What do I do first

[reach]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

I am paying my mortgage later and later every month. I get paid twice a month and have to wait for the first check in the next month to pay for the mortgage. I have a second mortgage and credit card bills, plus utilities that wipe out my second check before I can start saving again for the mortgage. I was thinking of calling the mortgage company and ask what they can do to help me. How will asking for the mortgage modification, but how will that affect my credit score? Is it better to refinance? I am totally lost on what to do first. I am even thinking of just handing over the house to the bank. Help.

[chrismiles]

your best bet is to stop paying both of the mortgages all together and force them to evict you. Then you can save all your cash, and I do mean cash - put in a shoebox or something, and then file bankruptcy. The banks can fight out the two mortgages and you can wipe it all away with the bankruptcy. You can probably have about six or seven months worth of mortgage payments hidden away and use it to start over fresh somewhere else.

[racer72]

Originally Posted by chrismiles

your best bet is to stop paying both of the mortgages all together and force them to evict you. Then you can save all your cash, and I do mean cash - put in a shoebox or something, and then file bankruptcy. The banks can fight out the two mortgages and you can wipe it all away with the bankruptcy. You can probably have about six or seven months worth of mortgage payments hidden away and use it to start over fresh somewhere else.

This has to be some of the worst advice I have ever seen on this site.


Better option, call you mortgage company and they will work with you, the last thing they want is to foreclose or see you file bankruptcy. You may be able to tail end a payment, this means skip a month and extend your mortgage. There may be other plans to help you get caught up. Bankruptcy should only be an option only after foreclosure proceedings have begun, you are a long way from that right now.

[chrismiles]

I'm just saying that if they are about to hand the house over anyway they might as well live in it free for a few months...then they can use the cash they save to either rent an apartment or maybe buy a house on contract. Use bankruptcy to erase all the bad debt and walk away. Having a second mortgage is one of the worst ideas a person can have and they almsot never end well. I say live there free for awhile and once it goes into foreclosure walk away. That's what I would do...

[GaAtty]

I agree that was very poor advice. Whoever wrote that assumed that you could do a ch. 7 and "wipe away eveything." What if you doesn't qualify for a ch. 7? It does sound like you may have sufficient income to file a Ch 13 and that may eliminate or significantly decrease many of your credit card bills. Presumably you can qualify for a ch. 13 because you say that you are paying on the credit cards. Also, you can always pursue a loan modification while you are in bankruptcy, as we have many clients who do so. Hiding money in a shoebox with the described intention would, of course, be bankruptcy fraud and a federal crime, and is not a good idea. The best thing is to consult a bankruptcy attorney. While it is a little early to actually do a ch. 13, it would probably help relieve your stress to know what the options are. Most bankruptcy attorneys do not charge for consultation. There is no reason to move out and abandon your house if a bankruptcy would save it, especially if these are just temporary hard times.

[eli4625]

I disagree with the person who said banks don't want to forclose or see someone file for bankruptcy. They don't care, since our nice federal gov't stepped in and handed them tons of monies they don't care. I have a home loan with Bank of America who was "saved" by the federal gov't. Well I try to set up a loan modification since I lost my job and the one I replaced it with is about $12,000 a year less. I have never missed a payment in 6 years and only been late 1 time and it was just a month. What does the bank say...To bad so sad you don't qualify. If you can, walk away now, let the bank rots and file bankruptcy.

[Country Living]

Originally Posted by eli4625

I disagree with the person who said banks don't want to forclose or see someone file for bankruptcy. They don't care, since our nice federal gov't stepped in and handed them tons of monies they don't care. I have a home loan with Bank of America who was "saved" by the federal gov't. Well I try to set up a loan modification since I lost my job and the one I replaced it with is about $12,000 a year less. I have never missed a payment in 6 years and only been late 1 time and it was just a month. What does the bank say...To bad so sad you don't qualify. If you can, walk away now, let the bank rots and file bankruptcy.

Quit hijacking other people's threads! (If you had this attitude with BOA, then I understand why they don't want to work with you.)

OP - follow the real advice and first contact the mortgage company.

[eli4625]

I am not "hijacking" anything. Banks don't care about people or their problems in paying. THEY got assistance from the goverment to HELP the borrowers and are not using the monies that way. Why should this person or anyone allow for this to happen? He should get out now, don't pay them one more dime and let the bank have the home and let them eat the debt. It is time for US to stop allowing big business to ruin our lives when they were at fault.

Originally Posted by Country Living

Quit hijacking other people's threads! (If you had this attitude with BOA, then I understand why they don't want to work with you.)

OP - follow the real advice and first contact the mortgage company.

[eli4625]

What reason or proof do you have that the mortgage company will "work with them"? IF the mortgage company really cared they would have already contacted them in an attempt to "work something out. BUT they haven't and won't becuase they don't have to, they were already bailed out and have the monies (which in fact is our tax dollars).

Originally Posted by racer72

This has to be some of the worst advice I have ever seen on this site.


Better option, call you mortgage company and they will work with you, the last thing they want is to foreclose or see you file bankruptcy. You may be able to tail end a payment, this means skip a month and extend your mortgage. There may be other plans to help you get caught up. Bankruptcy should only be an option only after foreclosure proceedings have begun, you are a long way from that right now.

[DDQueen]

NO, the worse bit of advice is from someone who actually believes that the mortgage lender wants to help. We tried this ourselves with 2+ years of on and off unemployment in the worst State in the country, Michigan.

We refinanced 4 years ago to a 30 year fixed to get things in order and have a loan that reflected the actual value of the property at the time. We spent every penny we had in savings to pay down as much as we could & paid closing costs on a refi. We were not deadbeats or "creative financiers" - we were trying to stay ahead of a falling housing market.

4 years later the house was worth $45,000 less and homes in our sub were selling for pennies.

We tried to "work with our bank". They sent our personal information to 6 different companies who all wanted financial information, sheets and sheets of it, which we sent to everyone who asked and when we tried repeatedly, over 13 months, to find out who was "working with us" no one knew.

Trying to get your bank to "help" is impossible because they have no clue what they are doing or what anyone on their behalf is doing.

It's a joke.

[eli4625]

I agree with the above poster execpt for one aspect. It isn't banks don't know, it's they don't care. They have been bailed out, they have been given funds to cover the bad loans, they have no need to assist those in the home now. The advise to get out now is the best thing you can do. File bankruptcy and start fresh.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by DDQueen

NO, the worse bit of advice is from someone who actually believes that the mortgage lender wants to help. We tried this ourselves with 2+ years of on and off unemployment in the worst State in the country, Michigan.

We refinanced 4 years ago to a 30 year fixed to get things in order and have a loan that reflected the actual value of the property at the time. We spent every penny we had in savings to pay down as much as we could & paid closing costs on a refi. We were not deadbeats or "creative financiers" - we were trying to stay ahead of a falling housing market.

4 years later the house was worth $45,000 less and homes in our sub were selling for pennies.

We tried to "work with our bank". They sent our personal information to 6 different companies who all wanted financial information, sheets and sheets of it, which we sent to everyone who asked and when we tried repeatedly, over 13 months, to find out who was "working with us" no one knew.

Trying to get your bank to "help" is impossible because they have no clue what they are doing or what anyone on their behalf is doing.

It's a joke.

In your entire rant, I missed where you say that you have any problems based on a drop in your income.

If you had no drop in your income, then the actual value of your home doesn't even come in to play. Continue to pay (as you AGREED) and ride it out.

[eli4625]

But there home was over valued at no fault of thiers. This is the problem, the banks allowed for homes to be overvalued when they KNEW the home was not worth what they were lending on it. Until the american public stands up to these crooks and the crooks in Washington we are going to be the ones who get hosed. It is time we walk away from these loans and let the banks suffer.