(I also added $1500 a yr for preventative maintenance.)It's an excellent strategy & its one I adhered to back in the days of (needing) financing (but similarly I could afford the annoying monthly loss).

They did change them as agreed, but they also did a lot of damage to the property, which might have been prevented if I had made regular visits.

So, "No", as Mortgagee you can't go in and build a deck or do home repairs but you can fix a hole in the roof to prevent damage or mow the lawn to prevent a lien.

Is there a local Crime Prevention group for the neighborhood?

I work for a large non-profit credit counseling agency as a Quality Assurance Specialist who evaluates the calls of counselors who provide foreclosure prevention counseling.

My question is, Could I have prevented the short sale from being entered under the Hafa program in the beginning?

Sure the state law doesn't say (in Texas and Wyoming or where ever else) that I can't turn off utilities but it also doesn't prevent a sympathetic judge from siding with the tenant.

Look up "Rich Dad Poor Bank", my close friend wrote this book and is essentially waging a war against the banks. haha One more thing before my A.D.D. prevents me from remembering, you - and everyone else - should look into ING accounts.

We have never been out of town long enough for tenants to notice we are gone, since my day job prevents me from taking vacation the first two weeks of the month anyway.

Answer: "Yes, when there is a lien on the property, anything of monetary value on the lien that prevents a transfer of clear title, the bank will take care of those liens prior to the close of escrow in order to close with clear and marketable title.Open permits, unpermitted items the bank does nothing with, buyer inherits the issue"Interesting, I am interpreting this as the 21K lien will be paid or negotiated with the County by them ( even if the origin was due to illegal additions).The actual fixing of the issue (i.e removing the violations) will be the buyer's responsibility.Sounds good to me...