I am in NY. My husband is 69 years old, terminally ill and receiving social security each month - $871. This is our only source of income. We own our home free and clear, but due to lack of funds the house is in very bad repair and we currently owe 2 years worth of back taxes on it. We also own a small cabin free and clear (very basic structure - 3 rooms) in another part of the state. Both residences are in my name only. When my husband became ill with cancer we used all of his IRA to pay medical bills and to keep our house taxes up to date until 2 years ago. We currently owe a number of creditors - all CC's - (some are mine alone, one is my husbands, and one was a joint account) and have no way of paying them. Last week one of them was able to get a judgement against us and they froze our bank account on Tuesday. Luckily I was able to get that reversed by showing that the only money going into that account was from Social Security. We own 2 vehicles - a 1987 that is not operational - and a 1994 that is the primary car that I use to take my husband back and forth to the doctor and hospital as he is on oxygen 24/7 and unable to leave the house without me. What further action can this judgement result in now? What I would like to do is to sell our home (for a huge loss due to the condition - would probably be VERY lucky to get $45,000 to $50,000 for it) and pay off whoever we can, but I don't know how I could sell it with the judgement and tax lien on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am absolutely sick over the fact that we can not pay these creditors and would if I could, but I need to be here to care for my husband and we can't stretch that $871 any further.
Theoretically they could take your cars. I have heard others here put someone else's name on the title as a creditor, that way you effectively "block" them from being able to take the car since they must stand in line behind the first creditor (*note- this could be conceived as a fraudulent attempt to shield your assets, but like I said, I have heard others here doing this) Another idea; Have you heard about "reverse mortgages" If you are senior citizens, and own your home I think you could get either a lump sum, or take monthly payments from this type of funding. You don't have to pay any money back, but when you have passed on the bank will take the house. This is good if you have no heirs that you would want to leave it to. Perhaps you could get enough this way to pay off the creditors and the tax liens? Of course you are also a good candidate for Bankruptcy, you could probably keep the car since it is old, not sure about getting the taxes removed though. Wish I could help more, good luck
Unfortunately, I am not a senior yet and the house is only in my name, so a reverse mortgage is out. Also, having someone elses name put on the cars would definitely get me in hot water (from what I've read) and I don't want to make matters worse than they are. If we could sell the house, we could probably qualify for low-income senior housing (because of my husband) but now that the judgement and tax lien is already there, I don't know if we can do that. Thanks for your reply though!
I hope someone else here will have an answer for you. I'm pretty sure the house can be sold with the lien on it. The only thing is that they will take amount of the lien off the selling price, so that the new owner has clear title
I am sorry to hear about all of this. I have to run to school right now so I don't have time to read the entire link, but I am assuming that you are in New York State vs City. I hope this helps you or our experts on here with answering your questions. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=16&a=41
What state are you located in? In some states (florida where I live) they can place liens on your property. That means if you do eventually sell it they will get their money from the sale. Have they placed a lien on your house yet? And yes you can sell it with a lien on it...when the title company does their title search thru the public records they will find the lien and then take it out of the proceeds when you close.
I am in New York state. At this point I am more than willing to sell the house at a significant loss just to pay the back taxes, satisfy the judgement and walk away with enough to afford rent on senior housing for a year or two. Unfortunately, that's probably more time than my husband has left now and once he is gone, I will be moving in with my daughter. If my daughter had more room, I would move in with her now, but due to all of my husband's medical equipment, etc., there just isn't enough space. Anyone here have information specific to New York State (not in the city - rural area upstate). Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond so far. I really appreciate it!
Sorry to hear about your situation!!! You can sell your home with liens and judgements...no problem. As stated above the title or attorney closing the sale will pay your debt off. You need to find a realtor to work with you and explain the situation. Your home may be worth more than you think. Once someone buys your home title is clear again. Good luck and God bless!
------------------------ Thank you so very much! I have lost so much sleep over this - trying to develop a plan that would enable me to pay off my debts in an honest manner - while knowing that I couldn't possibly do it on only my husband's Social Security check. You have given me a shred of hope, and for that I am so very thankful. Bless you!
NO problem. Glad I could help in anyway. Make some calls tomorrow and find a realtor you click with. Let him/her know the situation so there are no surprises. Perhaps they can help get the house looking better (some agents will help by paying for some repairs upfront to help sell it). Sleep, it will be ok. Take care!!!!
Re: need to sell house with judgeme I guess you have considered filing for bankrupcy and decided against it? While it would be a mark on your credit for years, so is the mark from paying your credit cards late.
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE I am in New York state I have literally been sick about this all week and lucky to average even 4 hours of sleep. I called several home investors and no one has shown any interest yet. (I'm assuming they did a "drive-by".) I'm also running into a problem trying to locate an apartment for us to rent (if we do sell) because eveyone wants a credit check. What is the likelihood that a CC collector would push the sale of our home for a $6800 judgement? Also, we are behind 2 years in our property taxes so the county has a lien in place (actually they can foreclose) so until those taxes are paid, would that stop the collector from enforcing his judgement execution now? Do you think they would sieze our only vehilce - which is probably worth $2400 - to satisfy a $6800 judgement or would they be more likely to let the judgment ride (and accrue interest) in hopes of us becoming current on our taxes and being able to sell the home? If I were to get a part-time job (that's all I could manage due to my caregiving for my husband) could they garnish those wages? Lastly, all of these problems (and property) are in my name alone. I know it's a drastic measure, but my husband needs someplace to live so I have actually considered divorcing him so that he would qualify for senior housing on his own. Should I just sit here and wait for the Sheriff to come kncking on the door - should I call the collector who got the judgement and tell him I'm trying to sell the house to pay the debt - or what? Also, could we change our permanent primary address to the small cabin and then just let them take this place? We couldn't actually live there in the winter, but we could use that address. I'm so sick over this - I haven't even eaten since Monday.
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE You said you contacted "investors" have you tried realtors? That's the first place I'd go. How's your husbands credit? If it's better than yours apply in his name, not yours...or both, but use him as the primary. What about your children, can they put it in their name until you clear this up? What about a call to legal aid or a paralegal to give you guidence about the liens. Hang in there!
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE The reason I called investors rather than a realtor is because I'm looking for a very quick sale. I can't go on like this - not eating and not sleeping. It's really tearing me up. My husbands credit is no better than mine and we can't get into senior housing (the only thing we would be able to afford) unless the applicant is over 62. That eliminates my daughter helping by signing the lease. I called legal aid and their answer was "sell the house" - which is exactly what I'm trying to do. Any suggestions on the other issues I brought up? Thanks so much for replying.
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE You were feeling a little bit better last week, after some of the advice you received here...don't worry everyone here will still help you through this... as loan queen said, try realtors. I did a quick search on Google...I typed in the search bar -buy homes for cash- and got plenty of places that are willing to buy homes in any condition, even though you are in a rural area there must be some of these types of businesses near you
Re: Re: need to sell house - UPDATE Ask the senior housing agent if your daughter can cosign (of coarse if your daughter is ok with this). They may be able to work something out. What are your scores? His credit doesn't have the judgement, but the tax liens, correct? Be careful not to have too many rental agencies run your credit. Take them a copy if they need one. If they offer you an apt, let them run it if they have to. There are a lot of good people on creditnet...I'm sure we can figure this out.
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE No one is saying it but you might want to consider a chapter 7. That of course will not get rid of the tax lein but it will buy you some time. It will however handle the judgement problem.
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE True, but they own 2 homes free and clear....could be a problem. Again, contact an attorney to see what your options are.
Re: need to sell house - UPDATE #2 One of the real estate investors came by today and offered me a quick sale, cash buy out of $30,000. Should I counter that offer - say $35,000 or something like that - or just try to get offers from others first and then take the best one? If I take the $30,000 offer that will only allow me to pay off the judgement, the back taxes, a few other bills and maybe rent an apt. for 2 years and 3 months. Of course my husband very well could be deceased by then - at which point I would be moving in with my daughter.
