Starting the walk - How much legal help do I need?

[KarenLynn]

Hello! I have been reading over many posts and have gleaned some wonderful information that I hope will help. We have a lot on Long Beach Peninsula that we bought high and have been unable to sell low. We owe $38k and can't sell it for close to that amount. We paid $54k about 5 years ago.

We have decided to walk. College expenses and the lack of equity have forced our hands. I have a basic question; how much legal help do we need? Attornies are expensive! Is one consultation enough? I pull a name off of this site and he is $300 an hour, for our situation will one hour do it for the entire process?

Washington is a non-recourse state, so I'm thinking we just need to sit back and let the process do it's thing. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Thanks for any help, it is appreciated :-)

KarenLynn

[StrategicDefaultInWA]

Hi, KarenLynn and welcome. Your post caught my eye because you are a fellow Washingtonian. I would strongly encourage you to talk with an attorney if you haven't already. We found a good one that offered an initial 1 hour consult for $100....TOTALLY worth it! You need to seriously consider if walking away from a debt that small is worth it....the credit hit, hassle, etc. Sounds like you made up your mind, so the attorney would give you peace of mind.

I would ask this: Do you care about the credit hit? Do you intend on borrowing money anytime soon for a car or home? If so, better do it now before you walk as it will be harder if even possible later.

Do you need to borrow money to help with college (for you or our kids)? If so, your credit could affect this.

Just some thoughts.

[KarenLynn]

StrategicDefaultInWa, thank you so much for your advice! I would love to know the name of the attorney that u consulted with. Will u share? I contacted Lee Brettin, who sounds wonderful, but he is $300 an hour!

We are borrowing for college and I am concerned about that. We don't need to borrow anything in the next several years. We are buying our home, which may have $5k equity only, but we have turned it into a duplex to help make the payments. I'm embarrassed to be near retirement and have so little to show for my years of work.

I will look up your story now!

Thank u again for responding and thanks in advance for your attorney's info. Best, KarenLynn