Refinancing And FIFA.. HELP
I'm in the process of refiancing our home and was told there is a FIFA lien of $14,000 for medical bills. What problems will this cause? Can my house be foreclosed? If bankruptcy is filed will this cause problems with the house? Please, any help you can give I would greatly appreciate it.
smoofypoo--(GA)-------------------
There is not enough information here to give you good advice.
First, forget about bankruptcy.
If y ou get a new first loan or add a second loan to the house, the lender will require you to pay off the lien. That means you will get less money out. Depending upon your equity level, you may not be able to pay off the lien and still borrow out cash .
Whether you can borrow money is also determined by your credit score.
You also need to know if the lien is still enforceable. Liens expire after some years, for instance here in CA, after 10 years, in OK, it is after 5 years. So you need to know for how long liens are good in your state. And you have to know when that lien was recorded. You also have to check to be sure, if that lien was filed a long time ago, that it has not been renewed, which keeps it alive and enforceable.
When you know and tell whether the lien is alive or not, the amount of equity you have in the property, and your credit score, then you might get some advice about your specific situation.
Oh, and old liens have interest accruing on them usually. Find out what rate of interest is accruing on that lien so you know what is really owed to pay it off. Here in CA, the rate for jugments is 10 %.
Some older liens might be negotiated down if you are going to pay them off. Never tell the holder of the lien that you are ready to pay them off, otherwise they will want the full face amount plus interest. Ask them what they would take to settle the matter if you "could" come up with cash to pay them off. Get that in writing. Then negotiate for a lesser amount. Get the final amount in writing. Then pay them off.
Good Investing************Ron Starr***********
Ron has provided some great information.
You did not indicate if the debt is correct or not. I am guessing you are not surprised about the medical claim.
Any reason not to pay it other then you do not want to put out the cash?
John
Quote:
On 2004-06-21 12:25, smoofypoo wrote:
I'm in the process of refiancing our home and was told there is a FIFA lien of $14,000 for medical bills. What problems will this cause? Can my house be foreclosed? If bankruptcy is filed will this cause problems with the house? Please, any help you can give I would greatly appreciate it.
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