It's time to walk - Portland

[username3469]

Hi everyone, great thread.

I'm in Portland Oregon and stopped making payments on my condo back in August. I've missed 3 payments so far...this week will be #4. So far no calls from the bank but I'm also trying to short-sell the place and my realtor has been in contact with them regularly so perhaps that's why. Frankly I'm not sure why I'm bothering with the short sale at this point...when this whole thing began it felt like a more ethical way to approach the situation but now it just feels like an unnecessary pain in the ___.

Last month I received a letter from the bank saying that if I didn't pay the outstanding balance in full by November that they would have "no choice but to start foreclosure proceedings." I don't know if that means I should expect my NOD soon or what. Like previous posters have said, at this point I just want to know a rough timeframe on the rest of this process so that I can move on with my life.

A couple of questions:

1) For primary residency purposes, can you move out when you receive your NOD or do you need to wait until they actually sell the property? I want to be as protected as possible but I want to move on with my life too.

2) There seems to be some confusion about deficiency judgments. I've heard from a few people that they can come after you with a Judicial foreclosure but cannot under the standard non-judicial foreclosure. That said I've also read several websites that claim that they can't come after you under either process as long as it's a first loan on a plain residential deed of trust for a primary residence. Anyone confirm either way? Banks in Oregon are using the judicial process more and more nowadays

3) Anyone familiar with the Oregon Bond Loan program in these situations? I used them to get money for downpayment assistance when I first purchased the condo and I'm curious if they have any recourse after this process is completed.

Thanks! Credit is overrated anyway

[jcltw]

Bad News. Received a summons and wells fargo is proceeding with a judicial foreclosure. The house was in my wifes name and we moved into a house in my name in June. Thought we would be in the clear since we had received a letter that the file was being referred to the attorney NW Trustee Services. Big mistake! I am waiting to hear back from our lawer but it doen't look good. My advice is stay in the house until the end. Good luck everyone.

[KentWalk]

Bad News. Received a summons and wells fargo is proceeding with a judicial foreclosure. The house was in my wifes name and we moved into a house in my name in June. Thought we would be in the clear since we had received a letter that the file was being referred to the attorney NW Trustee Services. Big mistake! I am waiting to hear back from our lawer but it doen't look good. My advice is stay in the house until the end. Good luck everyone.

Oh No, that is bad news Did you ever give them any financials or a reason to believe you had money? What state are you in?

[username3469]

Oh No, that is bad news Did you ever give them any financials or a reason to believe you had money? What state are you in?

Didn't necessarily need to show that he had money for the JF. Many banks, I believe Wells Fargo in particular, are proceeding with Judicial Foreclosures across the board now in the wake of the MERS case. I have a neighbor who got a Judicial summons a few weeks ago and I'm fairly certain she's not the type to have thousands of dollars stashed away.

[jcltw]

We didn't give them any financials. I have been obsessed with this all day looking online and it appears that WF is going the judicial route with a lot of there defaults due to the MERS case the stalled all foreclosures back in May. Now the question is will they persue a deficiency judgement against us or just take the house and be done with it. May be looking at chapter 13 bankruptcy but that is still better than the 100k we were upside down on the house. I am also confused because like username3469 I have seen multiple sites reference non-recourse even in the event of a judicial foreclosure if it was a single loan primary residence. If anybody has any input on this I would love to hear it. I will keep everyone posted on what happens next.

[username3469]

We didn't give them any financials. I have been obsessed with this all day looking online and it appears that WF is going the judicial route with a lot of there defaults due to the MERS case the stalled all foreclosures back in May. Now the question is will they persue a deficiency judgement against us or just take the house and be done with it. May be looking at chapter 13 bankruptcy but that is still better than the 100k we were upside down on the house. I am also confused because like username3469 I have seen multiple sites reference non-recourse even in the event of a judicial foreclosure if it was a single loan primary residence. If anybody has any input on this I would love to hear it. I will keep everyone posted on what happens next.

Hey there - I'm NOT an expert or attorney. Just done a lot of reading and research like you. What I've read is that in Oregon for a residential Deed of Trust with a single loan there's no recourse through Judicial and non-Judicial. The wild card is if you've moved out of your house before they serve you then they might have an avenue to convert your "residential loan" into an "investment property" loan in the eyes of the court....and in that case they could come after you for a judgment.\

That said, definitely sounds like a question for your attorney.

[lumpsofsugar]

We didn't give them any financials. I have been obsessed with this all day looking online and it appears that WF is going the judicial route with a lot of there defaults due to the MERS case the stalled all foreclosures back in May. Now the question is will they persue a deficiency judgement against us or just take the house and be done with it. May be looking at chapter 13 bankruptcy but that is still better than the 100k we were upside down on the house. I am also confused because like username3469 I have seen multiple sites reference non-recourse even in the event of a judicial foreclosure if it was a single loan primary residence. If anybody has any input on this I would love to hear it. I will keep everyone posted on what happens next.

Jcltw any update? Curious to see if they are still pursuing a judicial fc? Mine was nonjudicial in august and luckily I haven't heard a word from anyone.

[jcltw]

Our attorney is working with the attorney who filed the suit on WF behalf. It looks like in Oregon a large portion of foreclosures will be moving foreward as judicial due to the MERS case that held everything up last year. I think we will be able to avoid a deficiency judgement if we agree to sign away our right of redemption. Our attorny said this could take awhile. So for now just waiting. My advice is stay in the house until the end. Even if it is a judicial foreclsoure you should be safe from recourse.

[elcaminos]

This thread was very informative, and is motivating me to keep reading as I consider walking myself. I am curious about those of you who have completed the process, what did you end up paying in legal fees to help you through this?

[KentWalk]

This thread was very informative, and is motivating me to keep reading as I consider walking myself. I am curious about those of you who have completed the process, what did you end up paying in legal fees to help you through this?

I have only paid $95 for a 1 hour consult with a real estate lawyer. I took a bunch of notes from these forums and had all my questions written down that I wanted him to clarify/confirm. It was the best $95 I spent for peace of mind. He gave me the "green light" and said I was in a good position to walk.

[lumpsofsugar]

This thread was very informative, and is motivating me to keep reading as I consider walking myself. I am curious about those of you who have completed the process, what did you end up paying in legal fees to help you through this?

I did two consults with real estate attorneys. I think I spent about $300 total, but it was totally worth the money. With the info I got from the attorney and info from this site and a few others, I felt like I had enough info to feel comfortable with my decision to walk. I also had all my questions written down in advance of meeting with the attorneys and I also had my loan docs with me so they could review them.

[elcaminos]

I did two consults with real estate attorneys. I think I spent about $300 total, but it was totally worth the money. With the info I got from the attorney and info from this site and a few others, I felt like I had enough info to feel comfortable with my decision to walk. I also had all my questions written down in advance of meeting with the attorneys and I also had my loan docs with me so they could review them.

Thanks for the info. Would a tax attorney be completely separate from a real estate one or is there some crossover? I think I need to focus on being counseled on the tax implications first. I started a thread about my situation here in which I describe my main concern as being the expiration of the Debt Relief act.

[lumpsofsugar]

Yep, RE attorney and Tax attorney are different. I found my RE attorney was pretty versed in taxes, but there were a few things he wasn't sure about. So I also consulted a tax accountant. The tax accountant was good, but honestly, I got most of my information on the IRS website myself -- Internal Revenue Service. Publication 4681 is the one I referenced the most. I had to read it a few times bcuz some of the language can be confusing, but I found once I read it a few times, it actually made sense. There's also form 982, which is the one you'll fill out once you foreclose and get your 1099 at tax time.

Thanks for the info. Would a tax attorney be completely separate from a real estate one or is there some crossover? I think I need to focus on being counseled on the tax implications first. I started a thread about my situation here in which I describe my main concern as being the expiration of the Debt Relief act.

[HomeInApril]

***UPDATE***

Received a letter from WF stating my 2nd has been 'charged off' and entire balance is 'accelerated'. Anyone know what this means?

I'm assuming WF has sold my 2nd down river to a collection agency. But I haven't heard from anyone yet. My house was officially foreclosed last week so the 1st was non-judicially foreclosed, therefore they can't come after me for that. I'll just have to prep for negotiating the 2nd.

I also checked my credit report, and no changes there. I'll check it again next month after the foreclosure and see what WF reports, if it's different than the standard 'late'.

Hi Lumpofsuger. Your posts have been so helpful as I also walk away from my home in Portland with Wells Fargo. My first missed payment was on 10/1/11. And so far my progress has been very similar to your experience. I was just curious if there were any further issues with your 2nd after you received the letter stating that it had been "charged off". Thanks!

[lumpsofsugar]

Hi Lumpofsuger. Your posts have been so helpful as I also walk away from my home in Portland with Wells Fargo. My first missed payment was on 10/1/11. And so far my progress has been very similar to your experience. I was just curious if there were any further issues with your 2nd after you received the letter stating that it had been "charged off". Thanks!

Homeinapril, no issues yet with the 2nd. I haven't heard a word from anyone. So far so good. My heloc was relatively small, so I'm hoping they decide it's not worth it. My attorney did say they have up to six years to sue on the 2nd.

[lumpsofsugar]

UPDATE: my foreclosed house has been listed for sale on rmls for a while now and it finally sold this week. I purchased for $385,000, and the final sales price this week was $180,000!!!! Um ya, I'm so glad I walked away from that! Best thing I have ever done.

Also, an identical house 3 doors down was also foreclosed on and sold last week. It sold for $158,000. Less than half of what that owner paid back in 08.

[katwalker]

Great thread LoS! Thanks for sharing!

-k

[lumpsofsugar]

UPDATE: 1099-A came in the mail today for the 1st mortgage with box 5 checked Yes liable. Seems odd since my loan was non-recourse. I haven't done my taxes yet, so I'll see how this shakes out, but from what I understand, because of the Mortgage Forgiveness Act, all I have to do is fill out form 982 and declare it was my primary residence, and the taxes are forgiven.

I'll know in a few weeks when I do my taxes and update everyone then.

In the meantime, if anyone out there has done their taxes with a 1099-A non-recourse loan already, let me know how you interpreted yours.

[Jumbo in Oregon]

lumpsofsugar- How did you know your credit limit dropped? Did they send you a notice?

[lumpsofsugar]

lumpsofsugar- How did you know your credit limit dropped? Did they send you a notice?

I signed up for a credit monitoring service via a credit card. Ironically, the credit card that provided the credit monitoring and ability to view credit reports, was the same one (and only one) who lowered my limit. None of my other CC;s limits have been touched. I still get in the mail everyday credit card offers for 0% or 1% with high limits, not that I'm using them.

[duckfan]

Our attorney is working with the attorney who filed the suit on WF behalf. It looks like in Oregon a large portion of foreclosures will be moving foreward as judicial due to the MERS case that held everything up last year. I think we will be able to avoid a deficiency judgement if we agree to sign away our right of redemption. Our attorny said this could take awhile. So for now just waiting. My advice is stay in the house until the end. Even if it is a judicial foreclsoure you should be safe from recourse.

I am in the same boat and heard the same opinion from my att'y: Wells may let me walk away if I sign away the right of redemption.

My situation is complicated and I'd appreciate any advice from other members... I have a first with WF, 2nd and 3rd from KeyBank. I left the home (and oregon) at end of sept. WF must have done an inspection because they filed the suit in october and said the property was abandoned - so they would seek a deficiency judgement. I didn't get served until mid-december and that started a 30 day clock to give a response to WF att'y and the court, or they would file for judgement against me.

All along I have intended to do a short sale, the property was listed when I left oregon, and I did get an offer at the end of Nov. I also got a new job at end of nov, but WF doesn't know about it. I had submitted a hardship letter and financial statement to them previously when I was unemployed. The short sale sat in WF's lap for approval, and we proposed through the HUD to give KeyBank some $$ through the proceeds of the sale in the hope that they would not pursue me for an unsecured note (they've been known to hold short sales up, or kill them alltogether, trying to pressure sellers into singing on for unsecured debt).

On the judicial suit side, I hired a portland att'y and he sent a letter to WF's att'y saying we are trying to do a short sale so don't foreclose and at least give him 10 days notice before they file for a sale date with the court. He did tell me that we could try and negotiate a deal where Key agrees to not pursue me, WF agrees to not pursue me, and the property goes foreclosure to WF. I felt like since the short sale was still in progress I owed it to those parties to try and make that work if possible.

Now today I get an email from my short sale broker saying WF wants me to fill out the HAMP and this thing asks me for all of my info under the threat of perjury. I'm assuming that we're getting close to a short sale decision by WF - which would then lead to a decision by KeyBank, no guarantees there - and possible closing of the short sale.

On the other hand, if I hand them the HAMP and they see that I'm now bringing in a healthy income, will WF and/or Key freak out and try to come after me for unsecured debt? Or could this just torpedo the short sale altogether.

I have a couple of days before they'll be asking for the HAMP but now I'm thinking I should turn to the att'y and tell him to go ahead with the negotiation for settlement and foreclosure.

So I know it's a long story, but if you have any advice I'd appreciate hearing it. I don't know if filling out and returning the HAMP could be the road to closing the short sale, or possibly the worst move I could make since leaving the property vacant... ;-(

to short or foreclose, that is the question.

[izzle]

For those in Southwest Washington, Portland Oregon, or for those wishing to drive, I am setting up a lunch meetup. March 24th, noon. Calling all Portland Oregon/Vancouver Washington Walkers! Anyone interested in a lunch meetup?

[toughdecisions]

Hi Lumpsofsugar,
Could you have stayed in the house since the auction happened but no one bought it and it was returned to the bank?
Did you ever end up getting cash for keys?
Has your second ever come around, trying to collect?
Thanks