Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Foreclosure confusion

My lender advised me back in December, when we were three months behind to not bother sending in 2 pymts in Dec & 2 in Jan; rather, they filed for a work out. So, they told us to wait 10 days. We called back & they said we don't qualify cuz they helped us last year with a modification. So, they said we went into FC on 1/2/08, but we received NOTHING and they keep sending us letters saying we don't qualify for help...in the past 3 wks, we've received 16 of the same letter; still no foreclosure papers. WHATTTTT can we do to avoid the foreclosure? Is bankruptcy our only option?


Asked on 2/13/08, 11:17 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Nicholas Chrisos Nicholas G. Chrisos Attorney at Law

Re: Foreclosure confusion

Bankruptcy may be an option, but that only (sometimes) delays the day of reckoning. You may have other options. If you don't qualify for a loan modification, you may qualify for forbearance (putting the deficiency on the end of the loan). There's also a chance you could refinance, although missed mortgage payments may make that difficult. You might also consider selling the property to pay them off. If the amount isn't enough to pay off the loan, that's called a "short sale", and those are getting much more common these days. Finally, if there's no equity, you could just walk away after the foreclosure process is complete. In general I don't advise that for many reasons, not the least of which is that your credit takes a big hit that way.

If you'd like to discuss this further, call my offce to schedule a free half hour consultation to discuss your options. Good luck!

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Answered on 2/14/08, 4:46 pm
Nicholas Chrisos Nicholas G. Chrisos Attorney at Law

Re: Foreclosure confusion

Bankruptcy may be an option, but that only (sometimes) delays the day of reckoning. You may have other options. If you don't qualify for a loan modification, you may qualify for forbearance (putting the deficiency on the end of the loan). There's also a chance you could refinance, although missed mortgage payments may make that difficult. You might also consider selling the property to pay them off. If the amount isn't enough to pay off the loan, that's called a "short sale", and those are getting much more common these days. Finally, if there's no equity, you could just walk away after the foreclosure process is complete. In general I don't advise that for many reasons, not the least of which is that your credit takes a big hit that way.

As far as not getting any foreclosure papers, those come from ther lender's attorneys not the lender itself. It seems that they haven't benn able to serve you (where the sheriff or a "special process server" hands you the court papers). You could go to the county courthouse and probably look up your case by name.

If you'd like to discuss any aspect of this further, call my offce to schedule a free half hour consultation. Good luck!

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Answered on 2/14/08, 4:50 pm


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