Hi! I'm a newbie. I have many financial problems, but the biggest one looming overhead is our mortgage. We were late due to my illness and dh being laid off. We almost went to foreclosure, are now on a repayment plan (because we didn't qualify for anything else and wanted to keep the house), and now want to sell the house. It's too expensive. Well, because of my illness and dh being laid off sporadically, our score is barely 500. We can't get any type of mortgage because of our 12-month mortgage payment history (foreclosure). What do we do now? I don't know where we'll live?!?!? Please help! We can't rent because of our credit. We have no one to get a mortgage for us and lease to us. I'm out of options and just wondered if anyone else has been in this situation. TIA!
Your home may be too expensive but remember that this is a valuable asset that you should try to hang onto at all cost. Once you get rid of it it could take you years to get back to homeownership. In the meantime you will be paying someone else's mortgage with your rent payments. I realize you need to look at the short run benefit right now but the long run consequences could be worse. I feel for you in regards to your illness. I have a chronic illness that ended my career in the military after being in almost 17 years.... There were times in the past when I couldn't work and our income was cut in half. My husband then picked up the ball and after putting in his full time day on his job he delivered pizza's 7 nights a week. When the pizza business was slow he waxed and buffed floors in grocery stores all night long. (For those of you who read my post about the cat and the vets office...the reasons above are why I just HAVE to forgive him...lol) We survived and kept our home. If there is any way for you to do the same I strongly urge you to do it. Best of luck to you
Kathy - Thank you for your words of encouragement. We really have to sell, though. This has been going on for 7 yrs with my illness (bipolar) and we've been here 4 of those yrs. They want us to pay $2200/mo, plus we have a 2nd for $222/mo. We just can't afford it. We moved to a rural area and everything is just so much more expensive (propane, phone bill, driving distance). On top of that, my dh started having $140/wk taken out of his check for insurance (unbeknownst ? to us!). So, it's time to go. We'll end up with about $100k profit and we were told after 12 mos of on-time rent/lease/mtg payments, we could refi another home. We just need to find a way to get that home. Thanks, again!
pbkk Your best bet, under the circumstances you describe, would be to place the profits into an emergency account. Use those funds only to protect you from being late on any payment for the next 12 months. Once the 12 months are over, pull your credit to verify that all accounts are showing no lates within last year. Now you will be in a position to again go house hunting. You will have sufficient funds to be able to put at least 20% down and will be showing good recent payment history. One other thing, if you rent from a private party, ie not a property management company, make sure that you pay your rent only by check. Also be sure that the checks are deposited and cleared within the 30 day period. You will most likely need to have copies both front and rear of the checks as proof. While I agree that home ownership is very important, I also strongly believe that putting yourself in the position of being "house poor" is not wise. Take the year and get yourselves backi a good position. Your health will hopefully be much better by then and you will be in a better position to enjoy your home. fla-tan
Thank you, fla-tan! That's the conclusion we've come to. This house is too expensive and we want to sell it before they try to foreclose again, we certainly can't make these payments! Any idea on alternative financing if we try to find a house now? i.e., lease/purchase or land contract? Thanks, again!
Pbkk, Congrats on your decision, a smart one in my opinion. By following Fla-Tan's recommendation you'll have yourself back to good shape in no time. A year is not very long in the grand scheme of things. Now that you have decided you cannot afford $2,500 a month stick to it. Now your mind can work on the solutions instead of the problems, time to move on. Also, please stick to your treatment plan exactly as layed out by your Medical Professionals. NOTHING is more important than that. Good luck. Keep us posted.
