missed a payment---do I need an attorney

[azxie]

My house is in AZ and I have missed the first payment. The loan is 270K and market value is around 200k. I will leave AZ next year so I decided to walk away. I have been getting a lot of information here but I still have some questions.
I bought the house with another person. We are both on the loan. But the other person left the country and I have been paying the loan by myself. The other party's name is taken off from the title since I paid him $$$$ to let him sign the quit claim deed . So I am the only one on the title. Now my questions are

1) I did a refinance once but i did not take cash out. It was just to get a better rate. My loan now is 30 year fixed rate. So my loan should still be non-recourse, right?
2) My husband's name is not on the loan and not on the title. So his credit should not be affected. If he wants to buy a house, is there going be a problem?

I would appreciate for any advice.

[azxie]

I have been living in the house for 2 years.

[AZChick]

If your refi'd for a rate/term and took no money out, you should be fine. If your husband does not have his name on the loan or title, he should be fine also......according to what my lawyer told me. I would def. suggest speaking with a lawyer briefly just to be sure though...

[azxie]

Thanks for your reply. I will talk to a lawyer. I think I will need a real estate lawyer, right? I heard of a company that can provide legal advice for $1000. Is it worth trying this company?
I don't think the lender would come after me. But I am planing to close my bank account with the lender and open one with another bank.

[baileys dad]

I've heard mixed results about that site. A good lawyer should cost about 275 plus or minus and some will provide a free initial consultation.
Good thing to close the account associated with the lender.

[The Professor]

Being the sort of non-judgmental person I am, when I don't know about a service I'm considering retaining, I find Google to be a great resource. For example you might want to try putting the following into the Google search:

"youwalkaway.com" lawsuit

It is important to use the ""s because it searches the content between the ""s as a single phrase. With searches like this, well I'm sure you can make your own determination.

Daniel

[Enough Already]

I haven't heard good things about any of those types of companies. I agree, it probably best to consult with with an attorney or two, or three. Many will talk to you for free upfront, and you can go from there.

[dealingwithHomeEq]

These links are directly from the California State Bar's website.

http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/eth...oreclosure.pdf

News Releases

[maxx233]

I would also suggest speaking with a lawyer. I had a consultation with one that sounded perfect, but they wanted 1500 as a package deal, and I think that's crazy. As was already said, look to pay somewhere around 250ish for a bit of consultation. I'm sure once I can find someone local that's the rate I'll be looking at - my problem has just been finding someone competant local :\

[Enough Already]

We had to talk to a few attorneys too, before we found someone who wasn't trying to push us to short sell with their realtor (so they end up with big fat commission). We ended up finding a very good attorney who has no other agenda than to defend us through the foreclosure/short sale (whichever happens first). We are paying him a retainer, but we have a recourse loan, and assets to protect. You may have to search a bit, but you'll probably end up finding one you like.

[AZChick]

My lawyer was 75 bucks for a half hour phone session. My suggestion...write down all of your questions and make sure you have all of your facts about your property, then call the laywer and ask them rapid fire questions and be done with it in about 30 minutes. That's what I did, best 75 bucks I ever spent. Just be prepared so you don't run over 30 minutes. Since I had taken the time to look over all my documents I didn't need the lawyer to explain things I already knew, plus I had armed myself with information from this site so that I could speak their language...

[The Professor]

Wise advice for a couple of reasons. First it allows you to better measure the knowledge and effectiveness of the lawyer you are "interviewing." Second, you can get to the heart of the matter quickly thus reducing your overall cost. It becomes too expensive a proposition if the lawyer you retain needs to "go to school" on your nickel, learning about the various aspects of foreclosure we frequently discuss in this forum.

Daniel

[dogatemy]

My attorney was willing to do everything over the phone for free. I insisted on an in-person review of my loan docs (for reasons that I won't clutter this post explaining) and the total cost was about $150 for 30 minutes. If I wanted to give him a retainer then the cost was $250 for the first hour.

There is no justification I can come up with to explain why any attorney would need to charge $1000 for a docs review.

[azxie]

I finally spoke to an real estate lawyer and got some information. He said to aviod tax consequencies, the foreclosure has to be done before Feb, 2010. He said a deed in lieu foreclosure can better control the time. I am not sure how to apply for the deed in lieu. Anybody has an ideal? I would hope my foreclosure can be done in December but the lawyer said it could take much longer.

My infor again:

First missed payment ---- April ,2009
State ---AZ

By the way, the lawyer looked at my loan files and he said our refi was "limited cash out/Rate term". But we did not take any cash out. It because the new loan covers the closing cost and interests. The lawyer said he could not worry about it. Any thought?

[azpoor]

I thought I read on the IRS site that the timeframe for tax forgiveness was like 2012. Anyone verify this?

[azxie]

I checked the IRS website and it does say until 2012. I am not sure why the lawyer states that it needs to be done before Feb. 10th 2010. I will call him to see.

[azxie]

I called the lawyer and he said he thought it was 2010. I told him in the IRS website it is from 2007 to 2012. He said it is good to know!!! I think I will try to stay in the house as long as possible. I submitted a load modification apllication and I guess it will buy us more time to rent for free.

[azxie]

I have an idea to buy our house back at the auction. My husband's name is not on the loan/title. Can he buy our house at the auction?

[The Professor]

Purchases at foreclosure sales require that the bidder qualify. Qualification effectively means that you have cash (actually a cashier's check) at least the amount of your bid. My sense is most families that are in foreclosure don't have that much cash lying around.

Daniel