Walking away from your house

[Zachsmom4]

We just found out that our neighbors can no longer afford their monthly mortgage. Instead of trying to work with the bank, they have decided to rent another place and move out of thier home.

Is this a common thing now? How long does it take for the bank to come in and foreclose on the house? How does this effect property values in the area?

I'm not looking forward to this because now I'm going to have to look at their unkept yard everyday. I guess I'll have my husband take care of the yard.

 

[MomToOne]

You've heard the saying "you can't get blood from a stone"? That could be the situation they are in - maybe there's just not enough money where they can try to "work with the bank"". Banks still want the majority of their money.

I've heard several financial gurus suggest that if you are going to have to default on your mortgage, you should make sure you rent a place BEFORE that happens. Once late payments/a foreclosure gets onto your credit report, your credit rating will be such that renting can become very difficult. So do it before.

So it sounds like your neighbors are actually doing things "right" to me.

I also see it as being financially moral (if there is such a thing ). At least they have left the house and are paying rent instead of just staying there not making payments until they are kicked out, all the while spending the extra money they have on things like big screen TVs and vacations like we always hear about!

 

[seashoreCM]

If you walk away from the house then the house is going to be foreclosed upon anyway. The late or missed mortgage payments will go on your credit report anyway.

If it comes down to that it is better to stay in the house and not pay rent elsewhere. Enjoy the house while it lasts and keep the "rent" money in your possession in your bank account longer.

For the skeptics who think it is more moral to move out, remember that while you are in the house the house is better protected from vandals, etc.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[SandrA9810]

Well maybe the sooner they are out, the sooner the bank can get their butt in motion and get the house back on the market. There's some points to either side of the coin, staying in the house and leaving as soon as possible. The more you can help keep the front of the house looking "lived in", the less likely of vandals destroying the property. The better kept the house is, the more the bank can get for it, and help keep your property from devaluing. However, if you're not moving out any time soon, then it'd be a moot point in 10-20 years if you do decide to sell.

While it seems like there are ways to refinance and help out there... there really isn't. It's a lot of advertisements without much behind it.

And just because some one wants to live in their house without paying on the mortgage doesn't mean they'll keep the property up or maintained. It could just as easily be destroyed prior to the family being forced out. The bank still winds up with a mess on their hands.

 

[livndisney]

Is this a common thing now? How long does it take for the bank to come in and foreclose on the house? How does this effect property values in the area?

I'm not looking forward to this because now I'm going to have to look at their unkept yard everyday. I guess I'll have my husband take care of the yard.

In my experience, we had a seller signed contract on a short sale a year ago this past spring. The home had been empty for atleast a year. Seller quit "working with the bank" last summer. Bank foreclosed in December (last payment made 2 years before). The house still is not on the market. So it has been empty for over 2 years that I know of.

 

[dreamin_disney]

our neighbors did the same thing. They were nice people with good jobs . Dh told me the wife told him they were moving. Well it turned out they walked away from their home. They got another house in the same town. The house they left looks horrible. It's an eyesore and dh said it affects the value of the other homes in the area. Its been almost a year and no one has been by, I dont see any notices and I'm surprised the city hasnt been snooping around. Here if you leave your car parked in the street and its dusty like you have not moved it or not workking they leave a notice on your windshield. I know these people have a pool in the backyard and we can hear LOUD frogs. I dont even want to think of the mosquitos that it will attract uugh! Who can i call to report the pool and frogs???

 

[cpster]

The foreclosure process can indeed take a long time. How is the market in your area? If it's slow it might take even longer for the bank to sell it once they do foreclose and get a family in there.

Do you by chance live in a neighborhood with a HOA? If so, I wonder if once the bank takes posession if the HOA can contact the bank to make them do maintenance on the yard.

I'm out in CA and we actually purchased a foreclosure to live in. Out here since the market for foreclosures is good, the banks actually hire companies to clean and maintain the homes until they are sold, at least for the homes in desireable neighborhoods. Over here there are still lots of homebuyers that want to move in quickly instead of doing a short sale and waiting so I think that is why the foreclosure market is good.

Good luck and I hope it doesn't take too long for a new family to move in.

 

[cpster]

our neighbors did the same thing. They were nice people with good jobs . Dh told me the wife told him they were moving. Well it turned out they walked away from their home. They got another house in the same town. The house they left looks horrible. It's an eyesore and dh said it affects the value of the other homes in the area. Its been almost a year and no one has been by, I dont see any notices and I'm surprised the city hasnt been snooping around. Here if you leave your car parked in the street and its dusty like you have not moved it or not workking they leave a notice on your windshield. I know these people have a pool in the backyard and we can hear LOUD frogs. I dont even want to think of the mosquitos that it will attract uugh! Who can i call to report the pool and frogs???

There should be some city agency that you can report the pool situation too. Out in my area in northern California, the mosquito issue is a big deal due to the threat of West Nile virus. Call around...definately a health issue.

 

[LMC]

Who can i call to report the pool and frogs???

Maybe the health department

 

[badblackpug]

I have a friend that his happened to. He tried working with the bank, they wouldn't budge. He applied for loan modification several times, and the bank wouldn't budge. The bank sent a notice that they would begin foreclosure, he decided to just cut his losses and move out. He rented an apartment only several blocks from his house. His attorney told him it would probably take the bank 6 months to foreclose.

No one wants to sit and wait for the sheriffs to come put them out.

 

[Beth921]

We walked away from our home in 2008.
Never have we been more financially healthy than we are right now, though.
There was no way we would have been able to sell our house for what we owed and because so many other homes had been foreclosed on (think-out of the 5 houses touching our property line, only one was occupied) the neighborhood simply became unsafe to live in (houses were getting broken into right and left) and within a month of us moving out, someone was sqatting there.
DH was maintaining the lawn and such until the bank took it back. From the time we took the last payment until the bank took possession was 6 months, it was auctioned 4 months after that. It was less than a year from when we made our last payment until it was owned by someone else. I think it may have been because ours was an FHA loan.
Anyway, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

 

[Swimalie]

Our neighborhood was hit first with the foreclosures in our area. They really started in 2007 here. So far, few have looked abandoned. Our HOA will go mow it or, if they are unable to, they call the county. They will mow it and send a bill to the owner (if it hasn't gone in to foreclosure) or the bank. Our neighbors next door are selling their house as a short sale now. The yard looks horrible and yet they are in the house. The HOA will be going after them. So for us, even the occupied houses are in bad shape once they decide they are done with it.

Our county has Neighborhood Services Division which we can call to get them to take care of the outside of houses. Does your county have this?

 

[GatorMama]

We recently bought a house that had been forclosed on and the previous owners wanted so very badly to keep the house that they were doing everything in their power to keep it. They didn't move out until the bank came and made them. From what we hear (and know of these people- they own a local resturant that we frequent and didn't know this was their house until our neighbors told us recently) they are just amazing people. I did everything they could to try to work with the bank and the bank wouldn't help themout. They had another mortgage out (for the restraunt) and they tried to work with that company on payments to try to keep the house. No one was budging. Ten days after the foreclosure, the second company ponied up and said they'd be willing to work something out, but by then it was too late.

The bank probably would have benefited more from working with them though than they did by selling to us. I'm sure their mortgage was for more than ours is and it took 9 months for the house to sell once the bank finally listed it... and they had to do several things to house to get it to sell (including painting everything and replacing all the carpet). I am so sad for the family that lived here before.

 

[j's m]

The house next door to us has been for sale for about a year and a half. The original asking price was in the 850,000 range, now it's down to high 400,000. The couple broke up and each moved out last August and haven't paid the mortgage since October.

It's not even listed as pre-forclosure yet, but the bank did find out it was vacant and a few months ago had a management company break in and check out the place. They authorized mowing the lawn only once, my DH called and they said the bank won't authorize another mow. We did get the owner to pay once.

People that came to look said the house looked neglected, no kidding. This was before the mowing, branches were everywhere, the door lock drilled out. The pool was at least covered, but I'm sure by now there's a ton of water sitting on top of the pool cover. We'll have to pay to have it sprayed or we'll be dying from the mosquitos.

I can't imagine how much worse this is going to get for us. They both have great jobs and are more interested in sticking it to each other. I'm imaging this house being vacant forever.

 

[seashoreCM]

Much of the time the bank or the investor who bought the loan was greedy. The foreclosure may have happened because the lender committed usury. Then the lender wants top dollar so it doesn't price the house to sell after the foreclosure.

So it has been empty for over 2 years that I know of.

(Bruce Williams, former talk show host who greeted central Florida callers with "Mickey Mouse Land"),
"Any house will sell for the right price.
"I'll give you a buck for it ..." Then before you have a chance to reply, insulted, he adds, "... and we both know it's not worth two million dollars. So the right price has to be somewhere between one dollar and two million dollars."

 

[starann]

My husband is a code enforcement officer/building/fire inspector. He gets calls all the time about yards that need cutting or are very unkept. He then calls the bank who holds the houses title (once the bank takes over and the foreclousure is done) and gets them to send someone out to cut it or he will hire someone to do it, then involve the judge and then someone from the bank headquarters (which is usually not located locally) will have to appear in front of the judge....so usually with the threat of my DH calling the lawyer for the bank, the grass/yard is tended to.

So my suggestion is to call your local code enforcement office. My husband LOVES dealing with the banks (not so much loves dealing with them, but moreso them having to do what every otehr homeowner is expected to!)

 

[codimouse]

Here in San Antonio we call the Code Compliance office.

I dont even want to think of the mosquitos that it will attract uugh! Who can i call to report the pool and frogs???

 

[MEM]

If you walk away from the house then the house is going to be foreclosed upon anyway. The late or missed mortgage payments will go on your credit report anyway.

If it comes down to that it is better to stay in the house and not pay rent elsewhere. Enjoy the house while it lasts and keep the "rent" money in your possession in your bank account longer.

For the skeptics who think it is more moral to move out, remember that while you are in the house the house is better protected from vandals, etc.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

You make a valid point. My sister lived in her house for three years (!) after her divorce and after she stopped paying the mortgage. Three years without a mortgage or rent payment! Eventually her home was sold at a sheriff's auction but they gave her plenty of notice to pack up and move out.

 

[RitaE]

We were down around my MIL's community last weekend and there are abandoned houses there that I suspect the bank will never foreclose on in the foreseeable future. I don't think it's worth the legal fees they'd rack up to do the paperwork.

It isn't pretty.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

In my subdivision, we have been warned (by HOA and the village) NOT to mow abandoned properties. We were told if we mow, and the homeowner comes back and says something is missing, or broken, we are liable. Also, if someone gets hurt...

Not worth the risk, IMHO.