Foreclosure Help and Options-Series of Articles To Help Homeowners- Part 4
Please first read: Foreclosure Help and Options Part 1
Foreclosure Help and Options Part 2
Foreclosure Help and Options Part 3
We discussed some of your options to a foreclosure that you may be facing at this time in the previous articles in this series. The links to those articles are listed right above and we encourage you to read those articles so you can understand the process more. We are not attorneys and we are not giving legal advice.
After speaking with many attorneys about the implications of Foreclosures they have all told us that in most situations; bankruptcy is better than foreclosure. We have also heard this from loan officers who tell us that it is easier to get a loan after bankruptcy than after a foreclosure. If you have not looked into this option; you may consider speaking with a bankruptcy attorney about whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 or not.
We have closed on a several short sales over the past year with homeowners who had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. You can still do a short sale even while you are going through a bankruptcy. We work with several investors who had to file bankruptcy and we have been selling their properties as short sales. The attorneys say to add the deficiencies to the bankruptcy if you have done a short sale already and then file for a bankruptcy.
Most people use bankruptcy as a last resort after they have exhausted every other option. You may want to talk with a bankruptcy attorney before you just let your house get foreclosed on in the state of Florida.
Each state is different and has different laws so this series is regarding Florida short sales and foreclosures. We go into great depth about each step of this process on our Florida short sales webpage.
We will cover more on this subject further into this series.
For information about short sales please click here.
For information about what to watch out for when seeking options click here.
Stay tuned for part 5 of this Foreclosure Help and Options- Series of Articles To Help Homeowners.
If you know of someone close to you or a neighbor who is in this situation, please forward this article to them. Call Nestor Gasset or Katerina Gasset at 561-753-0135 for more information. Your call is confidential.
To view Wellington Florida Homes For Sale Click here. We know Palm Beach County Short Sales and Port St Lucie Florida Short Sales and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida : Call us today.
Foreclosure Help and Options- Series Of Articles to Help Homeowners-Part 4 was first published on South- Florida-Luxury-Living.com.
Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset- Realtors®, CIPS, ABR, SFR, GRI, REOS
Katerina & Nestor-Great info for the client who may be facing a short sale or forclosure.
Hi Katerina, I am sure the Florida consumers are glad that you are writing these helpful series. Here in Manhattan New York we do not have much of foreclosures, but I suppose only time will tell?~ :)
Joseph- Thanks! I hope this series will find its way into those we can help.
Eileen- New York is months behind Florida in this wave of foreclosures. You will not ever get it as bad as we did and do have it. But you will get some of the backlash from here to there.
I would have to agree with you on that from a financial standpoint a bankruptcy is probably better than a foreclosure. In a foreclosure it's probably only one of the symptoms of what the real illness is.
Katerina --- I did not know that bankruptcy was better than foreclosure --- thanks for another great post.
Katerina - Interesting points... I wonder, however, if the "future deficiency threat" is wiped out by bankruptcy? Some of these banks, like BOFA, reserve the right to pursue, but if they do it AFTER the bankruptcy?....
Wendy- according to Richard and other attorneys we have spoken with: even if you have already closed on a short sale you can still put the deficiency in bankruptcy. You can avoid future deficiencies this way as long as you list them as a creditor. Bankruptcy wipes out their ability to come back later. BofA can not come after someone anytime later if the party put BofA as a creditor in the bankruptcy. You must assume they will come after you and put them on the list. If you don't put them on the list, then they can come after you later.
Brian and Liz- This is what bankruptcy is for, forgiveness of debt and to start all over. Since people can not usually get a credit card right away after bankruptcy- this may teach them to not spend more than they make. Of course, there are limits to income, assets etc to qualify for bankruptcy so people need to check on what those are by speaking with a bankruptcy attorney. Katerina
Katerina, this is a very good point you make in this post because people are really confused about what to do and the banks often advise them to foreclose or do a deed-in-lieu. This is what happened with a listing with Wells Fargo where they were just listing it for 90 days before doing a deed-in-lieu. Fortunately, we have a contract.
Sharon
Sharon- What I hate when the banks do the deed in lieus is that people don't know what they are signing. Most deed in lieus carry with them deficienciesy. Since you are in Florida, that is an issue. And for credit reporting, it is the same as a foreclosure. In Florida; a deed in lieu is just a foreclosure without going to court- why do it, when you can stay in your house and fight the foreclosure for months and months?