Posted on: 27th Dec, 2009 09:07 pm
I am facing a dilemma and would appreciate any inputs. My husband bought our house before our marriage. After marriage (2 years ago) he added my name to the deed, but I'm not obligated on the mortgage. My husband told me back then that I only need to pay for my personal expenses, and he would take care of everything else. He makes around $3500/month, and the mortgate alone is already $2500/month. Utilities and HOA total around $500/month. That left him with around $500/month for his personal expenses. He seemed to be doing fine all this time. Even after our daughter was born, he had been taking care of most of the expenses around the house.
Because of such living arrangements, I was able to save quite an amount of money. A few months back, I decided to buy a house as an investment, despite my husband's opposition. I got a loan approved without my husband and purchased a house with 20% down (my entire personal savings). I have yet to find a renter for the property, but I have been able to pay for the mortage for this new property I purchased on my own.
A few weeks ago, my husband confided in me that he had been struggling to make ends meet and is falling very behind on everything. He has huge credit card debts and is thinking about stopping the mortgage payment. He will ask his bank to short sale the house or he'd have to foreclose. (our house is now selling at low $300K in the neighborhood, but my husband still own around $400K for the loan). Since my work hours have recently been cut and I'm no longer working full time. I make just enough to cover for the mortgage on the property I purchased as an investment. I doubt my husband's lender will allow him to short sale our house based on such circumstances. With all that said, I want to know if his lender can come after me, because I'm on the deed of the house he bought prior to our marriage (but not on the loan). Can his lender go after the investment property I purchased on my own?
Because of such living arrangements, I was able to save quite an amount of money. A few months back, I decided to buy a house as an investment, despite my husband's opposition. I got a loan approved without my husband and purchased a house with 20% down (my entire personal savings). I have yet to find a renter for the property, but I have been able to pay for the mortage for this new property I purchased on my own.
A few weeks ago, my husband confided in me that he had been struggling to make ends meet and is falling very behind on everything. He has huge credit card debts and is thinking about stopping the mortgage payment. He will ask his bank to short sale the house or he'd have to foreclose. (our house is now selling at low $300K in the neighborhood, but my husband still own around $400K for the loan). Since my work hours have recently been cut and I'm no longer working full time. I make just enough to cover for the mortgage on the property I purchased as an investment. I doubt my husband's lender will allow him to short sale our house based on such circumstances. With all that said, I want to know if his lender can come after me, because I'm on the deed of the house he bought prior to our marriage (but not on the loan). Can his lender go after the investment property I purchased on my own?
hi iieum,
the mortgage holder cannot come after you for the deficiency as you did not sign on the mortgage note. you are on the title to the property, but it does not make you liable for the mortgage. your investment property should be safe from any deficiency judgments. but if your husband is falling behind on mortgage payments and your work hours have been reduced, it will be very difficult to keep the primary residence. has your husband talked to the loss mitigation department and checked if a loan modification can help reduce the mortgage payments. in case this option does not work, he can try a short sale or go for a deed in lieu. but in both cases, you and your investment properties should be safe from deficiency judgments.
the mortgage holder cannot come after you for the deficiency as you did not sign on the mortgage note. you are on the title to the property, but it does not make you liable for the mortgage. your investment property should be safe from any deficiency judgments. but if your husband is falling behind on mortgage payments and your work hours have been reduced, it will be very difficult to keep the primary residence. has your husband talked to the loss mitigation department and checked if a loan modification can help reduce the mortgage payments. in case this option does not work, he can try a short sale or go for a deed in lieu. but in both cases, you and your investment properties should be safe from deficiency judgments.
As your name is not on the mortgage of the concerned property, the lender will not be able to come after you or the investment property that you've purchased in your name. However, your husband's credit will be affected if the property is foreclosed or short sold by the lender. To know more about foreclosure, check out the given page:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/foreclosure.html
http://www.mortgagefit.com/foreclosure.html
Thank you for the inputs.
We have tried to work out our financial problems, but it seems impossible for him to keep making the mortgage payments. And with the arrival of our daughter, our expenses have increased tremendously. I stuck on my investment property. My husband wants to stop paying for the mortgage, hoping the bank will let him short sale. I have done some research on short sale and it seem like he qualify for it (death, divorce, bankruptcy, medical problem, unemployment)...
If foreclosure is unavoidable, we are trying to save me from the downfall of it all. At least my credit will remain intact while his will more likely take a major plunge... Is it wise for me sign a quitclaim on our house, for which I name of the deed on the investment property I recently purchased (for which he is not on the loan)? Please advise.
We have tried to work out our financial problems, but it seems impossible for him to keep making the mortgage payments. And with the arrival of our daughter, our expenses have increased tremendously. I stuck on my investment property. My husband wants to stop paying for the mortgage, hoping the bank will let him short sale. I have done some research on short sale and it seem like he qualify for it (death, divorce, bankruptcy, medical problem, unemployment)...
If foreclosure is unavoidable, we are trying to save me from the downfall of it all. At least my credit will remain intact while his will more likely take a major plunge... Is it wise for me sign a quitclaim on our house, for which I name of the deed on the investment property I recently purchased (for which he is not on the loan)? Please advise.
welcome back iieum,
in my opinion, your husband should apply for a deed in lieu of foreclosure. if the lender accepts his request, your husband will be able to get rid of the property and he won't be responsible for the deficient amount.
if the lender forecloses the property, then your husband will be responsible for the deficient amount resulting from the sale. however, as your name is not on the mortgage, he will not come after you. in case, your husband is unable to pay off the dues, the lender will have the rights to place a lien on the investment property as your husband is one of the owners of that property though he is not on the mortgage.
in my opinion, your husband should apply for a deed in lieu of foreclosure. if the lender accepts his request, your husband will be able to get rid of the property and he won't be responsible for the deficient amount.
if the lender forecloses the property, then your husband will be responsible for the deficient amount resulting from the sale. however, as your name is not on the mortgage, he will not come after you. in case, your husband is unable to pay off the dues, the lender will have the rights to place a lien on the investment property as your husband is one of the owners of that property though he is not on the mortgage.
Thank you for all your help.
I want to know if my husband removes my name from the deed prior to foreclosing the house, would it be considered fraud and we can get in trouble? My name is on the deed (but not on the mortgage) and we don't want foreclosure to affect my credit in any way.
In your expert opinion, do you think we have a chance if we ask the lender to allow us to short sale instead?
I want to know if my husband removes my name from the deed prior to foreclosing the house, would it be considered fraud and we can get in trouble? My name is on the deed (but not on the mortgage) and we don't want foreclosure to affect my credit in any way.
In your expert opinion, do you think we have a chance if we ask the lender to allow us to short sale instead?
Hi iieum,
Your name is not on the mortgage. Thus, you can sign a quit claim deed and remove your name from the property deed. It won't be considered as a fraud. Moreover, the foreclosure will not affect you as your name is not mentioned on the mortgage deed.
You can definitely apply for a short sale with your lender. However, note that agreeing to your request is totally your lender's discretion. You can write a hardship letter to your lender and inform him about your financial situation. Depending upon that, your lender will let you know whether or not he would agree to it.
Take care.
Your name is not on the mortgage. Thus, you can sign a quit claim deed and remove your name from the property deed. It won't be considered as a fraud. Moreover, the foreclosure will not affect you as your name is not mentioned on the mortgage deed.
You can definitely apply for a short sale with your lender. However, note that agreeing to your request is totally your lender's discretion. You can write a hardship letter to your lender and inform him about your financial situation. Depending upon that, your lender will let you know whether or not he would agree to it.
Take care.
To reiterate and clarify the above posts.
Yes, you can quit claim your name off of the property into just the name of your husband. However, in my experience, I see no reason to bother.
Any foreclosure proceedings that may happen will be against the deed of trust for the loan in his name. If it's foreclosed upon, you should receive notice of the foreclosure proceedings and you would have the right to try and seek to forestall the foreclosure. As it sounds like you have no capabilities to forestall the foreclosure, you would let it proceed through it's natural course.
In addition, they don't have a legal right to come after the investment property, even if his name is on the deed. They are seperate transactions and are unrelated.
I am not a lawyer, the above is from my experience in the industry and research I've done.
Yes, you can quit claim your name off of the property into just the name of your husband. However, in my experience, I see no reason to bother.
Any foreclosure proceedings that may happen will be against the deed of trust for the loan in his name. If it's foreclosed upon, you should receive notice of the foreclosure proceedings and you would have the right to try and seek to forestall the foreclosure. As it sounds like you have no capabilities to forestall the foreclosure, you would let it proceed through it's natural course.
In addition, they don't have a legal right to come after the investment property, even if his name is on the deed. They are seperate transactions and are unrelated.
I am not a lawyer, the above is from my experience in the industry and research I've done.