Walking Away in Washington- The time has come

[WalkThenRun]

....

I'm curious about your plan to seek mediation. You realize that in order to progress down that path to a possible agreement/modification (no sure if you are seekiing that), you will need to provide financials? I was curious if you are willing to do that? For me, that's the deal killer. You could request the mediation and not provide the info as a means to extend your process by 30-60 days after you get the NOD, but the mediation will be cancelled.

Hi StrategicDefaultinWA,

Yes I do realize they WILL ask me to disclose financials; I also do not want disclose this information.

There are a couple reasons I might request this option even if I don't intend to disclose financials including the possibility of "buying" an additional 30-60 days or until they cancel. I do have to pay the the fee for the referral to mediation hence the "buying".

The other reason for doing this is the possibility of the bank offering to modify my payment without the financial disclosure. It might be a stretch but I have not read much about people who have completed mediation. If you read an earlier post (#73) you will see how my bank had sent me a letter prior to Thanksgiving on a payment reduction without any financial information submission. Back then, they mentioned they could reduce this proposed lower payment even further if I submitted more paperwork; I chose not to act on this proposal since they are just band-aiding the actual problem and there was nothing in writing except a send us three "trial payments". I might act on a similar option if the payment amount is comparable or in the ball park for what I would have to pay in rent and if they put it in writing.

Keep us posted on your situation.

[emmymem]

Hi KentWalk and WalkthenRun,

Thank you for all of your valuable posts/information. Is there any chance the WA Walkers are going to meet for lunch again soon? I would love to get together and get some pointers. I am very interested/anxious to get my process started and want to be sure I have all my "ducks" in a row. I am in the South/West Seattle area.

[WalkThenRun]

Hi Emmymem...the first meeting in Jan2012 organized by KentWalk had a great turnout but the last one had only six folks show up. We can try to organize something in March around the Seattle area if we find there is interest.

UPDATE:
Not much to report...still waiting on my NOD and I am getting a weekly call from my bank; fortunately they all go to voice mail. I have not talked to a real person for a few months so I may call and let them know I am still alive....not that it really matters but my RM might have something new to say or NOT. Every time I would talk to the RM it was the usual "submit the package we sent you so we can work with you."

I have not checked my credit score for a while since I can't do much to fix it while I continue this process. My bank keeps reporting my missed payment each month and will probably continue until they take the house back. I continue to use my credit cards and pay them off at the end of the billing cycle so there may be some positive input to my credit history.

No NOD...I should be living here at least until the beginning of May. Once I do receive the NOD I might consider mediation.

The journey continues....

First Missed payment Feb2012
First and second loan- two different banks

[emmymem]

Thanks for the update WalkThenRun. I am very interested in a March or April lunch in the Seattle area. I am only intown the weekend of the 16th in March, but I am here the weekend of the 13 and 27th in April. (Taking care of relatives). I have been following your thread and am amazed that you do not have a NOD after a year. My bank is an out of state bank Flagstar and I have not found any local threads with people using them. So I have no idea what to expect. I plan on starting the fun in March.

[StrategicDefaultInWA]

Hey WTR...Don't know if you saw, but I received my NOD yesterday.

[WalkThenRun]

Hey WTR...Don't know if you saw, but I received my NOD yesterday.

Hi SDinWA...thanks for the update on your NOD. It is reassuring to have an idea of what our timeline looks like here in WA; I'm sure you know you are in your place till at least mid May. I think your strategy of waiting until the NOS is delivered to start looking for a place is sound.

Looks like your bank is targeting putting your home on the market in the summer; when home sales tend to be higher than other times during the year.

Was there any activity that gave you any insight the NOD was coming? Are you going to do anything in regards to mediation? I will visit your blog to see what else you got going on.

My NOD should be around the corner.

[WalkThenRun]

Thanks for the update WalkThenRun. I am very interested in a March or April lunch in the Seattle area. I am only intown the weekend of the 16th in March, but I am here the weekend of the 13 and 27th in April. (Taking care of relatives). I have been following your thread and am amazed that you do not have a NOD after a year. My bank is an out of state bank Flagstar and I have not found any local threads with people using them. So I have no idea what to expect. I plan on starting the fun in March.

We can try to schedule something in March...

[Vantucky]

WalkThenRun,

Any updates? You started walking (February 2012) 5 months before I did so I'm interested in your timeline, especially when you finally receive the NOD.

[WalkThenRun]

WalkThenRun,

Any updates? You started walking (February 2012) 5 months before I did so I'm interested in your timeline, especially when you finally receive the NOD.

Hi Vantucky,

I don't have any major updates to report as I start March leaving me here through at least June.

UPDATE:
I have consistently received a call a week for the last four weeks from my dear mortgage company which end up going to my alternate number. The message is a real person with the standard message of give us a call to this number at these office hours. One interesting thing I have noticed towards the end of last year (around November) is the how my relationship manager (RM) stopped calling me; I guess we were not meant for each other. Not sure what to think of it but I guess he got tired of calling me and getting no response; I might dig up his number and see what he has to say. Additionally I may also call the number in the voice messages to see if I can get any info from those folks.

So why is this taking a bit longer....some random thoughts with no hard facts just observations:
-During my walk the original bank sold my note to another bank four months in (May) and may have reset my timeline
-The walk went into the end of year where banks may have halted the foreclosure process (a month or two) through the holidays
-If the bank acted in the Fall (issued the NOD) then the home would be empty through the winter and the probability of damage due to weather and/or vandalism would have been higher
-The housing market maybe showing signs of improvement but the foreclosure backlog may still be high and they don't want to flood the market even more with these types of homes....short sales are in fashion these days.

My second loan is dormant. No activity at all as if nothing ever happened. No late notices or calls. One thing I do notice is how the amount owed does not change in my paper statements but my online summary does change....damm lying banks!

I am expecting a NOD in the next few weeks allowing the bank to take the home back sometime in the summer and allowing for the home to go on the market shortly thereafter. I may try to exercise a mitigation attempt to prolong the process but I am still not willing to disclose financials; we will see if I can squeeze more weeks (or months) from the process. I will consider a modification if it is comparable to renting a place.

First missed payment Feb2012
No NOD
The journey continues.

[WalkThenRun]

Quick Update:

Not really an update since there is not much to report. I did talk to my RM and he urged me to please submit a mod package to see what the bank can do to help me out. I asked him what will happen to my delinquent balance and he calmly told me it would be added to the loan...how HELPFUL!!! Another example of how a bank does not care about homeowners and tries to band-aid instead of address the real problem.

No NOD as of this post and I am consistently receiving 1-2 calls a week with the scripted voice mail. I am working my taxes and will be taking the standard deduction this year which probably means about 2k in tax liability; I need to work the final numbers. This is not a surprise and something I factored last year when I decided to walk.

Anyone have anything to add on mediation after receipt of NOD? This is what I looking to as my next move and/or submitting a half-baked mod package.

First Missed Payment: Feb2012
No NOD

[emmymem]

Hi Walkthenrun, did I miss the march luncheon or will there be one in the next month? I would be very interested in meeting with people in the process and done with the process. Thank you for the update about your NOD.

[WalkThenRun]

Sorry emmymem, we did not schedule any luncheons. I did not get any feedback or interest.

UPDATE
A couple of significant items have happened in the last two weeks and seems like it is almost NOD time. The first item was the recording of "APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE" at the end of April. I was checking county records and this new item showed up. The appointment is by my first loan bank to the trustee company probably doing the foreclosure- a common corporation handling foreclosures in this region. The document has the usual legal jargon and also references a "Trustee's Sale Number xyz"

Anyone have anything to add on this document recording?

Second item is a letter from the bank who owns the second loan. They finally sent me a note informing me I am late with my payment; 16 months later! Not sure if the first item triggers action by the second loan lender now that they see the home will be sold in the next few months.

Looks like I will soon be starting my minimum time clock before I have to move out. I am here until the first week in September if the NOD gets delivered this week and I choose to do nothing; such as mediation or submitting a package for other "alternatives".

If you have any insight or additional information to add from past experience, please share.

First Missed Payment: Feb 2012
First and second loan with different banks

[vantuckian]

UPDATE
A couple of significant items have happened in the last two weeks and seems like it is almost NOD time. The first item was the recording of "APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE" at the end of April. I was checking county records and this new item showed up. The appointment is by my first loan bank to the trustee company probably doing the foreclosure- a common corporation handling foreclosures in this region. The document has the usual legal jargon and also references a "Trustee's Sale Number xyz"

Anyone have anything to add on this document recording?

Nothing to add other the same thing happened (assignment recorded) right around when I got my NOD.

[WalkThenRun]

Thanks for the feedback Vantuckian.