I have a situation that I really need some advice on. Itâ??s a very long story so please bear with me. In the fall of 2002 my husband experienced a sudden and unexpected serious medical condition (ruptured brain aneurysm) and was forced to go off work. This happened about the time our real estate taxes were due and with all the unexpected expenses that accompanied this, he was flown to an out of town hospital, I knew that we would be unable to meet our taxes. I called the bank where we have our mortgage and explained the situation to them. We have done business with the bank manager for years and he was very helpful. The bank covered the taxes and added them onto our loan, no problem. I should also note that we have two houses. One was paid for and we used it as collateral on the home we are now buying. My husband has been off work since then. He has been receiving part of his salary through long term disability insurance his employer carried on him. I also work full time but my overtime has been cut for the last 9 months so the last year has been very difficult for us. Still, we managed to keep up our house payments, though we did have a few lates. The big problem started when property tax time came around this year. The bank manager who we had done business with for years had retired but the bank went ahead and covered the taxes again. It was apparent they were not happy about this, which I can understand. Our home loan goes for periods of 3 years. I donâ??t understand exactly how or why that works that way my husband always took care of those things. All I know is that every three years they would essentially refinance the whole thing. A few weeks after we talked with the bank about the taxes we received a letter telling us that they were declaring us in default of the loan and would not renew it next November when it comes due and that we should start looking for alternative financing. With my husband off work, all the medical bills, and a daughter in college our credit report has really suffered BIG time so Iâ??m not sure we could get alternative financing. I called the bank and the lady told me that we needed to sell our other home. If we didnâ??t they would auction it off in March. She also told us that if we did that and made all the payments etc. that perhaps the bank would refinance. With property values the way they are in this area right now the other house is not really worth a lot but Iâ??m sure we could get $20,000 dollars for it and if applied to our loan would still leave us owing around $50,000. We are going to do the best we can to keep payments up for the next year and sell the other house. Yet, my husbands insurance runs out soon and he probably will not get SSI. He will have to return to some kind of work but probably not making the money he did. Iâ??d like to know what everyone thinks I can expect from the bank next November. Iâ??d also be interested in hearing any advice anyone has. What kind of options, if any do I have. Isnâ??t there a form of bankruptcy that stops all action against you to allow you time to repay everything? If so is that something I should consider? Help please.
Thought I'd give this one more bump before I go to bed. I hope that someone has some suggestions ideas or advice.
Sorry parent, I don't much about this stuff. Hopefully, some one here has some experience and will post. Try the mortgage forum on this board: http://www.creditboards.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=9 Maybe someone there can offer some advice.
*deep breathe* well........there are a lot of numbers missing on this one. Specifically I want to know what the values for both homes are and what the balance is on the one you are paying on.(I am guessing 70k?) What TYPES of properties are these homes (Manufactured?) and what part of the country are you in? I can tell by your impatience that you are worried..and if you give some more details I will do my best to help you figure it out. Whatever you do, RASH decisions rarely produce a cure..and we do have some time here to make out a game plan. I look forward to hearing more info.
Thanks everyone. Ok, here the info you wanted. 70K is just about right, I think. About 5, almost 6 years ago the house we are buying appraised at about $90,000 and the other house at $36,000. Property values have dropped a lot in my area. Additionally, the other house we were renting out and the last tennats did a lot of damage to it which also lowers the values in addition to the general drop in real estate values. Yes, we did take them to court and won but don't think we can collect from them. I really do not want to loose this house. What can I do?
Sorry I forgot this info. The house we are buying is a ranch style built in late 40's, 3 bedroom on a good size lot. The other house is a small two bedroom house. Not sure what style you would call it. It's older I'm guessing it was built in the 30's. I live in the midwest, Illinois.
