Originally posted by elevatedone
Perhaps I'm biased.

I work in the financial / credit world.

I don't think you are biased at all.

What you say makes sense to me. Same as taking a loan for a car that loses it's value the minute it is driven off the lot. It's not the banks problem. You made a contract, you keep the contract.

By the way, I have had to claim bankruptcy in the past. Not proud of it, but it was my only out. It was legal at least, and I was punished for 7 years. Not complaining, I reneged on a contract, and had a price to pay.

Imagine instead of a bank, you got the loan from a family member. Does it make a difference? It shouldn't..

Originally posted by grammo078
Your Relator is speculating about the price of your home. He has no way of knowing what the housing market will be like in a few years. It sucks now but, in a few years it could very easily rebound or even be worth more in value. You said you called the bank in your post, have you been to your local branch? It is easier to be rude and dismiss someone over the phone, as opposed to face to face confrontation. That's why collection agencies call over the phone and talk to you like a criminal or a 5 year old. They wouldn't speak that way to you if you were setting right across from them. In my experience face to face always works better. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Sorry if I am rambling, suffering from a cluster headache, on meds...

Sorry about your headache....hope you feel better.

Yeah, I tried to go to the Bank of america branch. Know what happened? The loan officer there had to call their 1-800 line, and he was put on hold for 45 minutes. He was then told that there is nothing they can do for me.

So, he gave me the name of a lawyer, and told me that lawyers are now forcing banks to modify loans when they don't want to. He said that he hired a lawyer to modify his loan, and it worked. He said it was expensive, though.

Well, there was no way I was going to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars to make the banks do something that they should be doing. But I called a real estate lawyer to see what he advised.

He told me to try a "short sale" first. He said the same thing happened to him, and he did a short sale, and gave me the name and number of HIS real estate agent.

I talked to the real estate agent. She said "Your house will probably never be worth what you paid for it." She recommended a short sale, that it would affect my credit less. But she said that banks won't agree to a short sale unless you stop payments on it first and/or walk away....she said it could take 8 months for the banks to approve a short sale, and there is no guarantee that they will approve it.

So, I'm walking away. If my real estate agent can find someone to buy it on a short sale, she's more than welcome to do that and approach my bank with the offer. But like she said, the bank doesn't have to take the offer.

It's late. I'm tired. Nevertheless, let me throw in some words of advice on this matter.

Having worked in the world of banking and finance for most of my adult life, I would only make a few suggestions.

First, if you can afford to make the payments, and still want to walk away from the house, consider turning the property into a rental unit. In many cases, you can become a landlord with minimal hassle, especially if you know a good handyman. A lot of times the rental income offsets your monthly payment. You can then move into something else that is either more affordable, or more suits your taste. Call your lawyer, and he can draw up a rental agreement. Hire a realtor to find a good tenant.

Secondly, if you walk away from your house, you will have collectors calling you for the next couple of decades. They will hound you at work, and at home. You'll get quite unpleasant collection letters in the mail. Even if you file bankruptcy, the nightmare may still continue - legal or not. Worse yet, your credit report - Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian - will be trashed. Your credit score will plummet, and the foreclosure will stick out like a sore thumb on your credit report.

If you ever lose your job, a foreclosure on your credit report could be the difference between being hired, and not being hired. You'll could lose a lucrative job opportunity in the future over this decision.

You have to live somewhere. You did sign a contract. Yes, the bank you are with is notoriously arrogant, condescending, and perhaps even vile and despicable. Welcome to reality. You could say the same thing about a large majority of companies around the world that are engaged in similar or even more nefarious activities.

If you must walk away, for reasons due to health or job loss, approach the bank with a short sale offer. If you don't know what a short sale is, just Google it.

The argument that you are upset that your house lost value, and that the bank got TARP funds and didn't lend those funds to the public, is a pretty weak argument. Welcome to capitalistic America. Where the highs are really high, and the lows are really low. The alternative? You can live in a communist country where free enterprise capitalism is suppressed, and you are at the whims of a tin pot dictator that tells you where you can live, how much money you make, and all the other fine details of your life here on planet Earth. No thanks.

Don't make a decision you will regret later. I am sorry you lost equity in your home. A lot of Americans did, and will continue to lose equity in their home. That's life. Roll with it. Go have a beer. Loosen up. Life is too short. Be glad you are healthy, have a job, and can afford to make your mortgage payment. No need to get in a hissy fit over Bank of America. They aren't worth a moment of your time anyways.

Lastly, live debt-free. Cut up your credit cards, pay off your car, and stop that siphon from sucking your economic health dry. Live well below your means. Pay cash wherever you go. That will do more to turn around this economy than living on credit ever will.

[edit on 8-9-2009 by CookieMonster09]

im in the exact same boat as you friend. i did the math, i've paid 70,000 in interest to my lender and have lost about 40,000 in equity in just a few years. the only houses in my neighborhood that are selling are short sales and its driving down prices when you get an appraisal. And im not gonna wait 5-10 years for the value to come back up to what i owe while i pay another 100,000 in interest.

BTW, we have tried for about a year to get a loan modification and they tell us to piss off because we aren't late on our payments.
They WILL be more willing to negotiate if you havent paid them for 3 months, Try that, it costs them roughly 50,000 to foreclose on a home and get it sold. tell them if they dont help you out then good luck selling it in a down market HAHA.

i recommend a switch to cash only for everything you buy, thats what we are doing, we learned a hard lesson with credit and debt and refuse to get sucked back into that scam again. Your credit score is some meaningless number they attach to your SSN. who cares.
best of luck,

you might be interested in the book "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey.

Originally posted by elevatedone
Perhaps I'm biased.

I work in the financial / credit world.

For Bank of America, probably.

Originally posted by CookieMonster09
It's late. I'm tired. Nevertheless, let me throw in some words of advice on this matter.

Having worked in the world of banking and finance for most of my adult life, I would only make a few suggestions.


[edit on 8-9-2009 by CookieMonster09]

All very good suggestions.

However...

1. I do live debt free, except for my house payments. I have no car loan, I pay my credit cards off every month.

2. The rents in my neighborhood (due to foreclosure) aren't high enough to even cover my house payment. The rents that people can get for their townhouses in my neighborhood is now around $700 (thanks to the glut of houses being rented out now in Arizona) and my mortgage/HOA payment is $1100. So, the rent wouldn't cover the mortgage payment.

Not to mention, I just heard that Arizona is raising property taxes becasue we are in serious trouble, financially. So, on top of all this, they're raising my house taxes....which I could also not cover with rent.

I appreciate the advice about the foreclosure. But, I think I'd rather take the credit hit.

Also, in Arizona, they can't turn your loan into collections, because we are a non-recourse state, so by law they can't come after us for the loan amount.

So, I think the most I'll suffer is a bad credit rating for about 7 years.


Thanks, though. I appreciate your help.

[edit on 8-9-2009 by nikiano]

Originally posted by nikiano
Thanks, Roger. I appreciate it.

(P.S. I'm a female, though.

My humble apologies for the gender mixup. I usually use the asexual "they" to avoid such things, but I am operating without my brain this evening.

This thread is a good opportunity to state something that rarely gets mentioned: you aren't really a "homeowner" unless your house is 100% paid off.

Don't have the actual deed in hand? Then you aren't a homeowner. You are a glorified renter who might, someday, 20 or 30 years down the road, become an owner. Until then, you have less freedom than a renter because you are tied to your price.

Why the deep stigma to renting in America? Why does everyone have to be an owner? In most nations, as a matter of fact, far more rent than own.

The reward to being a homedebtor (i.e., a "homeowner" with a mortgage) comes, as stated above, in 20 or 30 years. Perhaps by then the OP will have reaped his reward. But when choosing a dwelling, I think its best to either rent or get into the mortgage with the knowledge that the final reward will only come when the mortgage is completely paid off.

Originally posted by rogerstigers

Originally posted by nikiano
Thanks, Roger. I appreciate it.

(P.S. I'm a female, though.

My humble apologies for the gender mixup. I usually use the asexual "they" to avoid such things, but I am operating without my brain this evening.

That is quite all right. When they took off my avatar months ago, everyone got gender-confused. Maybe I write in a more masculine manner than I realize? lol!

The bank shouldn't be rude to you. However they probably have a long string of similar requests coming in, some I'm sure from investors who own a number of homes. I don't blame your anger at the bank.

So, if you bailout on the loan you signed for, guess who picks up your tab?

Me.

I'm not going to like you for that.

Originally posted by silent thunder
This thread is a good opportunity to state something that rarely gets mentioned: you aren't really a "homeowner" unless your house is 100% paid off.

Don't have the actual deed in hand? Then you aren't a homeowner. You are a glorified renter who might, someday, 20 or 30 years down the road, become an owner. Until then, you have less freedom than a renter because you are tied to your price.

Why the deep stigma to renting in America? Why does everyone have to be an owner? In most nations, as a matter of fact, far more rent than own.

The reward to being a homedebtor (i.e., a "homeowner" with a mortgage) comes, as stated above, in 20 or 30 years. Perhaps by then the OP will have reaped his reward. But when choosing a dwelling, I think its best to either rent or get into the mortgage with the knowledge that the final reward will only come when the mortgage is completely paid off.

And if you don't pay the taxes that someone arbitrarily decides that you should pay, the state will sell your house from under you at less then 1% of its value.

So do you really ever own it?

Originally posted by defcon5

Originally posted by nikiano
But then I realized... IT'S THEIR FAULT THAT MY HOUSE HAS DEPRECIATED IN VALUE BY HALF....not my fault.

How is it the banks fault that your house depreciated? Why is it their obligation to take a loss on a poor business investment that you made? Did someone from bank of America show up and force you to buy that house?

How is it the banks fault? Well let me tell you why it is the banks fault.

Imagine you work hard for ten years after you get out of college. Save your money, sacrafice many things to save for that big down payment on that new house in that new neighborhood with the really good school system, cart paths, bike trails and even a big lake right in the middle. Your one of the first ones to buy and get a great lot. Life is good.

Here comes the trash! People buying 600 to 800 k houses with no money down, interest only loans and a new Mercedes C240 sitting in the driveway.
They can't afford the payment on their own so they call in the troops, the mommy, cousins, uncles, aunts. 9 people living in one house.

Originally posted by SpiritoftheNightSky

And if you don't pay the taxes that someone arbitrarily decides that you should pay, the state will sell your house from under you at less then 1% of its value.

So do you really ever own it?

Good point...even deeper. The government ultimately owns all of us. Theoretically, we own the government (*laughs hysterically*).

And while we're at it...another obscenity: EMINENT DOMAIN.