CaliCat! I am hoping you will read/respond to this message! Out of everyone I have spoken to/forums I've read, you are the closest to my situation! Now I have a question for you. I have a CA property, refinanced, took out cash and purchased (3) rentals in Georgia in 2006. After terrible tenants, terrible property managers, cut in pay, yadda, yadda, yadda, I decided to foreclose on the GA properties (all individually deeded) but kept the California property. I had the same loan as you, 80-10-10 w/ Countrywide (now BofA) for all 3 properties. I foreclosed in Dec.2009 (2 properties) and Jan.2010 for the third. I stopped getting bills from BofA for the home loans, but I still to this day get the HELOC bills. I don't know what to do, of if I should just not do anything?! I have not called them and have not paid since last July (ish) 2009 - so over a year. I know GA is different than AZ and CA, and I think the loans ARE recourse, but the are for 10k/each (30k total) and I just can't see them going through the trouble to open a judgement in GA and CA on the loans. I did file my CA home as my Homestead just in case. Suggestions on if I should just hold tight, call them or try to get more professional advice?
CaliCat! I am hoping you will read/respond to this message! Out of everyone I have spoken to/forums I've read, you are the closest to my situation! Now I have a question for you. I have a CA property, refinanced, took out cash and purchased (3) rentals in Georgia in 2006. After terrible tenants, terrible property managers, cut in pay, yadda, yadda, yadda, I decided to foreclose on the GA properties (all individually deeded) but kept the California property. I had the same loan as you, 80-10-10 w/ Countrywide (now BofA) for all 3 properties. I foreclosed in Dec.2009 (2 properties) and Jan.2010 for the third. I stopped getting bills from BofA for the home loans, but I still to this day get the HELOC bills. I don't know what to do, of if I should just not do anything?! I have not called them and have not paid since last July (ish) 2009 - so over a year. I know GA is different than AZ and CA, and I think the loans ARE recourse, but the are for 10k/each (30k total) and I just can't see them going through the trouble to open a judgement in GA and CA on the loans. I did file my CA home as my Homestead just in case. Suggestions on if I should just hold tight, call them or try to get more professional advice?
Lenders have come after people for a lot less than $30K. It may take awhile since the banks are so backlogged with foreclosures and short sales these days, but it appears that nothing is stopping them from pursuing you for the unpaid HELOCs and trying to obtain judgments for the remaining balances. This is a rather complex situation, so I think it would be a wise idea to speak to a good attorney in your area.
One thing that the poster needs to look into is what is the statute of limitations for filing claims for such claims. In Oklahoma they have to do so within 90 days after the sale or it is time barred. Most other states have similar limiting statutes as well. Since real estate is involved you must study both UCC and consumer law as both will always apply in any situation where a title to property exists. They must comply with both types of law. That is the type of case I am dealing with right now. Capital One is coming after me over the repossession of a car. Both UCC and Consumer protection laws apply. Right now I have them in a bad situation because of their violations of both UCC and consumer law and if I had went bawling to a "good" attorney I'd be on the dirty end of the stick instead of them. As it is I have a motion for summary judgment against Capital One coming up for a hearing on Sept. 30th. I don't know whether I can win that one or not but at least I'm giving the old college try. When the local court trials are over and whatever is going to happen is all said and done I will take their attorneys to federal court where they have no defense for their actions. You can hunt down all the so called good lawyers in the country and not one of them will do that for you. The only thing a so called good lawyer is likely to do for you is convince you that you ought to just give up and pay up.
GAMistake Sorry it took me a few days to respond. Our situations are similar, just in different states. I was very lucky we invested in Arizona, as the laws are very consumer friendly. I am not familiar with the laws in Georgia at all. Have you checked into the laws there? I suggest google: "georgia deficiency laws" or "georgia foreclosure laws" to find out what your lenders are working with. You may also want to check out another forum that has a lot of information: loansafe.org. Go into forums and into the "deed in leiu" section. I know there are other members that walked from their properties in Georgia. I am still getting a bill for one of my Heloc's also. I called B of A and told them and they said it was an accounting glitch. I know my loans are non-recourse loans per Arizona state law, so it doesnt worry me. I have run all of my credit reports and they have zero'd out the balances owed and closed out the loans - so getting the bill is meaningless. Have you run your credit reports? I strongly suggest you do that so you can see what they have reported. That will say much more than just getting a bill in the mail. Your properties foreclosed longer ago than mine - so your credit reports should reflect (hopefully) their intentions. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Did you happen to meet with an attorney about your situation? I did before I even stopped payments so I have felt pretty good about everything. It was a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind. I'm thinking at this point, a little internet research will tell you what you need to know though.
Bill - I am not a fan of the stereotypical lawyer - but I would like to respectfully disagree with you. In my case, I felt good our loans were non-recourse - but at the time there were laws trying to be passed specifically targeting investors like myself and their mortgage deficiencies. I felt meeting with an attorney who knew the real estate laws well - as well as the current trends, would give me peace of mind. I paid a small amount of money ($500) to have him review 5 different sets of loan documents to make sure there were no surprises. The attorney I met with spent an hour and a half with me, discussing the history of the laws, the current trends, and possible changes in the making. I guess I got lucky that I found an attorney who was very involved in the real estate law community there and knew his stuff. After meeting with him, I had a much better grasp on the laws there and how they will affect us when we default. It also made me aware of changes the banks were pushing so I knew we had to default NOW, not later - as there was a chance things could change. He also pointed out a few interesting things in our loan documents that I did not notice. Luckily, they did not change the status of our loans - but did point out just how corrupt the system was. Sometimes, meeting with an attorney can be a very useful tool in the decision making process, and can help you prepare for the results of your actions.
GAMistake I did a little research and it looks like Georgia laws state the lender only has 30 days from the foreclosure to file a deficiency suit - which is rarely done. It also would not be worth their time to come after you for such a small amount of money - deficiency suits are quite expensive for the lender and therefore are usually filed when the bank feels it is worth their while, along with the strong possibility they will recover the money. If I had to bet, they have written off the debt and you will get your 1099 forms in January stating that. Here is a link with some info: wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_deficiency_judgement_laws_in_Georgia]WikiAnswers - What are the deficiency judgement laws in Georgia
