminson, NJ

 

Permalink Reply by Sherrilee Denton on October 19, 2011 at 1:11pm

Congratulations on your precious 3 month old daughter, what a wonderful blessing.  Obviously the new addition to your family and the struggles you are experiencing which are leading you to consider loosing your home is causing you to feel anxious, worried, confused and scared.  Which are all normal reactions and more so because your hormones and protection instincts are at their peak.  It's ok and its good to cry and get some of the built up emotions and tensions out, so let the tears fall, that's what your body needs.  Your baby can feel your stress, so try to acknowledge the good things in your life, the small daily blessings, and treasure and take joy in your new little one.  I know it's not easy to reach out and ask for help, the fact that you found this site and wrote of your struggles indicates that you are needing help.  Asking for help is the first step in getting help! Right?  You are not alone. Many of the agents on this site are upside down in their own homes too and we help families everyday facing similar hardships . . . its our current state of affairs across the county.  I don't know anyone who has not been touched by the economy, be it either through a loss of job, reduced income, addition to the family, medical bills, college expenses, illness, divorce, death of a loved one, ... the list goes on and on.  We've all been affected or know someone who has.  Just know that you are not alone, even though your struggles are personal and your pain is felt behind closed doors, many people can relate and are also going through the same pain, anxiety and uncertainty for the future.  The worst thing to do is to deny that help is needed and to use all your savings, if you still have any (many don't) to continue to struggle with payments on a home that will never be worth what your paying on. The fact that you have a new baby indicates that your life has changed and you are suffering hardships that were not felt before. It's ok, everything will be alright, there are options and you can get help.  Agents on this site are helping families everyday.  You mentioned that several of your family members did a deed in lieu and there credit was not affected . . . I'm not sure that is the case and they may get hit harder when they have to deal with the tax implications of giving back their home this way.  As has already been mentioned by many on this site, we are Realtors and not attorneys able to give legal advice.  So it is always best to seek legal counsel so you know the true ramifications as it relates to your personal situation regarding a foreclosure, deed in lieu and short sale.  If you google these subjects you can also find information that can assist you too ... here are a few sites, but there are many many others:

http://www.bills.com/a-deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure-vs-a-short-sale/
http://homebuying.about.com/od/4closureshortsales/qt/060907SScredit...
http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2010/07/what-is-the-best-way...

Looking at this site you can see where agents help each other and their clients everyday with short sales. No one says its easy, but sometimes the best thing is not the easiest.  Reach out and get the help you need to make the best decision and move forward in confidence.  Take heart, know you are not alone and more importantly know you are blessed in so many other ways that are more important.

Blessings, Sherrilee
Sherrilee Denton, REALTOR®, RECS, CNE, CSSN, CSSPE

Permalink Reply by Sheyenne Schultz on October 19, 2011 at 7:11pm

I feel sorry for you and your situation. Half this country is stressed out and underwater right now, so feel comforted in knowing you are not the only one in this boat.

I can only give u an opinion, not advice. Please please please check out the ramifications of doing a deed in lieu.

This may SEEM the easy way out, however it isn't in 99% of cases.

Do you realize what a deed in lieu basically means? It means you are handing someone over the keys and DEED to your home right away, and you no longer own it. You are thinking that the bank will be nice and take your keys and house and avoid the short sale route and FORGIVE the entire debt you owe? This is not the case.

If , for example, you owe like $500000 and your house is worth like $300000. The second you hand over the keys and deed/title to your home. You have now lost any control in the situation. All you've done is speed up the process for the banks and given them ownership without you getting anything forgiven. THE ENTIRE DEBT is still there. And the banks WILL come after you for the FULL AMOUNT, not just the deficit. Also, the banks usually ORDER You out of your home within 2 wks. Remember, they NOW own it and you have no say so, or they will evict or get the sheriff to get you out.

You have now given them the home but have not gttten rid of the debt. It has NOT been forgiven. Its like giving someone the keys and pink slip to your car, and now you don't have the car, but you have not wiped out the debt you owe on the car with the lender you made your payments too. So if you owe like $28,000 left on your car loan, now the lender has every right ot pursue you for the whole amount.

I would NEVER recommend a deed in lieu to anyone. Please don't think also that your credit won't be ruined. It will be ruined BIG TIME. For the bank NOW has the right to pursue you for the entire debt. In a short sale, the DEBT is forgiven and an accepted price is worked out to allow a new buyer to buy the home and the bank gives you a letter stating that it is approved for less than what is owed...etc. The short sale may ding your credit alittle but it is certainly way MORE  appealling than any deed in lieu. The banks would luv it if all of america would just deed over the keys and titles to everyone's property. Wow, then there would be no short sales, and the banks would just own everyone's property in like 2 wks or less and order everyone out.

Please beware of what seems the easy way out, if it sounds to good to be true, then it is.

Please discuss this with the bank and what verbage they will put in their deed in lieu letter to you, if they are NOT forgiving the debt for the keys and deed, then why do it? If you thought a short sale was bad, then see what it's like having a deed in lieu on your record without the debt forgiven.

Please have the bank put any terms in WRITING FIRST before giving up your deed and any keys.

Ck with an attorney...this is not the way to go.

Hope all gets better with you. You may be stressed out now, but usually once you start getting more information and knowledgeable about things. You won't be that stressed because knowledge is power and you won't feel so overwhelmed and scared.  If u need help or just want to talk, you can call me at 310-429-4710 or email me at shy@shysells.com  

Permalink Reply by Joseph C. Alfe on October 19, 2011 at 11:05pm

TJ, a DIL is the same against your credit as a foreclosure.  You are being foreclosed voluntarily.  If you do a DIL, make sure you get a full deficiency release or it is not worth doing.

Permalink Reply by Bev LaLonde on November 19, 2011 at 9:43am

Not sure what state you live in BUT CALL YOUR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN. Ask for the chief of staff or anyone else who will take your call. Rehearse beforehand so you don't sound like an idiot. MAKE SURE YOU tell them your loan is with Wells Fargo. Ask if they've had other constituents complain about Wells Fargo. Explain your situation BRIEFLY and then ask WHAT THEY WILL DO and WHEN. Then follow up with your contact at the time you agreed upon. We need an ally against these banks or they will rob us blind!