Newbie needs help- Foreclosure hasn't happened after 4 years what do I do?

[gingersmommy]

Hi, I'm a newbie here and have read some of the post and I'm hoping someone out here will help direct me on what do to. (Thanks in advance)

 

History:

 

-I refinanced a home with Wells Fargo in 2008 thru FHA, had FHA insurance on it. It was for over $200,000

-Filed for a divorce in July 2012 - due to domestic abuse by my husband that occurred in end March 2012. Judge granted me a divorce in Dec 2012 as he could see my ex was running up bills in my name, and was unwilling to pay others.

-Due to the domestic abuse- a protection order against my spouse was issued in April 2012, but judge ordered that we had to split the occupancy of the home every other month until the 120 days was up. ( I had a daughter in H.S. and my disabled parents living with me at the time. ) I move out in April 2012, every other month we would have been homeless, Parents moved out of state with another family member. My daughter and I rented an apartment.

- Spouse refused to get home in his name, rent, or sell it. He quite his job. (He wanted to live there free, as I had been the one making the payments prior in our marriage.)

-With the additional expense I could not afford to pay for his home and my rental. I tried to get him to sell, pay, or refinance in his own name- he refused and drug out our court date for property settlement until Aug. of 2013. I contacted Wells Fargo by phone and told them that I could no longer pay for it, that the ex would not pay to start foreclosure proceedings or to us FHA insurance to settle it. Never heard a word back.

- In Aug of 2013 more than a year after I made the last payment in March of 2012, during the property settlement phase of the divorce, the judge heard that the home was receiving threats of foreclosure from wells fargo, but that they didn't actually start proceedings yet. The judge gave the home $0 value as by now we were upside down, as the market took a turn and we owed more than it would sell for. Knowing it was going to go into foreclosure the judge left it in my ex-husbands hands to finalize or resolve any issues (as the judge knew I had a rental and he was living there currently), but stated that I would owe 1/2 the debt on the house, after the foreclosure. I had to sign over a quite claim deed to the ex for the house. ( The judge awarded me other property that I had to get a new mortgage for in my name only, knowing that I would pay those bills).

- The house has now been in the possession of my ex for well over 4+ years. From what I understand, he has NOT made a payment, is still unemployed (works under the table for his dad) and can't get a new mortgage.

 

THE QUESTION IS WHAT DO I DO? to protect myself. my credit is ruined, I can' get a new loan or home until this is resolved. The mortgage was sold to Shellpoint Mortage in 2015. It was closed and said it was transferred again, but credit report shows it is with same company but with a different account number. (Can they do this to continue to damage your credit? )

-Would Wells Fargo have an obligation to use the FHA insurance as that was why it was purchased and was current when last payment was made in March of 2012, plus I had an escrow account that held funds for several more months of FHA payment? and it should have been a gov't foreclosure instead of being sold to Shellpoint, correct due to the type of loan?

-I'm in Idaho, and would this original mortgage constitute a contract and therefore would have a SOL for 5 years? or is mortgages different?

 

IN IDAHO
4 Years Oral/Open Contracts: §5-217
5 YearsWritten Contracts; §5-216

TITLE 5

PROCEEDINGS IN CIVIL ACTIONS
CHAPTER 2

LIMITATION OF ACTIONS

§ 5-217. ACTION ON ORAL CONTRACT. Within four (4) years: An action upon a contract, obligation or liability not founded upon an instrument of writing.

§ 5-216. ACTION ON WRITTEN CONTRACT. Within five (5) years: An action upon any contract, obligation or liability founded upon an instrument in writing.

What would you suggest I do to protect myself further, I'm afraid that if they allow this to drag on further, it will remain on my credit for years( more than 7) if they can continue to push the date out. By the way, the ex has not maintained the home an it now looks like an episode from hoarders. He has chickens and cows living in the house and garage, and it is packed up from stuff he acquired from flea markets on the inside and outside (floor to ceiling). Because of this he has devalued the house further which, when it eventually sells, it will sell for less than when I left it, any thoughts here?

 

Thanks for any help or direction on how to handle this further. I am limited to what I can do, as again, I had to sign over the quite claim deed to the house.

 

 

 

[breeze]

Nice judge, not. They know what's going to happen. Drag the ex back into family court, and get your own lawyer. You're stuck with half that mortgage, no house, ruined credit, and paying rent? I hate going to court, it's so unpredictable, but I can't conceive of any settlement that worse than the one you got.

[gingersmommy]

Thank you, but what would I do by going back to court?... I had a lawyer at the time and could not get it to go any other way- depite $14,000 in attorneys fees. ( Small town, my ex- had judge as client in the past so they knew each other. ). I don't believe the judge will do anything at this point, it would be up to shellpoint to finalize the foreclosure correct?

 

Do I have any legal standing to force shellpoint to finish the foreclosure?

Does the SOL apply here? if so, that can get me out of paying the balance, correct?

And when will it come off my credit report if they have not foreclose on it yet? when I made the last payment in 3/12 or when my ex tried to get a loan modification in 2016?

[breeze]

Looks to me like you have a 5 year SOL, but take that with a grain of salt. I'll see if I can send someone with more expertise to answer you. Do you have a court order telling your husband to do anything? I cannot imagine why the judge didn't order the house sold and the proceeds split. He and your ex must be drinking buddies or something, and your lawyer too.

 

These houses just float along because the mortgage servicer doesn't know who has the title, or cannot produce the paperwork in order to close. Lots of people caught up in that, just not the exact same situation with an ex freeloading in the house.

 

Sorry you got stuck with this mess. It won't last forever.

[gingersmommy]

Thank you so much for your response. No, there was no order drafted other than the division of real property and asset division ( he got the house and all contents, I got the vacant land in another county, also with a mortgage, that I was ordered to get in my own name). The judge verbally stated that the house would go into foreclosure and didn't order anything else for my ex to do, except me to sign over the deed to the house to my ex. My ex was not in court at this time, as he was acting pro-se, so not to run up his bill, knowing that my lawyer would have to do all the work, and I pay for it.

 

I believe My lawyer, and the Judge felt that the house would be foreclosed on immediately, since we had FHA insurance and it was with Wells Fargo (instead of a smaller company) and NO payment had been made at this point for well over 16 months.

[breeze]

I really don't see any way to force them to foreclose. I wish there was. I'm not one for disputing and sending validation letter while a debt is within the SOL Others do. You might approach this just from the standpoint fo getting these things off your reports, and post in the main credit forum. There are some unique ways to dispute and get them deleted. Why don't you get your scores, and paper reports if you haven't already, and do the "triage" - read psychdoc's seminar https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=425496to get an overview, and see if maybe you want to just go after the deletions, since you can't make them foreclose.

 

They really ripped you off. My blood pressure goes up every time I read about what's happened to you.

[gingersmommy]

Thank you Breeze. It still makes me mad to have to be dealing with this, with no end in site...... I will read the info in the link, so thank you very much I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

 

I have thought about trying to get it removed from my credit, but not sure how to even go about that, since there is no foreclosure yet ( only showing on my credit as delinquent with wells fargo, and 2 times with Shellpoint), thus I was hoping that someone could tell me if the SOL would help me by April 2017 at that time it would be 5 years since I made the last payment. Could they get a legal judgement for me to pay after the 5 years on a mortgage?

 

Also, one other question for the forum, when they finally foreclose and if I'm issued a 1099? do they split the amount between me and my ex, as the divorce decree said he would be responsible or do I end up getting the full amount of the loss and have to pay taxes on it? has anyone been thru this?

 

thanks so much for your help.

[ReubenDunn]

You or your ex. should have been sent a letter form the bank, when they did what is known as a "Service Release" to another company. This is a legal requirement each time the holder of the note changes. It does not affect your delinquency or the terms and conditions of the mortgage/note debt.

 

Have you considered putting the house on the market? Depending on the area you live in, what the local prices are, what your total balance outstanding, you might get away with putting the house for sale as a regular sale. However, if you are in an area where the prices of the houses don't match the debt, or if the condition of your property requires a bit of "TLC" then a short sale should also be considered. The down side is that you generally will have a surplus of balances owed at the end of the sale; depending on the State that you live in, you may still be libel for the balances. The other potential problem might be that the investor who actually owns the paper, may not allow short sales to occur.

 

I'd suggest you contact the lender and see what your options are.

 

There is also the voluntary surrender of the property, Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure; think of it as a voluntary foreclosure. I'll bite your credit report, but not nearly as long as an involuntary foreclosure.

 

As far as 1099's are concerned, get tax advice either from a tax attorney, or CPA,. I'd suspect that if the actual instrument of debt, the Note is co-signed, and unless the divorce decree suggest otherwise, you'll more likely than not each get the 1099 and would be responsible for equal portions of the debt.

 

Get the qualified legal advise though, and check your divorce decree to see if there's any wording concerning the house and the associated debt.

[illusemycreditcard]

Have you considered putting the house on the market?

Can that be done without he deed in gingersmommy's (or a relevant party's) possession?

 

There is also the voluntary surrender of the property, Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure; think of it as a voluntary foreclosure. I'll bite your credit report, but not nearly as long as an involuntary foreclosure.

Both a deed-in-lieu and a foreclosure report for the same seven years and have the same effect on scoring. Only in certain manual underwriting cases would a deed-in-lieu for a house be factored in differently than a foreclosure. E.G. another mortgage can be easier to obtain after a deed-in-lieu.

[IndyPoolPlayer]

Have you considered putting the house on the market?

 

OP stated house is underwater. Won't get a clear title without satisfying the mortgages with sale proceeds.

 

The judge must be a total political pawn to order a quit claim on a deed when there is a mortgage. Now OP is on the hook for a deficiency balance to a house she has no rights. Short of hiring a hit man or arsonist to take out the ex- (joking! sorta...) she doesn't have many options other than wait for the mortgage company to proceed.

[breeze]

Reuben isn't really trying to help, or he doesn't know how to read. He was here to promote his book, and considering the bad advice he's been giving, I wouldn't pay 2 cents for it. Don't go looking for it, the link is gone.

 

The OP hasn't been back since 10/15. She just got royally $(r3w3d. I mean how does an ordinary person file a complaint against 2 lawyers and a judge? No lawyer is going to help her sue another lawyer. Incredible malfeasance. My blood pressure is going up again.

[gingersmommy]

Thanks to all that replied.... I just wanted to give you an update: I have not been back on here since the first replies as I was feeling hopeless and I still do after I trying to get more answers to my situation thru other avenues. Shell Point has called me everyday just about for the last year. I blocked them as I can't do anything to move the foreclosure forward, as stated before I do not have title to the property only my name on the loan and My ex has to agree to any short sale or deed in lieu as he is the only one who has the right to agree to it as his is the only name on a deed as I was forced to sign my claim over to him. My ex is still living there and it has now been 5 years since the last payment was made, and NO he has not made any payments to them. It still has not been foreclosed on by shell point and I'm still hanging out to dry with bad credit.

 

One of my questions was in the original post was about: 5 YearsWritten Contracts; §5-216

I wanted to know since the loan was a written contract, and in Idaho after 5 years some debt collectors can't sue you in court due to the statue of limitations. I talked to one lawyer and was told this would not apply to my situation as mortgages are treated differently. Wells Fargo or Shell Point would have had to send me a "notice of default" then from that date it would start the clock on the 5 years. But since I was not in the home I don't know if an official "default notice" was every sent. He felt I was still on the hook, even though we defaulted on the loan, they didn't follow the procedures to declare it, so that didn't start their clock. (this might be a planned or strategic move on Wells Fargo or Shell Points part. )

 

SO I AM TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER 5 YEARS: - I sold a piece of bare ground, and would like to put the proceeds toward purchasing a VERY cheap home..... I'm totally lost now!!!!! I'm so worried that once I buy a VERY CHEAP home they will try to come after me and force me to sell it to pay off this mortgage, or put a lien on it. DOES ANYONE HAVE AN IDEA IF I BUY A CHEAP HOME WHAT i CAN DO TO PROTECT IT? ( WITHOUT ME HAVING TO WORRY THAT THEY WILL TRY TO TAKE IT AWAY TO PAY THIS DEBT) IS THERE A WAY TO PROTECT THIS PURCHASE SO THEY WILL HAVE NO RIGHTS TO IT?

Edited April 6, 2017 by gingersmommy

[IndyPoolPlayer]

SO I AM TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER 5 YEARS: - I sold a piece of bare ground, and would like to put the proceeds toward purchasing a VERY cheap home..... I'm totally lost now!!!!! I'm so worried that once I buy a VERY CHEAP home they will try to come after me and force me to sell it to pay off this mortgage, or put a lien on it. DOES ANYONE HAVE AN IDEA IF I BUY A CHEAP HOME WHAT i CAN DO TO PROTECT IT? ( WITHOUT ME HAVING TO WORRY THAT THEY WILL TRY TO TAKE IT AWAY TO PAY THIS DEBT) IS THERE A WAY TO PROTECT THIS PURCHASE SO THEY WILL HAVE NO RIGHTS TO IT?

 

If your state allows it you might put the home into a trust, and have a trustee that is at least arms-length away. A home cannot be "force sold" but if there's a judgement against you there might be a lien placed against the home. Which means it can't be sold until the lien is satisfied.

[creditrepair17]

Be careful, some states have different (and longer) statutes of limitations for mortgages than other general contracts. In some states, the lender could get a deficiency judgment against you and in some states, it isn't possible. It would be best for you to seek legal counsel and explore your options. Have you tried sending the mortgage company a letter with the court order and deed transferring title, and seeing if there is anything the mortgage company would do for you? It is a very, very long shot shot, but it is worth a try.