Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

I am currently living in a home with an underwater mortgage. My house is worth about half of what I owe (common problem these days, I know). We want to move w/o taking a big hit financially or to our credit. We have an FHA loan (if that makes any difference) and are desperately trying to move on from this house. I know from research that the chances are slim that there's anything we can do but I didn't know, from a legal standpoint, if there are any ways of getting our mortgage company to reduce our principle (to the point where we can sell semi-comfortably) or just ANY options that might help us get out of this house sooner than later. We live in the Chicagoland area.


Asked on 4/30/13, 6:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Henry Repay Law Offices of Henry Repay

It is not clear where you are located to determine whether I can help, but it sounds like your best course is a short sale. You would find a reputable real estate agent and list the property at fair value. In the interim, you should obtain a short sale application package from your lender. This is tedious and it is often helpful to work with a short sale coordinator who will help you keep all the forms and financial information up to date, make calls on your behalf, etc. In a true short sale, the lender would accept the available proceeds and you would be off the hook. In many cases, however, if the lender finds that there is some financial stability to make payments, the lender will release the property, but not you. To best advise you, an attorney would want to consider your overall financial picture to consider the options, including short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, loan modification, bankruptcy, staying in the property, ...

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Answered on 4/30/13, 8:23 am


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