I really need advice

[criznik]

First off, hello to all and thanks for the info on this website. My issue is I have a home here in Southern California, it has been refinanced twice, but currently holds no second mortgage. I do understand recourse and non-recourse, which I know mine is due to the refinancing. I retired from the military in Dec 2007 and was unable to find work making the wage I was making in the military. Currently I have found work out of state but will be unable to manage my home from there. I stopped paying my mortgage in July 2008, and have just received an accelerated notice from Countrywide for Feb 19th 2009. What do I need to do to walk away, and should I expect a judicial forclosure? Will I have a deficiency judgement placed on me, and will I get bent over by the IRS? I guess I have read so much that I have just confused myself. I am leaving tomorrow to go back out of state to work.

[driacovone]

Originally Posted by criznik

Will I have a deficiency judgement placed on me, and will I get bent over by the IRS?

This is in no way an answer to your situation. The only thing I wanted to address was what I have quoted above - and in relation to the Stimulus package. People were asking why we needed to spend over 100 million in the stimulus towards safe sex and contraceptives. In this case, condoms.

Now we know why we the American people need those condoms - because we are all being bent over.

Hopefully these are well lubricated.

Sorry if this is innapropriate on these forums.

[The Professor]

Fortunately for you the likely course of action your lender will take is to proceed with a non-judicial foreclosure under Civil Code Section 2924b, which effectively results in the lender giving up their right to a deficiency judgment once the non-judicial foreclosure has been completed with a trustee's sale. You are fortunate in that you only have a first loan against the property, and the fact that from a practical standpoint the time it takes to complete a judicial foreclosure is lengthy and it includes the right of a lengthy redemption period for the foreclosed owner. Non-judicial is much shorter and there is no post-sale right of redemption.

Take care,

Daniel

[criznik]

Do I need to ask Countrywide about a Deed in Lieu, or just walk away and tell them, or let them foreclose? My family will be staying in the house until the end of March provided they can stay that long. The military is going to pack out all my household goods though at the beginning of the month. I am really confused right now as what to do but unfortunately there is no work here for me. If I stay I will end up getting put out anyhow AND loose my job out of state. Another thing that's difficult (and I know I'm but one drop of water in the big pond) is that I know I have to put aside my personal attachment to my home which is hard, but then again my mortgage balance is 400k and I just saw the same model house in my neighborhood for 189k. Countrywide appraised my house in October 2007 at 525k and in Jan 2008 they offered to refi again but declined stating that the value of my house at that time was only 280k at best. I was puzzled at how it could loose that much value in 4 months. I surely wish I wasn't in this position, as does everyone else in my situation, but I see no other way. Countrywide has been nothing but a joke in terms of a loan mod or any help. I feel like a bad person.

[The Professor]

I started working in this business as an escrow officer in 1972. I continued in the transactional of the business until 1995 when I went into teaching. I use to have pride in the professional manner professional acted, focused in the lending field at protecting lenders and borrowers by making sure that a borrower wasn't put into a loan they could not afford, and the value of the collateral was sufficient to not jeopardize the lender's ability to recover from any potential loss as the result of foreclosure. Needless to say, things changed a great deal after I left the business.

You shouldn't feel bad. The truth is the "professionals," and I use that term loosely, who ignored prudent underwriting practices are at fault. Greed supported by a commission based compensation methodology, is at the root of this mess. Sorry for what you are facing.

Daniel

[markmc2000]

You shouldn't feel bad. The truth is the "professionals," and I use that term loosely, who ignored prudent underwriting practices are at fault. Greed supported by a commission based compensation methodology, is at the root of this mess. Sorry for what you are facing.

BINGO!!!

CNBC has a news documentary called "house of cards" that shows how lenders and wall streeters were cranking loans out knowing people couldn't repay. One guy put it best by saying "when you put together an unregulated wall streeter with a mortage broker, those are wires you don't want to cross"

Loan volume went from 100 million a month to over 5 billion a month. I think that was thru one firm.

One wall streeter said " I hope I am rich and retired when this house of cards fall.

Mark

[The Professor]

I've seen it. A great job. I'm planning to record it on my DVR today and require the students in my foreclosure class to watch it.

Daniel