Posted on: 23rd Sep, 2009 08:47 am
My wife lost her job and and we qualified for a hardship loan modification (6 months). After a couple of months we decided to seek financial help through a non-profit debt consolidation company and they informed us that they could not help and bankruptcy was our best option. We then contacted a bankruptcy lawyer and we filed for Chapter 7. Shortly after filing the mortgage company sent a reaffirmation agreement with the terms that currently matched our hardship. Our lawyer recommended we refuse the offer which we did (lawyers should know best).
One part of the bankruptcy I have yet to understand or find the answer online is that apparently my mortgage and our cars were included in the bankruptcy but we continue to make payments on-time every month on them. One thing I keep hearing and seeing in print is that the mortgage company can tell us to vacate the property but it isn't likely because we're making payments....is this true? If that is the case what is to stop them in the future from taking it? I currently owe about $238k on the house and it is worth about $170k based on a recent marked analysis. Based on a lot of these stories on this website it takes a few years before you could qualify a get a good rate on a new mortgage. This leads me to another question, why should I keep this house when I'm upside down? I don't think the market will correct itself fast enough over the next 4 years to make the difference and my hardship qualification ends next month and I won't be able to make the old mortgage payment. How much more (if at all) will I trash my credit if I foreclose or do a short sale with a Chapter 7 already on my credit? I've contacted the lawyer after everything went through and his office told me if I have any more questions I will have to start paying him again...please help.
One part of the bankruptcy I have yet to understand or find the answer online is that apparently my mortgage and our cars were included in the bankruptcy but we continue to make payments on-time every month on them. One thing I keep hearing and seeing in print is that the mortgage company can tell us to vacate the property but it isn't likely because we're making payments....is this true? If that is the case what is to stop them in the future from taking it? I currently owe about $238k on the house and it is worth about $170k based on a recent marked analysis. Based on a lot of these stories on this website it takes a few years before you could qualify a get a good rate on a new mortgage. This leads me to another question, why should I keep this house when I'm upside down? I don't think the market will correct itself fast enough over the next 4 years to make the difference and my hardship qualification ends next month and I won't be able to make the old mortgage payment. How much more (if at all) will I trash my credit if I foreclose or do a short sale with a Chapter 7 already on my credit? I've contacted the lawyer after everything went through and his office told me if I have any more questions I will have to start paying him again...please help.
Hi brqam,
As you did not reaffirm the loan, it would have been better if you would have stopped the payments and surrendered the property to the lender. The lender would have sold the property and recovered his dues. Though you are paying him the mortgage dues, he may not be reporting the payments to the credit bureau.
As you do not intend to keep the property, you can surrender it to the lender who will foreclose it. As far as I know, this foreclosure will definitely affect your credit score and lower it by 250 points.
Take care.
As you did not reaffirm the loan, it would have been better if you would have stopped the payments and surrendered the property to the lender. The lender would have sold the property and recovered his dues. Though you are paying him the mortgage dues, he may not be reporting the payments to the credit bureau.
As you do not intend to keep the property, you can surrender it to the lender who will foreclose it. As far as I know, this foreclosure will definitely affect your credit score and lower it by 250 points.
Take care.
check this out, this has good information about how to go about it
http://www.mortgagefit.com/bankruptcy/chapter13.html
http://www.mortgagefit.com/bankruptcy/chapter13.html
if you are not interested to continue with property, pl speak with mortgage lender to initiate foreclosure process.