Deadbeat Homeowners Hit The Road - Forbes.com seems like a lot of people are doing it (see link) they probably have different reasons that me, but how do i know. bought a house in Dec 06 got fixed rate of 6.125 and put $0 down. kept the $50,000 in my pocket because with 20% down the rate was 5.75. now im thinking about taking another job elsewhere, but im pretty sure i'd lose $20,000-50,000 on the sale. so, what happens if i walk away from the house? can i never get another mortgage? can i only get one by putting 20% down.
Lease the house and let that pay the house note. An investment that pays for or subsidizes itself is a good investment. It preserves your credit and you can buy another house. Meanwhile you will own the old house and can sell it when it appreciates to the level you like. Walking away seems like a waste.
i wasnt clear enough. the job i want to take is in Massachusettes. i dont have a problem paying the mortgage but i cant pay two.
i called a few local rental property management places and they said it starts getting tough to rent places that go for more than $1000/mo. i guess i could do that and eat the difference. walking away seems like a real waste to me too, but since i put nothing down (even paid no closing) in the end it would just be like i rented the place. except for how it would affect my credit----this is what i mostly wanted to pick posters brains about. i wouldnt think this dilemma is that unusual, or at least it will become less unusual. people arent all of the sudden going to start staying with the same company for 30 yrs now, are they?
Do not walk away. This will screw up your credit and the mortgage company will chase you for the difference for the rest of your life and getting a new house will be really difficult. Plus you have a moral obligation to pay back your debts. Do not become a long distance land lord by default. Your asset is no more secure even if it is rented and all the risk of foreclosure is still right there with your name on it. If your house has not appreciated or if you took out too much debt try and build up the case for a short sale without recourse. Meet with a realtor and get the following statistics the number of comperable homes on the market the number of comperable homes that sold in the previous year Discuss the value of your house and get an appraisal. Show your mortgage company that their secured loan is not 100% secured. Get an offer short of what you owe and accept it with the condition that your lender will accept it as payment in full with no recourse. This way you control the sales price of the home. If you let them forclose it they will price it to sell quickly and will chase you for the difference for the rest of your life. It will be hard to get a short sale without recourse if you have 50K sitting in the bank. If you have that kind of cash you should pay the difference between what you owe and what the sale brings. I say again do not walk away and do not buy another house until this mess is cleaned up and you can put down a huge downpayment.
Are you going to even be able to afford a house in Massachusetts? I would imagine the cost of living is much better in Georgia...
thats what i needed to know. this lack of mobility really sucks. probably should have just rented until retirement
salary is much more in massachusettes. i might put it on the market to see what happens. might try fsbo likely will just stay put. stupid to move before the 09 game with uga anyway.
