Negotiate Charged-off Junior Mortgage
Will a charged-off junior mortgage disappear?
I am going through a divorce and our primary residence will be going up for sale next spring. We have been current on our first mortgage for quite some time but our second has had a charge-off status since Jan. 2007. My credit report notes the account as "charged off/Past due 180 days. $65,000 written off. $5,203 past due as off Jan 2007". Now from reading a lot of the past posts I understand that this may still have to be paid, presuming it's on the title still. The mortgage was originally with Greenpoint and was sold to another bank not a collections agency. If the house sells my wife and I will still have equity to walk away with even if the second is paid in full. But my questions are, do you think I could work out a lower settlement amount on the second in order to pocket more equity for me? Or will they know somehow they can collect the whole amount and force that on me? From what I have researched my understanding was if a loan is sold to another bank in this situation it's sold for less than the balance so a compromise shouldn't be out of the question. Please advise. Thx. By the way, have you ever heard of a situation where a charged-off second never had to be paid, it just disappeared?
- A mortgage negotiator will expect a financial disclosure.
- A negotiator is working on behalf of the mortgage investor.
- Charges-off mortgage debt will not disappear if the mortgage is tied to a lien.
What I did not make clear in my earlier answers regarding negotiating mortgage debt, is that the negotiator on the other side will expect a financial disclosure from you and your spouse. For many consumers, the disclosure works in their favor because it shows the negotiator how weak the consumer's finances are. The negotiator takes this information to the investor and explains why he or she can get only 10, 20 or 40 cents on the dollar. No one is happy, but at least there is understanding.
You are proposing to negotiate a settlement where the negotiator would be flying blind, and a smart one will not do that.
Regarding your final question, does the junior still have a claim on the property? If the lien is stripped, perhaps in a bankruptcy, then the property is not encumbered by the junior, then there is a possibility the charged-off debt may never be collected. However, if the junior is tied to a lien on the property, I see no reason why a creditor would abandon that asset.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Best,
Bill