Question: We are being sued for not paying our home equity loc, please help?

(Posted by: luvinlife on 2010-01-13 23:45:11)

Thanks in advance for responding..... We foreclosed our home last year due to financial hardship. We tried numerous times to work out a deal with the bank but they were unable to work something out with us. When my hubby (not together at the time) bought the house, the Realtor/ financiersomehow convinced him to buy the house with a HELOC of 30, 000! (along with the first mortgage) Since then, there have been many financial reasons for not being able to pay a $1600/ month mortgage. Realistically we could only afford $950 tops. He was offered a debt settlement option awhile back which of course would have been a solution worth doing, however, we don't have thousands of dollars laying around. Now he is being sued for the HELOC and we have 20 (now less) days to get a lawyer should we choose to. My question is, would I be contacting a lawyer in Real Estate Law or what kind of lawyer do we need? Has anyone been in this type of situation and if so, would you please share your experience with me? Is it worth finding a lawyer- we cannot afford a $400 payment every month for the next 12 years. Are there other options available or will they basically just start garnishing his wages? Any info would be greatly appreciated- thanks!

Posted by: real estate guy on 2010-01-14, 07:13:49

You will owe this money. If the debt is not in your name, then you don't have to worry. It's your husband. The only way to get this to go away would be to declare bankruptcy. I would talk with a BK lawyer. You (he) should have talked with a lawyer at the very beginning. You can't just walk away. There could also be taxes due on this bad debt.

Posted by: pryor514 on 2010-01-14, 00:01:21

Greetings Luvinlife, First and foremost, kudos to the agent who talked your husband into that deal. I bet he sleeps well at night knowing he is a PoS.... Moving on. As a real estate investor myself, this sounds like one hell of a bad deal for everyone involved. BUT, it has potential to be... less ugly. I would definitely look into getting a real estate lawyer. I repeat REAL ESTATE LAWYER. There are these guys who do nothing but real estate cases so would be of immense help. Also, I would reccomend you contact every real estate investor you can find. Are any of the neighbors or neighbor's neighbors potential investors? I know it can be embarassing to ask someone to buy your home as you cannot afford it, it certainly beats the potential... -------- the courts will do.(forgive me, it's late and my mind is colorful) Call 'house for rent' ads. These are usually investors, who could potentially negotiate with the lender and buy the property, because let's face it, all the bank wants is money and suing you is costing them to pursue moneys that still will take years to receive. A good investor may be able to negotiate the bank into taking cash for the house and leaving you along. I am of course assuming this is a desirable home in question, being the 1600 mortgage. I hope this helps at least a little Pryor

Posted by: Realtoratheart on 2010-01-14, 05:18:56

Sounds like he needs to talk to a bankruptcy attorney and tell the lender to go do hell forever.

Posted by: OldJimmy on 2010-01-14, 05:29:40

Since your home has been foreclosed already, the HELOC is basically an unsecured debt so I don't think you would need a real estate specialist to represent you. They are basically useful to try and help prevent foreclosure (usually on some technicality if they can get away with it) but you are past that now. Hopefully your lawyer will be able to negotiate some lower obligation for you that you will be able to handle. Your credit probably isn't going to be made any worse than it is now for this. Sorry for your problems. Good luck.