Foreclosure Prevention Advice

[Danielle Carter]

Hello All,

I'm hoping to get a little advice on helping a relative save his home.  He's currently living in the home, but last year had unexpected medical issues that forced him to fall behind on the mortgage.  He tried to work with the loan company to modify the loan, but they jerked him around for almost 6 months (we found out later that this is what they typically do when a home has equity).  They also told him to not pay the lump sum (6 months behind) because if the loan was denied, he would lose that money and they would foreclose anyway.  It got to the point where he couldn't catch up and they refused the modification and partial payments. 

Currently, he needs 50k to bring the loan current.  He was denied a chapter 13 bankruptcy (even though he grosses over $7500 monthly.  The mortgage is $3165.  The loan balance is 509k, the resell value is $640 roughly.  

My question is, is there any strategy he can use to bring the loan current with an investor?  50k is such  a small amount to loose an entire home in a great area, with equity.  I'm looking for a creative way to get him out of this mess.  As he wants to use the property as a buy and hold investment (renting it out).  This was the original plan before he fell behind.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[Lydia R.]

@Danielle Carter I am going to give you an honest answer but you arent going to like it. An investor would only get involved if there is a way for them to profit. Which means they would buy your relative’s home either cash or on terms but either way that relative would have to vacate the property. Is he employed? Could he refinance the loan? Is he capable of making the mortgage payments now?

If at this point your relative doesnt have the money to pay the arrearage (catch up the loan plus late fees) then the best option they have is to sell it before it can be foreclosed on. At least they will get to capture some of that equity because in a foreclosure they lose all of it.

I know this isnt what you want to hear and I wish I had some better news for you, but at this point with those numbers selling and getting as much equity out as possible is the best option.