[♥]

I am thinking of letting my house foreclose for personal reasons.

Ideas?

[Cold Warrior]

Do you really think a bank will lend you money for another home after you default on another?

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

Do you really think a bank will lend you money for another home after you default on another?

What I was thinking.

I don't see letting your house foreclose solving your problem.

[Eug]

Ouch.

Do you owe more than the house is now worth? BTW, is this you?
Cuz in that nice area (at least judging by the pic) I'm a bit surprised 25% of the houses are foreclosures.
Are a lot of these second homes or something?



Good luck, whatever the case.

[Heavy Fluid]

I am not sure that you want the damage on your credit that you will get from a foreclosure. Credit is not that easy to build up, trust me, I was there, not with a foreclosure or anything like that, but I have had one hell of a time building it back up.

Personally, I would not walk away from that. I would try to sell it, or fix it at least.

[MacosNerd]

Your credit rating is going to get pummeled and while you'll eventually be able to get another mortgage. It will take a long time and the rate that you'll get charged will be a lot higher then what most others will get because you were foreclosed upon which might push the cost up so it may not be feasible for you to own another house.

If it was so bad, stuff strewn along and not getting anything for your fees why did you buy the house? Generally speaking you should have gotten paperwork about what the association is supposed to do before you buy the house.

I cannot answer about your neighbors or the issue with the slab since its doubtful you could have done or known anything about that when you were looking at the house initially.

My opinion is that while running away seems like a good move now, I believe in the long run it will harm your financial future. Don't forget that more and more organizations use your credit score to measure you, for instance many employers now use that. Their thinking is that if you cannot make sound decisions on your own finances, why should they hire you. Also credit cards will not give you good rates or even a line of credit for that matter. Car loans, what happens when you need to buy a new car and opt for a car loan.

Do you have any legal recourse on the builder or town regarding the slab foundation? The same question for the association. If your paying dues and are not getting the promised or documented services take them to court.

[♥]

I'm not worried about my credit score. I have reasons why.

I just think I should walk away. To answer questions, I bought this house as a foreclosure (karma?) and got a good deal on it. I was thinking of short-selling the house also.

[KeriVit]

I'd sell at a loss before letting it foreclose. That just seems dumb.

[peeb]

Did you get a home inspection done? Is the builder still in business? What is your relationship with the property management company and the security company? Can you stop paying them?

[♥]

Thanks, peeb.

The builder is close to bankrupt. Large builder that has laid off 95% of the force. Property management company is THE worst. They should be sued for non-performance. They allot 20 hours per week to "manage" a 400+ home community with myriads of issues. The rub, however, is that if I stop paying them then they attach a lien to the home, etc. The HOA fees are $300 for nothing. Zilch. Zippo.

The home is devalued about 20%. Selling at a loss means short-selling since there is a mortgage and I'm not willing to take the hit personally.

Anyone else ever do this or consider it?

[brassplayersrock²]

good luck with everything cody

[Eug]

Originally Posted by KeriVit 

I'd sell at a loss before letting it foreclose. That just seems dumb.

I guess it depends upon how much of a loss (and how important her credit is her to her).

She said it's depreciated about 20%, but we don't know how much of the mortgage is left owing.

The other point is where is she gonna live? Cody, if you can tough it out for a few years, maybe that'll do it. Then again, maybe it won't.

[andi*pandi]

yike!

[Dork.]

You had less than 20% of equity in the house before it was "devalued", I assume?

[MacosNerd]

Well if you don't care, or rather not concerned about your credit score and have no moral issues to breaking the contract. Then there's little reason to stay.

[♥]

Actually, just about 20%.

The moral issue is this: The builder sold us a home knowing fully well that the previous home on the lot, and the slab, did not pass inspection. In short, my house was built on what used to be a pond. The pond is seeping back up as it were. The slab is cracked in three places. The builder doesn't give a crap - they're about out of business. Meanwhile, the floor is cracking, etc. I can't stand the neighbors that are drunks and smoke and party until 5:00 AM every night. Today when my spouse went to work the guy was still drunk from being up all night and started harassing my spouse, threatening things, etc. It never stops. Telling the cops doesn't work. Telling the HOA doesn't work. There is no security. What is a person supposed to do except retaliate in kind? And I'm just not that kind of person. I'd rather walk away.

[peeb]

Well, just make sure that you really don't need to worry about the implications of this for your credit score, and then reconcile the fact that your complaints about the builder and the neighbors really have very little to do with your contract with whoever lent you the money to buy this house, and then you should be fine just to stop paying back the money you borrowed. Yep, no moral issues there.
Seriously though, this is a crappy position to be in - you might want to try talking to your lender about it. It's possible that they would be interested in cutting a deal rather than having you default. If not, there are apparently companies and books that tell you how best to default - you can probably live in your house for 7-8 months without paying anything, and then pass the costs onto the general pool of lenders who continue to pay their debts. Good luck!

[♥]

I'm not intending to foreclose by squatting. I intend on either short-selling (the lender can keep my downpayment and devalue and resell the house to a qualified buyer who is willing to make a real-market offer based on actual appreciation versus jacked appreciation) or I will call them and say, "Come and get your keys. I'm leaving." They can have the house immediately after I decide to move out. As a responsible person I feel some sense of responsibility, but as a person that feels duped by not knowing that I'm living in a house thank was built over a swamp - and the first time sank into that swamp - and living in a situation that is untenable, I put my family first, therefore no guilt.

[Atheist]

If you're not worried about your credit rating....just walk away. Life is way too short to worry about anything.

[Uncle Skeleton]

It seems to me you were "fooled" into this bind. You should be very careful that you're not currently getting "fooled" again into thinking that walking away is a good option. It's pretty brash to declare "I won't need credit again," especially for someone who purports to put their family first. In case of the unexpected (again), your family may need that credit rating again sooner than you now think.

By the numbers you gave it sounds like you could be out of there without defaulting if you just go to the trouble to sell it for less than you paid, but the same as you owe. The trouble it takes you to sell it might save you and your family from far greater hardships down the road. Just make sure you think it through this time, and be more cautious than you were the day you were "fooled" into buying the house in the first place.

[Atomic Rooster]

They build houses on slabs? Weird.

Be like other Merikans and live in a trailer.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster 

They build houses on slabs? Weird.

"Foundation?"