Help....Home Is Being Stolen!

southernbg profile photo

Hey guys,

Here is the sneario. My parents house is being stolen right out from under them. The mortgage company has paid the taxes on the house the last 2 years without the permission of my parent and has add that to their payments over 6 months instead of 12. That has taken their monthly payment from $1300 a month to $1900 a month. That payment is to much for them. So they have fallen 3 months behide becasue the payments that they have sent in (1300) have not been credited to their account becasue the company says that they do not accept partical payments. So it looks like they have not been paying.

Then on top of all that, they have another company that is willing to refinance the house but the other mortgage company will not send the nessesary paper work for them to do so.

My mother received a letter stating that the house would go to auction on the Oct 6. The mortgage companies intent is to get the house back.....there is 75,000 in equity in the house.

My parents paid 117,00
Appr. at 219,000

Please let me know what they can do to stop this and put this other company in its place. My daddy does not want to sell the house....So I can not do a deal with them.

Thanks in advance!

Comments(25)

  • DaveREI21st September, 2003

    You need all cash to buy it out or its gone. They are 3 months behind..their fault...not allowing to pay taxes..they should have gone to tax assessor/collector and paid directly....

    Bad mistakes bad.... but you need to get all cash and buy it out...by whatever means available.....

  • DaveREI21st September, 2003

    mortgage company is zeroing in on the 100,000 not the taxes and 3 missed pays

  • southernbg21st September, 2003

    Dave REI,

    I did not come here to hear critism of what should have been done.

    My parent did not ask the mortgage company to pay the taxes at all. And second...they are not behide 3 months. the company is holding payment becasue that are trying to steal the house.A <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_mad.gif">

    Now if anyone else has some GOOD ways to get out of this situation ...please respond....

    No scolding is nessesary! We are here to help people not hurt them DaveT

    Southernbg

    [ Edited by southernbg on Date 10/24/2003 ]

  • southernbg21st September, 2003

    I know....and that what makes it so bad....they are stealing

  • Martman21st September, 2003

    I agree with DaveREI, do whatever it takes to get the cash to catch up. If they are able to catch up and stop the foreclosure, then they can get a Home Equity Loan to pay back whoever or however they got the cash to stop the sale. Then they should sell the house and buy something they can afford. Their payment will be more than the $1900 from here on out (original loan, home equity, and taxes they haven't been paying to date). Bad new for an older person living in what they believed to be their final home.

  • Martman21st September, 2003

    Sorry misunderstood the situation. but if they do not want to lose the house by foreclosure and the bank is doing something illegal, then catch up, stop the foreclosure, and then sue the bank and pay off the house with the procedes.

  • GFous21st September, 2003

    Run, do not walk to an attorney. Something does not sound right here.

    Some states grant the mortagor the right of recission - in other words he gets fiorst dibs to pay off the mortgage.

    Monday morning I would be on the phone with the mortgagee as well as an attorney. If the house goes to court house steps in October - that means there has already been a judgement.

    Is this what you are saying?

  • southernbg21st September, 2003

    Hello Gfous,

    Yes, that is what I am saying....and the is what the mortgage company is counting on.

    Thanks for your response...

  • DaveREI21st September, 2003

    If you dig deep in the contracts it favors the mortgage company....

    It is the responsibility of the property owner to pay the taxes and mortgage...It is a fixed monthly bill and regardless of the fact you receive a statement or not you still are required to make timely payments....a contract to that effect was signed......

    They have the right to refuse "partial" payments....

    I'm not giving criticism.... i'm stating reality.....

    You have to pay it off...the entire mortgage...in cash....

    They are not the only ones doing this.... this is a way they make up loses on other properties....and its legal.

    Where do you think the properties investors are buying are coming from?

    situations like this.....

    They need to get all cash together from whatever source they can and pay the note off including fines and fees.

    try hard money or private lenders....

    They need to do it quick!

  • southernbg21st September, 2003

    You know DaveREI....sometimes reality sucks....

    I refused to let my parents become a investors dream come true...sorry guys....

    We are working on it now. Thanks for the advice. Sorry I snapped at you before.

    Southernbg

  • Lufos21st September, 2003

    Please pick up the telephone and call an attorney qualified to practice Real Estate Law. Then go to the bank and arrange an equity loan for an amount sufficient to pay off back taxes and payments to date and whatever costs your lender has dreamt up. You are experiencing what is called A Snatch. The sums are not too large and you should be able to www.handle.If necessary please cosign the equity loan and moniter your parents mortgage payments and tax payments from this date on. Do just this and you should be all right. If not please contact us. By the way do we have any fellow real estators in your area? Get their telephone numbers and call them if if if necessary.
    Go for it. Lucius

  • donanddenise21st September, 2003

    Southern,
    yes that is true , this is a Snatch and Run, the bank cannot legally refuse to accept full payment of past due amounts and full reinstatement of the loan, go to whomever you have to, get the money,no matter what the cost, some investors will even loan you the money on the promise and contract of course, to get a second mortgage and pay them their loan back plus a decent profit. Tough spot, be diligent , keep us all informed of the outcome.

    good luck

    Don

  • GeneralSnafu24th September, 2003

    Quote:
    On 2003-09-21 14:11, southernbg wrote:

    My mother received a letter stating that the house would go to auction on the Oct 6. The mortgage companies intent is to get the house back.....there is 75,000 in equity in the house.

    My parents paid 117,00
    Appr. at 219,000

    Please let me know what they can do to stop this and put this other company in its place. My daddy does not want to sell the house....So I can not do a deal with them.

    Thanks in advance!


    Apparently, what the mortgage company is doing is legal or the judge would not have sided with them and ordered the house sold.

    If they paid $117K and there is only $75K equity, it appears that they have refinanced once already. If they had not, they would only owe something less than the original mortgage which would be less than $117K. Subtract that from a $219K appraisal, and you have over $100K in equity. Either way, get a home equity line of credit. Use it to reinstate the 1st mortgage. The interest rate will float on the equity line but they will only need to pay the interest. That may help them buy enough time to get out from underneath a house which may be over their budget. HTH

  • InActive_Account28th September, 2003

    Here's what I understand. The bank made the real estate tax payments for the past two years. Evidently, your parents were suppose to be making them but for what ever reason. did not or because they never received a tax bill did not or perhaps they thought that the mortgage payment included the tax amount.

    Real Property Taxes are classified as "super liens" because they take priority over the first mortgage.and if unpaid, the property will be sold at a tax sale. Ultimately the mortgage holder would lose their collateral. Therefore the lender paid the delinquent amount and they are now foreclosing.

    There should have been a number of notices give your parents. If they did not receive any this is an excellent defense. Then the procedures were not correctly followed and this would undo the tax sale (the money would still be owed for the taxes) and hopefully the pending foreclosure sale.

    With that much equity, your parents should have no trouble getting a second mortgage loan for the amount of taxes owed, delinquent mortgage payments, and any other foreclosure charges owed the lender. In most states you pay these amounts and the mortgage is said to be reinstated (back to business as usual).

    It is important that your parents immediately see a good REAL ESTATE lawyer. I'm not a lawyer so I'm not giving any legal advice. The lawyer should use any delaying tactic available such as a "temporay restraining order". Also, he should immediately contact the lender's
    legal department. That will work for him but wont be too productive for your parents. . At the same time, your parents should contact the foreclosure department of the lender (loss mitigation department) to see if a loan modification can be worked out. You as a dutiful son, may do the negotitating with proper written authorization from your parents. When you deal with the lender (which is quite frustrating) you must remember that they are under continuous stress by being yelled at, cussed, and abused. With the passage of serviice time that approach doesn't work on them. You must remaiin calm and take a " I know we can work something out":My parents don't want to lose this house and I know that you don't want to take it away form them. How can we solve this problem.?

    One last suggestion. Your parents use to pay $1300. The lender wanted $1900. Determine what your parents can afford to pay. You can negotiate with them and perhaps not even need a second loan..

  • hibby7628th September, 2003

    DaveREI and SammyVegas are dead on.

    Realize that there are MANY loan officers out there that will salivate at this deal and tell you that they can get it done in 2 weeks or whatever you have. If you start to hear stuff like that they're probably full of it.

    Your best sources for cash are HML's, friends, friends with equity in their homes, etc.

    I'd do an interest-only loan with someone for a year or two with a 3 year balloon. If you give them 8% interest, you'll have the house, small payments, and be able to refinance in the near future.

    DON'T DO IT AGAIN!!! Don't let them get behind on their taxes or mortgage. If they get money from a private source who isn't as dilligent as the previous lender was and they fail to pay their taxes, they WILL loose their house and the first lien holder (your friend or HML) will loose the collateral and they'll end up owing $75K to this person and be without a house. NOT PAYING YOUR TAXES IS SERIOUS! Uncle Sam doesn't mess around and listen to excuses.

    Work fast. You may want to visit a local RE group, tell them your situation, and ask them to refer you to people who might be able to help.

  • Dreamin28th September, 2003

    One thing I didn't catch but maybe I overlooked it.

    Were the checks you parents sent cashed? If they were where did the funds go if not to the house payment?

    If they are holding the $ somewhere it better be in an non-interest bearing account or they would be in trouble here in TX and a Judge would not allow them to hold money without crediting it to the account here. Seems something not said or seen.

    If the checks have been cashed there is something very wrong here, becuase by all rights payments Have been Accepted just not credited. You definately Need and Attorney regardless of whatever else you are doing.

    Seems to me and I may be way off the mark but 3 x 1300 = 3900 would be at least 2 payments of 1900 with a little left which would mean that they are not 3 payments behind if by all rights the bank wants full payments of 1900 per month. Seems something very fishy.

    All that would need done is to figure the difference plus all the stupid people (bank are the SP) fees the bank is charging to make up the payments to hold this off til you get your folks some financing worked out.

    Just an Idea.

    Still seems more to this than it looks. I would get a hold placed on the foreclosure asap, the other guys are correct in what they are telling you about doing that. Good Luck.[ Edited by Dreamin on Date 09/28/2003 ]

  • southernbg28th September, 2003

    Thanks everyone for all the wonderful information.

    Just to update you as to what is happening with the house. My mother went on to get the house refinanced with her bank. They have also talked to the mortgage company. The mortgage company has applied the payments that they were holding to the escrow account. They said that if my parents paid $5800 they would drop the Attorneys fees that they have added ( they wanted $9850) that they would reinstate the loan.

    My mother should hear something back from the bank on Monday. I am hoping that it is good news. Because like everyone here the lady at the bank thought that what was happening to my parents was not right and that the mortgage company was up to something.

    I will keep you all update as things move on.
    Thanks again everyone for you advice. It helped alot.

  • Ladybug28th September, 2003

    Another thing you could do to help your parents to reinstate the loan while other things, like a modification of the mortgage can we worked out, is: you may take out a signature loan for the amount necessary to reinstate the loan. A company by the name of Beneficial (a subdivision of Household) has signature loans up to 10,000, it takes 2 days to get the papers signed and the check in your hand, the interest is high: 21%, the payments are approx. 270.00/mo, there is no pre-payment penalty. To find out where they are in your area, you may want to contact this number: 918-341-5633.

    And do contact an experienced RE attorney to get your parents out of this mess. The above are very good advises, especially to keep your cool!

    We have a mortgage which includes the tax payments in the monthly, but when I get the bill at the end of the year, I do pay it, just in case, and I get the check returned with a note saying that the lender already paid. I like to go on safe.

    I sure do wish you good luck and good negotiating. Try to get the money to reinstate the loan, pay with a cashier's check!

    Ladybug[ Edited by Ladybug on Date 09/28/2003 ]

  • CJD28th September, 2003

    Things to do:

    1) Get a lawyer to use a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) that will buy you one - two weeks.
    2) Get to a Hard Money Lender, tehre is a list of them on this site.
    3) Post a Help ME ad here and maybe some investor in your state will buy and lease back with option to buy back, becoming an effective hard money lender.

    Hope this works out for you.

  • SanPark28th September, 2003

    See a lawyer like yesterday. While the lawyer works on stopping the foreclosure. Go to the lender directory and find a hard money lender and pay off the mortgage before they start adding all kinds of fees owed to them for the foreclosure process and so on. Worse case scenario for your parents is to sell the house and keep their equity to buy something else or loose the property and the equity as well. With that kind of equity, there are plenty of hard money lenders that will bail them out. Much success.
    [addsig]

  • InActive_Account5th October, 2003

    First things first, if the house is in foreclosure, you need to contact the trustee handling the foreclosure to get the current payoff documents. I personaly havent seen many lenders that will do a refi with the borrower in foreclosure status.
    As far as the taxes, why would your parents need to give the bank permission to pay the taxes on the house? Did your parents not realize that they had to pay taxes? My main question in asking you that is was the lender impounding for taxes and insurance? If not, than this doesnt sound right since the tax bills would be sent directly to your parents. The bank would in my opinion, not waste their time in researching how much the taxes were on the property. Next, if the property will go to foreclosure, the taxes would have to be paid by whomever bought the property. Doesnt make sense why the bank would pay the taxes on a property they may not possibly get back, ie, higher bidder at the sale.
    In the meantime, why dont you contact the loss mitigation dept of the bank and find out if they will do a loan workout program with your parents. Also, is this an FHA or VA loan? If so, there are loans your parents can get for the arrearages to make up the back payments. Sometimes the lender is will to do a loan modification and put the arrerages into the loan only causing a slight rise in the payment. Once this is done, and the foreclosure is cancelled, your parents can refi out of this loan. I would definately check on the impounds status of the mortgage. Usually the bank will impound for a few years.

  • southernbg24th October, 2003

    Hello Everyone,

    I wanted to update everyone as to what happened with my parents.

    As of yesterday, the mortgage company put them back into forbarence for the next 12 months. This will give them time to get everything else straight .....they are in the process of suing the mortgage company .
    The mortgage company has NOT credited payments and says that they have not paid in the last 6 months. But the last payment they made was in Sept. The mortgage company also said that they had a check that was reversed but my parents do not pay by personal check. They always pay with bank checks or wire the money Western Union. Oh yeah, they said that Western Union had not sent a payment as well. My mother called about it and Western Union say that they received that payment the same day. FUNNY huh!!!!

    Anyway, that is were everything stands with them. They have been taken out of Forclosure and have worked out a payment paln for the next 12 months.

    Thanks to everyone for the advice....

    Southernbg

  • Natesdesigns24th October, 2003

    southernbg Junior Investor... I'm just returning back to the scene here.... and read over your situation... I wish your parent the best of luck... I may have missed it, but who is this mortgage company? If It is Fairbanks Capital, then like the others have advised... RUN, don't walk... to your best and nearest real estate attorney. This ordeal your' parents have gone through sounds like one of their many living nightmares that I've seen others going through...

    Good Luck,


    [addsig]

  • 25th October, 2003

    Hello southernbg Junior Investor

    Best of luck to you with your parent's home.

    I wouldn't be surprised if the lender was Fairbanks Capital - they are awful.

    Please let us know who the lender is.

    Thanks

  • southernbg25th October, 2003

    The lender is Homeq Mortgage!! Say far away from them.
    Can you guys recommend a much better lender than them?

    Thanks in Advance!

    Southernbg

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