I've no experience with these matters but I do want to wish you the best of luck, mate. 
You're a good guy.
You're a good guy.
What the hell do I do now?
- Thread starter Kelso
- Start date
This kind of reminds me of the situation I'm in right now where my parents are basically bailing me out of a situation in which my credit card bills are undermining my ability to pay my rent.
See, if I don't pay a credit card bill I get slapped with charges, etc. If I don't pay all of my rent at once, I just pay the rest later (well, to a point).
Anyhow, my parents are bailing me out (let's not even get into the psychological ramifications given that I'm almost 35 years old), and they recommended I try calling the credit card companies to see whether I could get my balances reduced a bit, with the understanding that this is so I can pay them off and shut down the accounts entirely.
Well, I've had absolutely no luck on this because, since I have been making at least minimum payments, I'm not considered a risk. I actually joked with my parents (bitterly) that I might almost be in a better situation if I was a few months delinquent, as then the banks might actually be worried about losing money. Nevermind the fact that my current budget (pre-bailout) is unsustainable. Essentially because I have the foresight (sort of) to call the banks for help before my finances collapse into a black hole, they're not willing to help me because I'm being responsible. WTF???
So...yeah...apparently the best way to convince a bank that you actually need them to help you out in some way is not to demonstrate any sort of fiscal responsibility and an awareness of impending problems, but rather to crash and burn as hard and fast as possible. Because...that makes sense....
See, if I don't pay a credit card bill I get slapped with charges, etc. If I don't pay all of my rent at once, I just pay the rest later (well, to a point).
Anyhow, my parents are bailing me out (let's not even get into the psychological ramifications given that I'm almost 35 years old), and they recommended I try calling the credit card companies to see whether I could get my balances reduced a bit, with the understanding that this is so I can pay them off and shut down the accounts entirely.
Well, I've had absolutely no luck on this because, since I have been making at least minimum payments, I'm not considered a risk. I actually joked with my parents (bitterly) that I might almost be in a better situation if I was a few months delinquent, as then the banks might actually be worried about losing money. Nevermind the fact that my current budget (pre-bailout) is unsustainable. Essentially because I have the foresight (sort of) to call the banks for help before my finances collapse into a black hole, they're not willing to help me because I'm being responsible. WTF???
So...yeah...apparently the best way to convince a bank that you actually need them to help you out in some way is not to demonstrate any sort of fiscal responsibility and an awareness of impending problems, but rather to crash and burn as hard and fast as possible. Because...that makes sense....
Call a consumer credit counseling service. You may need to be a few months behind on your credit card bills before they will help you. If so, stop paying now.
You're bailing water out of a sinking ship. Your credit is going to get screwed up anyway. If your situation is unsustainable, stop delaying the inevitable and just let the bills slip. Once you're delinquent, they'll be far more negotiable, and a credit counseling service should be able to help you. They can stop the fees, interest charges, and so forth. By the time you're done with it, there should be minimal damage to your credit (this is usually a condition of completing the counseling program) but you'll have to give up the cards (close the accounts.)
This is not universally true.
Several states are known as "non-recourse" states.
This means that if your bank agrees to a short sale, or you are foreclosed upon, your loan is satisfied in full and they can not come after you for the difference between what the house sells for and what you owe.
Arizona is a non-recourse state, which is why so many people are just up and walking away from their houses now.
I did a quick google search to find that Georgia is a grey area. Some sources I find list Georgia as a non-recourse state, and some do not. I'll see if I can get a more definitive answer soon on this.
My friend went through this same thing - only he was moving and had already bought another house. He had a buyer lined up, and had already purchased the new home sans contingency.
The bank stoped returning their calls.... the short sell fell through...
Worse, the bank wouldn't talk to them at ALL.
Finally, his wife began calling the bank every single day. Every one.
One of the call-takers told her the same thing : "We're not going to do anything while you are making payments."
He stopped, and by the time his first payment was 15 days late, the bank was calling.
A short time later, the bank suddenly was interested in the short sale.
The short sale completed - only the house had dropped another $20,000 in value. Tough shit for the bank....
Don't pay - it offends your sensibilies as a good person, but don't.
#1..Stop payment..
#2 await 2 payments unpaid...DO NOT CONTACT THE BANK during this time..use house payment to bring down other bills
#3 Let the Bank call you and negotiate THEN...with an attorney on your side..
#4 talk about short sell...then if they are willing..go through a Realtor and get 'er done!!
As to the divorce thing...sorry about it man..but these things happen..I do understand having gone through one in 2005 myself...you just might want an attorney on your side in that as well...I couldn't afford one and she did..I got taken to the cleaners..
Good luck...
#2 await 2 payments unpaid...DO NOT CONTACT THE BANK during this time..use house payment to bring down other bills
#3 Let the Bank call you and negotiate THEN...with an attorney on your side..
#4 talk about short sell...then if they are willing..go through a Realtor and get 'er done!!
As to the divorce thing...sorry about it man..but these things happen..I do understand having gone through one in 2005 myself...you just might want an attorney on your side in that as well...I couldn't afford one and she did..I got taken to the cleaners..
Good luck...
I've been thinking about this, and while I agree that you should stop paying the bank, I think you need to just park the money in a savings account in another bank for now. If the bank turns down your short sale, you may need to catch up on the back payments quickly in order to keep the house out of foreclosure.
Don't expect BoA to be helpful, they are evil and trained to tell folks in your position whatever is necessary to screw you over. Get independent professional help.
This.
No offence (I hope), but I'm guessing that you didn't go through divorce proceedings without a lawyer, I can't see why you should go through such finance proceedings without one either.
I guess we all would like to give two fingers to the bank, but there can't be such a lack of consequences for something involving such an amount of money, even in the current financial circumstances.
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