2nd mortgage after foreclosure

Ladynred · #1 03-08-2002, 10:14 AM

TN.

I had a house in SC that was foreclosed on and sold by the primary lender in December 2001. The 2nd mortgage bank apparently didn't try very hard to get any money from the sale of the house.. but that's not my point.

Now that the house no longer belongs to me, and the 2nd mortgage now is in the hands of a collection agency (and has been for some months), they, of course, want payment in full. Well, I don't have that kind of money, right now I don't even have a job, and even if I did, having to pay them the full amount would still be impossible.

My question is.. is the 2nd mortgage now considered unsecured debt since the house isn't the security for it any more ? Since its been in the hands of a collection agency for close to a year, can I assume that the agency bought the account at an extreme 'discount' ? The original bank, First Plus Financial, went bankrupt itself, the loan then passed to Countrywide, now its with this collection agency apparently.

I've explained to the collection agency that I'm out of work, but I don' t know how long they'll wait.. and I may file Chapter 7 shortly any way.

Thanks !

#2 03-08-2002, 02:07 PM

If that's your only debt problem, I wouldn't file bankruptcy.

The only thing the collector can do is sue you for the balance. If they do that, that's when you consider filing bankruptcy.

If you don't want the collector to contact you any further, send them a certified, return-receipt letter telling them not to call or write to you concerning the debt. They'll stop at that point...if they don't, post here again and we'll go from there.

Ladynred · #3 03-09-2002, 07:50 AM

Unfortunately, that's not my only problem, but it IS the biggest one. Yesterday I got a letter from a law firm apparently connected with the collection agency. The thing that burns me is that they yammer on about my not contacting the collection agency rep.. well I did.. 3 weeks ago after losing my job.. grrrrrrrrr !!! I spent 30 minutes on the phone with that woman.. obviously it was a waste of time. Now I have to deal with the lawyers instead. I'm guessing that a law suit isn't far off. The balance left is 31K.. I don't have that kind of money.

Ladynred · #4 03-09-2002, 08:05 AM

btw.. I was already going to send these people a cease and desist.. but now that its with a lawyer, will it matter ?

So.. the meat of my first question....

is that 2nd mortgage now considered unsecured debt ???

Thanks all !

#5 03-09-2002, 03:12 PM

Yes, it's an unsecured debt.

The lawyer is still a collector, in the eyes of the law. If you send him/her a cease and desist letter, they must abide by it.

It's important to remember that most large collection agencies have an attorney around who signs letter to make them look more official/important. Also, there are many attorneys who do nothing but collections, so they are essentially collection agencies.

Ladynred · #6 03-10-2002, 12:22 PM

Thank you again, Gottago

I kinda figured the letter from this lawyer might be an 'in-house lawyer' type deal, especially since it tells me to contact the '(collection agency name) division of the supposed law firm. Just drives me nuts that I contacted the agency after I was laid off and they send me this stupid letter as if I'd never made that call or had that conversation !

#7 03-11-2002, 09:42 AM

was it you gottago that said they "the CA's" are not emotionally involved but we are if it is our debt.

Hang in there Ladynred, don't let them get you flustered and do something stupid, they are trying every effort to get you to contact them, you will be surprised at what lengths they will go to.

#8 03-11-2002, 02:27 PM

I was always under the impression that by FTC rules collection agencies can still contact you at home between certain hours of the day. They have to cease and desist contacting you at work if you send them a certified letter stating that your employer doesn't allow such contact. They have the right to contact you at home as long as it is not at ridiculous hours of the day or night. They don't have the right to call you names or make threats. If you declare bankruptcy then they have to stop calling you and deal with your lawyer. At least this is my understanding.

#9 03-11-2002, 02:45 PM

They can unless you send them a letter stating not to contact you by phone. (see gottago above)

#10 03-11-2002, 09:52 PM

Irishgr102-

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act prohibits collectors from contacting you after you send them a cease and desist letter.

They cannot call you at home or work, or even write you a letter after receiving such a letter.

The only exception is that they can send you a written notification that they plan on taking some new action against you (suing you, etc.).

Remember, that portion of the FDCPA applies only to 3rd party collectors... not to the original creditor. The original creditor can continue to call you, regardless of any letter sent to them.

Ladynred · #11 03-12-2002, 10:19 AM

Another quick question in regards to creditors calling.

Is there ANY recourse to stop 'original' creditors from calling at insane hours, making threats, etc ??? I had 2 nasty phone conversations a couple of years ago. One jerk called my home at 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning !!! It woke me up and scared the heck out of me at first to have the phone ringing at that hour (my Mom was ill at the time) and when I heard this moron on the phone hassling me about this account, I was livid, I gave this kid a huge piece of my mind and hung up on him. The other incident, they called me late on a Sunday night, after 9pm. Another kid on the phone harrassing me about paying my bill. This kid got me really ticked off and it actually got to a shouting level with this jerk yelling at me, telling me I needed help, that I was a deadbeat, etc. I let him have it with both barrels and slammed the phone down on him too ! (btw.. this was the same bank on both calls.. FUSA, they have several class-action suits against them, been exposed on Prime Time (I think), etc.)

Is there nothing you can do to stop this sort of thing ?? I know that these people are monitored, recorded, etc.. This was an absurd phone call and it got him nowhere, and I'm guessing these people are also judged by what they do or do not accomplish.

No one should have to put up with calls at 6am and the kind of abusive attack that I went thru. FDCPA helps us against the CA's, isn't there anything we can do against this sort of thing before it gets to a 3rd party ?? Seems to me they need to be reined in too.

My 2 cents