How to Get Super Cheated While Your House is Being Foreclosed
You have seen that bandit sign at the intersection that says STOP FORECLOSURE call Mr. Miracle at 555 BIG SCAM. Here is an opportunity. Mr. Miracle who looks talks a lot like P. T. Barnum and Elmer Gantry all rolled into one, suggests that you deed your house to him subject to the mortgage. What does that mean? In Florida, it means that you have deeded your house to Mr. Miracle He owns it. It is his. You need to move out or pay him rent. He owns the house but you owe the mortgage. You owe the mortgage. You signed a promissory note when you got the mortgage. You personally promised to pay back the money. If you don’t, the bank will sue you for a deficiency judgment. What is a deficiency judgment? It is when the bank sues you and gets a personal judgment against you for the difference between how much you owe and what the house sold for at public foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps when Mr. Miracle did not catch up and make the payments like he said he would.
Oh well. You can always declare bankruptcy unless you have already done that and the bank waits until you have done that to sue you. Don’t those judgments expire? Yes they do in twenty years. In Florida the creditor can take your assets. take your bank account, garnish your wages, aggravate you for a long time
Wouldn’t it make more sense to get a little more information before you deed your house to Mr. Miracle.
Here is another idea. Let’s do nothing! Yeah do nothing. Just sit back and wait for the foreclosure auction. It’s not your fault that you are in this fix anyway. It’s the bank”s fault. It’s the real estate agent’s fault. It’s the government’s fault. Do nothing is just a little bit better than deeding your house to Mr. Miracle. If you do nothing, in Florida, it will take about six to ten months for the foreclosure process to happen.Your house will be sold on the courthouse steps. It will sell for pennies on the dollar or the bank will buy it. You will probably be sued for a deficiency judgment. Your Problems have just begun.
Deed it to Mr. Miracle. That is not a good plan. Do nothing. That is not much better. What can you do?
Here is a novel idea. Catch up the back payments and continue making the payments. I am amazed at how many people are being foreclosed on that aren’t working. Go to work. Earn some money. Do something beneath your dignity. Sell something. Sell everything you own. Sell your car. Sell your jet ski. Sell your furniture. Sell your jewelry. Sell your motorcycle. If any of this stuff has payments, sell that first. Get the money together and make the payments. Unless you committed fraud to get this mortgage, you could afford this house when you bought it.Afford it now. Make the payments. Don’t take this lying down. If you did commit mortgage fraud to get this loan, that is an even better reason to make the payments. After foreclosure a fraud investigation could really make your life miserable. Google that,
Many people that come to my real estate school are there to learn how to learn to make money so they can make the payments on their house that is being foreclosed. Real estate, insurance,pre paid legal, Avon, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef and a bunch of other products are sold on commission only. Anyone that wants to earn money can learn to make money by selling one of these products. It is easy to get hired because the recruiter can’t tell if you are going to work. Almost all products that are sold on commission only can be sold by anyone that works hard. Get such an opportunity and earn some money. Make your payments.Most of these products including real estate can be sold part time. If you are currently employed but need more money, find such an opportunity. Make your payments.
Call your mortgage company or bank. Talk to them. Ask them what you can do. They might amaze you. I have heard some amazing stories.
Here is a plan that I am certain will work. Sell your house. If you can’t afford it, sell it. What could be more simple than that. Find a buyer. He gets a new mortgage, pays your mortgage off. Your problem is solved. What if your house is worth three hundred thousand and you owe four hundred on your mortgage.?
Banks are in business to make money. If they foreclose on your house, it will probably sell at public auction on the courthouse steps for $200,000, or the bank will buy it at the courthouse steps. Then they will list it with a real estate agent and he will make a commission. They will also pay the normal closing costs of the transaction. They will also have all the normal expenses of home ownership; taxes, HOA dues, insurance, maintenance, etc. They don’t want to do that. However, if it is the most profitable option available to them they will do that.
Another choice for you is called loss mitigation, slangly called “short sale”. The way this works is, you find a buyer, the best way to do that is to list with a good real estate agent. The real estate agent finds a buyer at a proper price. Participate in that decision. After all the expenses of the sale have been paid, the bank accepts the proceeds of that sale and satisfies the loan.
Have an attorney represent you and be certain that the bank waives their right to a deficiency judgment.
Please understand you are in a very bad spot. It is going to take a lot of discomfort to get out. Be good to yourself. Be good to your spouse. Do not sign any papers that you don’t understand. Legal advise is cheap compared to what can happen without it. Think. These are big important decisions.