Short Sale in CA

[dedsmalls]

So here's my story: Purchased a condo in 2005 for 293k. 80/20 loan. 80 is fannie mae 7y arm, 20 is a b of a heloc. Both still purchase money.

We owe +-286,000
Value is 160,000

We have tried to refi (last year) and countrywide laughed at us.
We went to a loan mod company and were approved for Hope to Homeowners in Jan and CW laughed at us again.... I finally went to a BofA branch to see if talking to someone in person would help. They told me to walk away from our home. Since it is not a major hardship, i am having a hard time (morally) doing that. My husbands job is slowing down (2-3 weeks off w/o pay this summer) and we were trying to be proactive. I dont want to drain my savings to delay the inevitable. We are trying to shortsell (BofA approved it over the phone) but I still have some hesitantcy.

My questions are:

1. As of Aug 1st, we stopped paying our mortgage. (still paying HOA,etc)
Should we not do that? Our house just went on the market.

2.Are we going to get in trouble because if we drain our savings, we can technically afford our home for the time being?

[Evan Bedard]

Hi dedsmalls welcome and thank you for joining.

1. As of Aug 1st, we stopped paying our mortgage. (still paying HOA,etc)
Should we not do that? Our house just went on the market.

2.Are we going to get in trouble because if we drain our savings, we can technically afford our home for the time being?

It seems more are approved for a short sale if they are deliquent on thier mortgage, but there are some who achieve while current. You are usually required to have your house listed at least 3 months before most lenders will consider a short sale. I would definetely discuss that with BofA next time you two speak.

[dedsmalls]

Thank you for the response I have been watching this forum for awhile now and it's nice to know that sadly, we are not the only ones going this. Misery loves company I know CW is pretty good at saying one thing and then going in the opposite direction later. It seems it depends on the day and who I talk to as to what they do (no set protocol). Has anyone ever successfully completed a short sale w/B ofA w/o being late but underwater? I definately will contact CW/BofA tomorrow and find out whether they will accept and offer in the first week (we might have one already)

[Evan Bedard]

Most short sales I have seen took place when the homeowner was behind on their mortgage. But lately i've talked to a couple homeowners who have never missed a payment and their short sale was successful!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[dedsmalls]

Thank you Evan,

As of today, I have decided to close my escrow acct and get the $1900. to keep our mortgage current during the shortsale. I feel like if we try to do the right thing and keep it current during the shortsale, they might be nicer. Is that just wishful thinking?? LOL I guess time will tell. I did ask CW for copies of transcripts of the MANY calls over the past year. They stated that w/o a court order, they cannot release transcripts to me. Do you know how true that is? She did say she could verbally verify dates and people over the phone. (sigh) I guess we will see.....

[dedsmalls]

We got and offer on our house. 100k cash and 60k as a loan. The catch is that the bank has to approve by Oct 30th. Any tips on how to make that happen?